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Bob Mullen, founder of Woodside Vineyards, celebrated his 99th birthday on Feb. 12, 2025, surrounded by friends and family from across the country. The secret to living a long healthy life is: “A bottle of chardonnay a day,” he said.
Born in 1926, Mullen grew up in the Midwest, moving frequently across states including Illinois, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania while his father relocated for work. In his 20s, Mullen was transferred from Chicago to San Francisco to work as a regional manager for Armstrong World Industries, a ceiling manufacturing business.
Despite his current status as a wine connoisseur, Mullen said he hadn’t had a proper glass of wine until he moved to California in the 1950s. That first sip came at the age of 28 during a work dinner at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco.
A bottle of Charles Krug Grey Riesling sparked his love for wine. It was the first time he drank the right wine paired with the right food and upon his first sip, he thought “Damn, this is good.”
On the way home, he went to the liquor store and bought a bottle of the same wine.
Beginning a life on the vineyards
Mullen moved to Woodside in 1954 and lived in town for 50 years. His first home was on Martin Lane, where he made his first batch of wine in his garage. The grapes were picked off of a vineyard on Kings Mountain Road that was up for sale. The owners of the property weren’t interested in picking grapes that year and gave him permission to take what he wanted.
“I got my wife and two other ladies and we picked all the grapes that we could pick in three or four hours, crushed the grapes in a garage down on Martin Lane and made eight five gallon carboys of wine,” Mullen said. “We still have a couple of bottles of it left.”
A couple years later, Mullen purchased the three-acre vineyard on Kings Mountain Road for $28,000.
During his years on Martin Lane, Mullen became partners with Bob and Beverly Groetzinger, a local family who made wine at the century-old La Questa Vineyards. In 1970, the Groetzingers moved to Europe and Mullen bought their share of the business, starting what is now Woodside Vineyards.
“We call it Woodside Vineyards, plural, because we have 20 different vineyards around Woodside and Portola Valley,” said Mullen. “We grow grapes in backyards or side yards. The biggest vineyard we have is one acre and the smallest has 101 vines.”
Most of the grapes that are used to make Woodside Vineyard’s La Questa wines are from the original vines that were planted in 1884, he added.
Making wine started as a hobby for Mullen but over decades of success, the winery has grown to become the oldest continuously operated winery in San Mateo County. It produces chardonnay, pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon and zinfandel.
At 99 years old, Mullen still dedicates his time to the winery, working three to four hours a day.
Woodside Village Church and History Committee
Mullen was also a pioneering member of the Woodside Village Church committee that pushed to build a new sanctuary when it was in desperate need of an expansion.
Decades ago, the old historic chapel held about 80 people, Mullen said.
“By the time I joined (the church), we were having two services to accommodate all the people,” he added. “Then a couple years later, it took three services at 8 o’clock, 9:30 and 11 o’clock and we really needed to have more space.”
Although church membership was booming 30 years ago, Mullen said the congregation has changed drastically with the town.
“We used to have as many as 200 people in a new sanctuary. Now they have about 35,” he said.
He still contributes to the church through donations and watches Sunday service on Zoom when he can.
Mullen was also one of the founding members of the Woodside History Committee and was asked to join by some local ladies who were looking to add a man to the group. He was there to witness the official adoption of the committee into the town in the 1990s.
When asked what he did for the history committee, Mullen’s response was “I grew old.”
Mullen is featured in a photo in the book, “Woodside,” which is part of Arcadia Publishing’s Images of America series. The book was written by history committee members Thalia Lubin and Bob Dougherty and published in 2011.
“You know you’re getting old when you get your picture in a history book,” he joked.
Mullen currently resides in Menlo Park, but his love for Woodside shines through the dedication he has shown to local wine making, faith and preservation of town history.
Currently, the Woodside Community Museum has an exhibit about the history of wine in Woodside, which Mullen helped curate. It features bottles of Woodside and La Questa Vineyard wine as well as a wine press.
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I wish the museum was wheelchair accessible.