Nancy Johnston was born and raised in Napa. She grew up in a large, boisterous family with two sisters and three brothers. The family lived in a small house on Soda Canyon Road that overlooked the 20 acres on the Silverado Trail that her grandmother owned. Even after the turkey farm ceased to exist, her grandmother raised chickens, and Nancy remembers collecting eggs from the brooder houses that dotted the property. Although her family didn’t have a lot of money, Nancy had a traditional American upbringing, playing with her siblings and the neighbors, having pool parties, and when she was older, working as a lifeguard. Nancy was bright and studious, and she was admitted to the University of California, Davis, with a scholarship and work-study assistance.

It was at UC Davis that she met Yeoryios Apallas, whose upbringing had been decidedly different than hers. He was born in a small village in Greece, where he lived with his parents and his younger sister. The family lived in a one-room house with dirt floors and Yeoryios worked as a shepherd. When Yeoryios was 12, his parents decided to seek better opportunities in America. His father went ahead to California to earn money, and Yeoryios, his mother, and his sister soon followed him across the Atlantic on a ship called the SS Olympia

In California, Yeoryios’ father worked as a janitor and his mother worked as a maid in a hotel. Yeoryios learned English by watching the television in the hotel lobby. He later went on to work as a shoeshine boy on the street corners to supplement the family’s meager income. His parents were excellent savers, however, and by the time he was in high school, they had purchased a hamburger stand, which they named “Pallas Palace.”

Like Nancy, Yeoryios excelled in school, although he was frequently teased and ridiculed as one of the few white students at the primarily black Manual Arts High School in South Central Los Angeles. He earned a full scholarship to Pomona College, where he studied economics. Then, one of his professors suggested he apply to the new law school at UC Davis.

Nancy worked in the student bookstore at UC Davis, and Yeoryios would frequently come in with his friends. The pretty young co-ed caught his eye, and after much horsing around, he finally got up the nerve to ask her out. Their first date was at the local Baskin-Robbins. Although it wouldn’t seem that the two had much in common, they hit it off. And in fact, both came from families without much money, and both were the first in their families to attend college upon graduating from high school.

Yeoryios finished his law degree and went to work at the state attorney general’s office in Los Angeles. When Nancy finished her studies, the two were wed.

Now, 35 years and three children later, Nancy is thrilled to return to Napa to live on the property that she once played on as a little girl. And Yeoryios is thrilled to return to his agrarian roots. The land means so much to both of them, and they are eager to share the results of this small, family-owned vineyard.