Von Strasser Winery was founded in 1990 by Rudy von Strasser and his wife Rita. A decade earlier he’d been a college graduate determined to start a hard cider business in New England. With an agricultural degree under his belt and a thesis written on hard cider production, Rudy von Strasser in the early 1980s moved from New Hampshire to California where he figured a little time working in the wine industry might be helpful for his future in hard cider. But a year spent at Robert Mondavi changed his mind. He refocused his interest to winemaking, earned a degree from the UC Davis Enology program and became an intern at Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. He was winemaker at Trefethen and Newton before he and Rita found property of their own in the Diamond Mountain district. Von Strasser’s single-vineyards Cabernet Sauvignons have won numerous awards. In 2017 the Von Strassers bought Lava Vine Winery to add an “alternative varietal” portfolio to their offerings.