Joseph Phelps was a successful builder in Colorado when he threw himself into wine. After establishing a branch office for his construction company, Hensel Phelps, in the San Francisco Bay area, he began to explore the Napa and Sonoma wine regions. In 1973, when he first encountered the Napa Valley property that would become the home of Joseph Phelps Vineyards, it was a 640-acre former cattle ranch near St. Helena. In the inaugural 1973 vintage, three wines were produced at neighboring wineries: Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir and Johannesburg Riesling.

True to character, Joe never stopped striving for excellence throughout his life. His quest to locate optimal growing conditions for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay led him to the town of Freestone on the western Sonoma Coast. In the late 1990s, Phelps played a pioneering role being among the vanguard of wineries to develop Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards on the Sonoma Coast, followed by a dedicated winemaking facility in Freestone that was finished in time for the 2007 harvest.