Napa Valley’s Grove 45 is Latina-owned, mulitgenerational and taking the olive oil world by storm

Napa Valley’s newest olive oil company is women-owned, multigenerational, and of Guatemalan descent.

The company, Grove 45, opened in a Calistoga tasting lounge in April, and has taken the Northern California olive oil world by storm, cranking out award-winning oils and turning heads both in real life and on social media.

At the heart of the operation: mother-daughter duo Ana and Marcela Hernandez, two Latinas with deep connections to the Napa Valley community. There are also five employees — all women — who work alongside the two.

“At the time when as mother and daughter you start losing things in common, this job has brought me back together with (my daughter),” said Ana Hernandez, who is 46.

Marcela, the oldest of five children at 26, agreed.

“To be able to do this with (my mother) makes me appreciate her in ways I never thought I could,” she said. “We really make a good team.”

An olive plants an idea

No matter how you look at it, the Hernandez family has a long history in Napa County.

Ana Hernandez first came to the area as a student, to attend the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone, in 1996. She wanted to be a sommelier but was too young to play the part, so she switched to desserts instead. Then she met her husband Jorge and moved back to Guatemala City to start a family. Ana and Jorge grew their family to include five children in 12 years. The family moved back to Wine Country in 2010 and bought their 73-acre ranch in St. Helena the following year.

As they began cleaning up the property, they learned it comprised one of the oldest olive groves in Napa County — a grove of thousands of trees planted by Charles Krug in the 1800s. They realized they had to do something with those iconic trees, so the family started making olive oil in 2012.

At first, the business was a vanity project, and the Hernandez family made oil only for friends and family. Over time, however, the olive oil project evolved from hobby to passion.

By 2019, the Hernandez family was becoming known for their oil. The owners of Grove 45 reached out to Ana and asked her if she would be interested in buying their business. She was intrigued. At the time she was teaching Spanish at the St. Helena Montessori School, and she had no interest in becoming the head of an olive oil company.

But, she knew the opportunity was too good to pass up.

Ana consulted with Marcela, who was just finishing business school, and the duo agreed to run the company together. Ana was able to transition into becoming a substitute and part-time teacher. The rest, as they say, is history.

“In a sense I have come full circle — I first came to St. Helena to start a career in culinary arts and now this is my home, and I am here as the head of an olive oil company,” Ana said. “The fact that I get to do this with my oldest daughter, the fact that we get to do it as Latinas, that is something very special to me.”

Expanding beyond olive oil

Today the 60-minute tastings at Grove 45 comprise four olive oils in all — two that the Hernandez family makes with olives from right here in Wine Country, and two others that the Hernandez clan imports from faraway places around the world.

The house oils are the Grove 45 Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a green and citrusy oil made of a blend of five different olives from the Chiles Valley; and the Monte Olivos Special Selection, a full-bodied and spicy oil made of a blend of three different olives from the Hernandez family ranch behind the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena.

The imported oils change every few months. In August, they were a Coratina oil from Peru and an Ogliarola oil from Italy.

Guests also get to taste the family’s first rosé, and two imported balsamic vinegars from Italy.

All tastings end with a tiny bowl of homemade olive oil ice cream and olive oil poundcake, both of which get drizzled with the Grove 45 Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

“The idea behind the tasting is to give guests a sense of the oils we make, then give them a sense of the different kinds of oils and vinegars they might find all over the world,” Marcela said. “A big part of what we’re doing is education.”

Tastings unfold in a spectacular tasting room just north of Solage on Silverado Trail. When the Hernandez family took over the space, they hired Guatemalan designer Agustina de Tezanos to work her magic. The result: hand-painted wallpaper designed to give visitors the feeling that they’re tasting in the midst of a garden on the Hernandez farm.

The Hernandez family supplements its olive oil business with a custom crush business and winemaking facility out back. Jorge runs this facility. This is also where the family produces its flagship wines, which are created by consulting winemaker Philippe Melka.

Falling back on family

Two of the benefits of being a multigenerational family business: A foundation of trust and a constant, omnipresent system of checks and balances.

Ana said she and Marcela complement each other nicely, with Ana leveraging her background in culinary arts and Marcela taking advantage of her Master of Business Administration. Marcela added that she and her mother talk or meet daily to discuss the business — sometimes multiple times a day because she lives in a separate house on the family ranch.

“This is my life,” Marcela joked. “The truth is that right now, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”

Other Latino entrepreneurs who run businesses with family members say this dynamic is relatively common.

Carlos Chavez, for instance, a Healdsburg resident who owns and operates an OSHA compliance business and a wine label with his wife Linda, said working alongside his wife makes him feel a sense of partnership and belonging.

“One reason Latinos start business with family members is trust and understanding,” said Chavez, whose wine label, Chavez Family Cellars, recently celebrated the 15th anniversary of one of its flagship wines. “When times are tight, family picks up the pace and works harder than anyone else to accomplish the task.”

Then, of course, there are the challenges of working with olives.

Suzie Bellomo, co-owner of Il Fusti olive oil company in Sebastopol, said olive oil is so readily available that it’s difficult to convince customers to spend extra for good estate product. Bellomo, who makes oil with her husband, said the notion of working in lockstep with another generation is appealing.

“A multigenerational operation (enhances) productivity and operation,” she wrote in a recent email. “It is always beneficial to have more than one person’s opinion.”

Expanding into teatime

Despite these potential pitfalls, despite the ups and downs, the Hernandez family is committed to growing Grove 45 steadily over the next few years.

Prior to April, the family had been focusing on opening the tasting lounge. Now that the lounge is open, they’re setting their sights on different challenges: expanding olive oil production, building out the wine program and setting up their own olive press near the crush pad.

The family also is leaning into ancillary revenue streams: Grove 45 hosts high tea on the third Sunday of every month. This tea is decadent, with sandwiches and treats that Ana makes herself. Most of the goodies incorporate olive oil in some way. In just a few short months, the tea has become insanely popular, with guests now booking three or four weeks in advance to secure a spot.

“People love the experience because it’s intimate,” Ana said. “That’s something about Latin culture, something we always try to share: When you come and visit us, everyone is like family.”