The Crane Assembly is a partnership between four friends who bought the historic eight-acre George Beldon Crane Vineyard in south St. Helena in 2012. The owners have records indicating that G.B. Crane planted grapes on the site in 1885, planting a mix of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignan and others. Four vineyard acres are Crane’s original plantings, making the vines some of the oldest in region. Two of the owners are winemakers Dave Phinney and Kevin Fox. Phinney is the tradition-defying winemaker/entrepreneur behind Orin Swift Cellars and The Prisoner, and Fox worked as an assistant winemaker to Phinney. Today Fox makes the G.B. Crane wines, which are generally Cabernet Sauvignon blends or blends of Zinfandel, Charbono, Grenache and other deep red grapes. Such non-Cabernet based blends are referred to as “field blends” or “mixed blacks,” and they harken back to 19th California winemaking, when field blends were common. G.B. Crane wines have earned high compliments from reviewers and are generally available only through a mailing list.