On May 27, a crowd of Napa vintners and community members gathered in Oakville, eyes sparkling with anticipation. With glasses raised in a joyful toast, a large excavator took the first bite out of the defunct former Napa Sanitation District pump station.
Left to right: Hayden Schmidter, Betsy Moulds, Alexandra O’Gorman, Caleb Mosley, Mark Pulido, Donna Walker, Mario Trinchero and Chris Trinchero (Evan Roscoe)
The gathering was to celebrate a truly momentous groundbreaking: the start of construction on The Patrick Foley Center for Grape Growing & Farmworker Education, which will serve as the first-ever permanent home for the Napa Valley Grapegrowers (NVG) and the Napa Valley Farmworker Foundation.
At Moulds Family Vineyard, stewardship, community, and education are the pillars of our work. Because of this, we are deeply honored to be among the major donors to this landmark project.
Steve’s Vision Becomes Reality
For us, this moment was especially poignant and deeply personal. This initiative is rooted in the legacy of our own late Steve Moulds—husband of Betsy and father of Hayden—a past NVG President and the true champion of the initial effort to acquire this specific Oakville property.
Steve envisioned this site not just as a prominent landmark, but as a crucial hub dedicated to advancing viticultural excellence and farmworker education for generations to come. He was a dreamer who refused to let the idea falter, and seeing construction finally begin is the realization of his long-held hope.
NVG executive director Caleb Mosley spoke to the crowd. (Evan Roscoe)
Betsy and Hayden were both on hand to cheer as this decades-long dream began to take physical shape. The Moulds family’s commitment as a major donor represents the proud continuation of Steve’s shared investment in the people who steward Napa Valley’s world-class vineyards.
A Beacon for Napa Agriculture
Situated in the heart of Napa Valley, across from the iconic Oakville Grocery on the west side of Highway 29, the 2-acre property will include a demonstration vineyard, advanced training facilities, classrooms, and meeting spaces. Designers drew inspiration from the historic architecture of the adjacent Oakville train station.
The center’s name honors Patrick Foley, a winemaker and son of vintner Bill Foley, who died in 2018. A lead $3 million gift from the Foley Family Charitable Foundation secured the naming rights, highlighting Patrick’s own deep investment in developmental and educational opportunities for grapegrowers and farmworkers. We are honored to stand alongside other major donors, including Andy and Betty Beckstoffer, Trinchero Family Estates, and Mark Pulido and Donna Walker.
This project represents a shared commitment to long-term agricultural resilience. As Mark Pulido stated, it “will stand as a permanent home for excellence in education, research and advocacy.”
Tom Davies, Meaghan Becker and Cathy Corison were among the attendees. (Evan Roscoe)
We invite you to raise a glass of Moulds Family Vineyard wine to toast this milestone. Over the next 18 months, we look forward to watching this vision—championed by Steve and carried forward by our community—come to life in Oakville.