Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
THE FRENCH
LAUNDRY
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George Calvert Yount was born May 4, 1794, in Burke County, North Carolina. His parents moved
the family to Cape Girardeau, Missouri, where he grew up to become a trapper. Eventually, his
travels took him to Napa Valley in 1831. As the first white settler, he received the first land grant
awarded by the Spanish government to an American citizen in Northern California.
Naming his land Caymus Rancho after a tribe of Native Americans in the area, he used this
property in 1855 to lay out the boundaries of what would become Yountville. Curiously, he origi-
nally called it Sebastopol, despite the fact that there was already a town nearby with that name.
The new industry that he foresaw for the valley was grape-growing. He is credited with plant-
ing the very first vines in Napa Valley. Following his death in 1867, the second Sebastopol was
renamed Yountville in honor of George Yount and all of his contributions.
Shortly after Yount's death, immigrant Gottleib Groezinger purchased 23 acres of what be-
came known as the Gottleib Addition from the Yount estate. As a German-born vintner, he was
impressed by the climate, soil conditions, and success of the grape vines and the opportunity he saw.
Gottlieb built a winery, barrel room, and distillery in 1874, which operated until 1955. Now operat-
ing as the Vintage 1870 Center, it offers shopping, dining, entertainment, and special events to more
than 500,000 visitors each year.
Yountville was finally incorporated into a city in 1965; its boundaries had changed very little
since it was first laid out by George Yount. Railroad service and the success of wineries contributed
to its growth, along with the exceptional valley weather.
On the Yountville culinary front, a Scottish man, Pierre Guillaume, built a saloon in the early
1900s. However, it was quickly put out of business in 1906 when a law was passed making it illegal
to sell liquor within a mile of a veteran's home. He sold the building and John Lande used it for a
French steam laundry in the 1920s, giving it a name that has stuck for almost a century. In 1978, the
mayor of Yountville renovated the property and soon a restaurant was opened.
Today, reservations are difficult to get. They serve three menus a day and each meal costs $240
(as of 2007), which includes exceptional service. Unadvertised, but available by arrangement, is a
