Craig Hall - Owner and Vintner

Craig Hall is Chairman and Founder of Dallas-based Hall Financial Group, and is creating a premier vineyard and winery company in the Napa Valley area along with his wife Kathryn.  A life-long entrepreneur and investor, today his professional interests include real estate, venture capital, technology, and hotels in the U.S. and Europe, in addition to the vineyard and winery business. Craig is the author of five books, the most recent is titled Timing the Real Estate Market: The Secrets to Buying Low and Selling High.

An avid, lifelong art collector, Craig Hall’s collection includes contemporary art from former communist Central and Eastern European countries. A portion of his collection was loaned to the Jeu de Paume museum in Paris as part of an exhibition on Central and Eastern European art. He also recently developed and assembled the Texas Sculpture Garden, featuring 40 sculptures by living Texas artists, the largest grouping of its kind open to the public.

Previously, Craig was a part owner of the Dallas Cowboys, formed one of the first stock savings and loans in Michigan, founded one of the first for-profit HMOs in the country, and participated, along with Time, Inc., in growing the nation’s largest chain of health and sports clubs. 

Craig actively supports new entrepreneurs and often speaks publicly about the importance of encouraging entrepreneurship worldwide. He and his wife Kathryn Hall, former Ambassador to Austria, funded the Fulbright – Kathryn and Craig Hall Distinguished Chair for Entrepreneurship to teach entrepreneurship in Eastern Europe.

While living in Vienna from 1997 to 2001, Craig served on the board of the Fulbright Austrian-American Educational Commission. Additionally, he was a consultant to the United States State Department and became one of the first Americans to obtain a degree in International Studies from the Diplomatic Academy, Vienna. He also served as Director and Chair of the Investment Committee for the American University in Bulgaria.


Kathryn Walt Hall - Vintner

Kathryn Walt Hall is the proprietor of Kathryn Hall Vineyards and has been involved in the California wine industry since her family first purchased a vineyard more than 30 years ago. She has had a distinguished career as a successful businesswoman, community activist, and most recently as the United States Ambassador to Austria.

Kathryn Hall and her family have been grape growers in Mendocino County since 1972. The Walts own 63 acres of varietals in the Redwood Valley, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Gamay, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sauvignon Blanc, and have sold their grapes to wineries such as Fetzer, Parducci, and Beringer. Kathryn managed the family vineyard from 1982 to 1992. During this time she produced Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon under the Walt Vineyards label. Continuing her family tradition, she maintains a strong emotional attachment to vineyards, wine and the wine country.

Kathryn began her public career as Assistant City Attorney in Berkeley, California. She later joined Safeway Inc., where she was responsible for developing and administering one of the nation’s first and largest affirmative action programs. Subsequently, she worked as an attorney and businesswoman in Dallas, Texas, where she was president of an inner city development company and partner in Hall Financial Group, Inc.

Long committed to social issues, Kathryn has served on numerous non-profit and institutional boards, addressing issues related to social care and mental health. She co-founded the North Texas Food Bank, served on the U.S. House of Representatives Hunger Advisory Committee, and was the Director/Vice President of the Texas Mental Health Association. Kathryn has served on the National Advisory Council for Violence Against Women and as a trustee of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

From 1997 to July 2001, Kathryn served as the United States Ambassador to Austria. During her term as Ambassador, she worked hard to promote American wine in Austria and Europe. Since her return to America, she has resumed her role as proprietor of Kathryn Hall Vineyards. Building upon her experience promoting American agriculture in Austria, in September 2001 she was appointed to the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC) for international trade.

Kathryn earned an A.B. in Economics from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. from the University of California Hastings College of Law. She is married to Craig Hall and the mother of two children. She speaks French and German.