in 1852, charles lefranc established what became the very successful almaden vineyards, where he planted cabernet sauvignon, pinot noir, semillon, and many others. lefranc produced good wine as did his son-in-law, paul masson. in 1854, john patchett planted the first commercial vineyard in napa valley and established the first winery there in 1858. in 1861 charles krug who previously had worked for agoston haraszthy and patchett founded his namesake winery in st. helena and began making his own wine. originally a prussian political dissident, krug learned the trade of the vintner as an apprentice to haraszthy in the sonoma valley. the land on which krug founded his winery was part of his wife's (carolina bale's) dowry. krug became an important leader of winemaking in the napa valley. he was also a mentor for karl wente, charles wetmore and jacob beringer, all of whom became important vintners.