Cause of death cancer Name Gil Nickel Children Jeremy Nickel | Spouse(s) Beth Nickel Occupation Vintner | |
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Full Name Harold Gilliland Nickel Born 1939 Muskogee, Muskogee County, Oklahoma Died October 30, 2003, Oakville, California, United States Education Oklahoma State University–Stillwater, University of California, Davis | ||
Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Tasting with Rhett Gadke
Gil Nickel (1939-2003) was an American vintner. He was the owner of the historic Far Niente Winery in the Napa Valley. He also established the Dolce Winery and the Nickel & Nickel Winery.
Contents
- Far Niente Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Tasting with Rhett Gadke
- Early life
- Career
- Personal life
- Death
- Legacy
- References
Early life
Harold Gilliland Nickel was born in 1939 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He graduated from Oklahoma State University in 1961, where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in Physics and Mathematics. He then served in the Oklahoma Air National Guard, serving one tour of duty the Vietnam War.
Career
He started his career by working as a missile analyst for the United States Navy Laboratory in Corona, California. He then moved back to his home state of Oklahoma, where he worked at Greenleaf Nursery, a nursery owned by his family based in Tahlequah. He worked alongside his father and brother.
In 1976, he moved back to California, where he audited classes in oenology at the University of California at Davis. He also studied oenology in France. A decade later, in the 1980s, he purchased the historic Far Niente Winery in Oakville, and restored the caves. They are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1992, he started the Dolce Winery, which produced white wine. With his son, he started Nickel & Nickel Winery in 2000. The business produced wines from the same vineyard as opposed to blends.
Personal life
He was married to Beth Nickel. They had a son, Jeremy Nickel.
Death
Nickel died of cancer on October 30, 2003 in Oakville, California.