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Proprietors Gwen and John Callan purchased the 13-acre property named Secret Garden for its bountiful rose garden. Secret Garden has been featured in Gardens of the Wine Country by Molly Chappellet and the Napa Valley Symphony Home and Garden Tour.

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Gwen and John chose the name Ferrogiaro Vineyard in honor of John's fourth generation heritage in Napa. His maternal great grandparents Virginia Tornari and Giani Baptiste arrived in Napa in the 1870s.

 

Virginia came from Corbessassi in the province of Pavia (Lombardia) and Giani originated from Tasso in the province of Genova (Liguria). Residing down the street in the Old Adobe was Cayatano Juarez who periodically had dinner with the Ferrogiaro family. Virginia and Giani Baptiste built the Depot Hotel, still standing today on Soscol Ave.

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Virginia's sister Catarina married Antonio Carbone who with his brothers Nicola and Lorenzo were the first Italian immigrants to settle in Napa in 1863. The Carbones established "The Italian Gardens, " the first Italian commercial vegetable garden in Napa and Contra Costa counties. In 1870, they purchased a 125-acre Coombsville Road ranch and in1886 built Antonio Carbone Wine Cellar, producing wine until Prohibition with 40 acres of vineyards on site. The original stone winery still stands today.

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