Nearly 100 years ago, naturalist John Muir was inspired by the beauty of California’s giant redwood trees, Sierra Nevada panoramas and vast meadows of wildflowers.

His respect for the natural world, influential writings and camping trips with then-President Teddy Roosevelt earned him the nickname “father of the national park system.”

Today, his Napa Valley descendants remain inspired by Muir’s love for California. Napa grapegrower and winemaker Bill Hanna is Muir’s great-grandson. Hanna, his wife Claudia, and their two adult children, Michael and Kristin, farm between 40 and 50 acres of winegrapes off Orchard Avenue, north of Napa.

The Hannas farm sustainably — a practice they think Muir would appreciate.

The Hannas began farming organically last year. “We have used only fungicides and other materials that are registered for use in organic production for the growing seasons of 2007 and 2008,” Bill Hanna said.

The only items the Hannas have in their single-story, passive-solar home related to Muir are three William Keith landscape paintings and an 1884 Steinway piano, which was a birthday present to Muir’s wife from her parents.

The paintings were passed on to Bill Hanna from his parents who, were allowed to pick one large and two small paintings when they got married. The piano was passed to his mom when she married his dad, because she was the only family member at that time who played piano.

“We as a family have tried to follow Muir’s conservationist methods,” said Bill Hanna, who handles most of the farming duties while son Michael is the winemaker.

To keep Muir’s legacy alive, the family is rebranding its label from Muir-Hanna Vineyards to Muir’s Legacy.

While many of the Hanna’s customers know of Muir’s legacy, the wine gives the family a chance to explain who he was to those who don’t.

But don’t head up Highway 29 looking for the Hanna’s tasting room. It’s in the Gold Country town of Sonora, on the way to Yosemite and the Sierras, one of Muir’s favorite places. The Hannas don’t grow winegrapes in the foothill community. Locally, their wine is available at JV Wine & Spirits in Napa.

The Hannas produce about 2,300 cases of wine a year and sell the remainder of their grapes to other wineries.

John Muir

In the spring of 1868, a 30-year-old Scottish-born Muir discovered Yosemite when he came west from Wisconsin. In 1880, he married and moved to Martinez in the North Bay and began farming fruit trees along with wine and table grapes.

In 1892, Muir became president of the newly organized Sierra Club, which aimed to preserve and make accessible the Sierra Nevada.

President Theodore Roosevelt camped with John Muir in Yosemite in 1903, after it was already a National Park. As a result of that camping trip, Roosevelt became more proactive in the establishment of more National Parks, according to Bill Hanna.

“President Roosevelt wanted to go camping with him because he wanted find out why this wild man in the mountains was so eloquent in his writing. He wanted to see for himself, without the Secret Service, or anyone else around,” Bill Hanna added.

Muir’s legacy

The bulk of Muir’s journals and letters are at the University of the Pacific in Stockton — the alma mater of Bill and Claudia Hanna. Portions of the naturalist’s letters are also at the Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley and the Huntington Library in Pasadena.

The Hannas enjoy the love of the outdoors, camping, fishing and hiking. The family has a cabin near Mono Lake on the eastern slope of the Sierras.

It was at the cabin where they baptized both their children. “They (the kids) said it was the only hippie thing we did,” Bill Hanna said laughing.

When Muir came west and settled in California in the late 1860s, he farmed and lived near Martinez. Michael Hanna said farming was Muir’s way to pay for his hiking and camping expeditions.

How would Muir react to the Hanna’s farming practices? “I would hope he approved of our methods of farming. We are as closely in tune to nature as we can be.” The Hannas have farmed sustainably since the early 1980s. Originally the property was planted to prunes and apples when they bought it in 1972. They have not used insecticides since 1974, Bill Hanna said.

Bill Hanna’s dad — John Muir Hanna — planted the property to mostly chardonnay grapes on the advice of longtime Upvalley winemaker Mike Grgich.

One of the Hanna’s vineyards planted to chardonnay is still being used by Chateau Montelena, and was used in the vintage that won the Judgment of Paris in 1973.

John Muir Hanna passed away in December 2007, just shy of his 99th birthday.

The Hannas allow vegetation to grow along the ditches to provide habitat for quail. Cover crops are planted between the vines and prunings are disked back into the soil.

“Our soil is better today than when we bought the property. We are working toward a better sustainable future and what is good for society overall,” said winemaker Michael Hanna.

The Hannas also have deep ties to the Napa County Farm Bureau. John Muir Hanna was a strong supporter of the Ag Preserve. As one of the pioneers looking to the future, he helped draft the language for the Ag Land Preserve Ordinance. “That I think is very Muir-like,” Bill Hanna said.

Today, Michael Hanna has become the third generation of Hannas to join the Napa County Farm Bureau’s board of directors. Following his father and John Muir Hanna.

John Muir Hanna was also instrumental in helping organize the Napa Valley Grape Growers Association, according to Bill Hanna.

John Muir Hanna was raised in Martinez on the family farm. But after the Great Depression, he wasn’t able to make a living farming, so he went to work at a lead factory in Crockett, across from the sugar refinery.

While the family was living in Albany at the time, John Muir Hanna was determined he wanted to get back into farming. “He started looking around, why or what possessed him to come to Napa ... so we moved here in the 1950s,” Bill Hanna said.

What others say

Bureau member Rich Salvestrin met Bill Hanna through the Farm Bureau. “He was a wise man on the board and I looked to him for his guidance and advice on various issues,” said Salvestrin. “He had a calm voice and good input on issues. I looked to him and respected his opinion.”

Salvestrin described the Hannas as “very responsible stewards of the land. They understand what is going on in the vineyard and the community and that sustainability is important ... “It’s great having his son Michael on the board carrying on the tradition. I enjoy working with him as well.”

Peter Nissen, the current Farm Bureau board president, farms a vineyard next to the Hannas.

“He is conscientious, a good neighbor,” said Nissen. “He looks out for other people.

“They (the Hannas) are real people. They have no agendas ... They set you at ease. They are not like some people trying to sell you something. He looks out for other people and not just himself,” Nissen said.