Second-generation grape grower Mark Neal grew up in Napa Valley helping his Greek grandmother make compost for the family garden and his father plant vineyards, build barns and fix tractors. Those were the beginnings of a long career in conscientious farming for Neal, now 65. He became an innovator in viticulture and green farming, leading by example on his own properties and others that he managed, including Martha’s Vineyard in Napa, the legendary site of Heitz Cellar’s most collectible wines since the 1970s.
Working with his dad beginning in 1968 at Jack Neal & Son Vineyard Management, which he now owns, Neal pioneered or popularized practices that have become standard in Napa Valley and beyond: night harvesting, dual driplines for irrigation and converting vineyards to certified organic and certified biodynamic status. In late 2022, his Howell Mountain estate winery, Neal Family Vineyards, became the first in Napa Valley to become certified by the Regenerative Organic Alliance.
Neal and his 420 employees manage the most CCOF-Certified acres in Napa Valley and claim the largest
