Rich Frank’s love of wine, particularly Bordeaux and Italian wines, first stemmed from his extensive travel via his global career as the former President of Disney Studios. He discovered his love for the Napa Valley in the1980s, and soon after purchased a home with a vineyard in the heart of Rutherford. The purchase catalyzed Rich’s “second career” as owner of one of Napa’s most beloved wineries: Frank Family Vineyards.

Rich founded Frank Family Vineyards in 1992 and is actively involved in all aspects of the winery – from vineyard purchases to sales and marketing to hosting VIP groups at the beloved tasting room on Larkmead Lane. His passion for the Napa Valley and Frank Family Vineyards underscores a wildly successful long-term career in Hollywood. He was Chairman of Walt Disney Television and Telecommunications and headed Disney’s syndication arm, Buena Vista. He was then President of Walt Disney Studios for nearly a decade and oversaw the development of the Disney Channel. Prior to his tenure at Disney, Rich was president of the Paramount Television Group, President of Chris Craft Television, one of the founders of the USA Network, and also served on their board. Under Frank’s leadership, television and movie properties such as Cheers, Taxi, Family Ties, Shotgun, Winds of War, Entertainment Tonight, Golden Girls, Home Improvement, Ellen, Regisand Kathy Lee, Dead Poet’s Society, Good Morning Vietnam, Pretty Woman, Father of the Bride, Aladdin, and The Lion King achieved phenomenal success. Rich graduated from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana, before moving to Los Angeles to work advertising with KTLA and KCOP.

Rich was President of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for an unprecedented six years, a board member of the MPAA for eight years and is currently Vice Chairman and Executive Board Member of the American Film Institute. In 2011, he received an Honorary Doctorate degree from the American Film Institute (AFI), along with Helen Mirren and Spike Lee. He is a recipient of the Television Academy’s Syd Cassy Founders Award, only the eighth time the Academy bestowed this prestigious honor.

Never one to rest his laurels, the former adman turned Hollywood film and TV exec stepped into his role as Napa Valley vintner with ease. Rich now lives in Napa Valley full-time with his wife, Leslie, an Emmy award-winning news journalist. The two can be found socializing with guests in the tasting room.