After serving briefly as an assistant to the General Counsel for the Kellogg Company in Battle Creek, Fred accepted an offer to work with Joseph Alioto and his San Francisco law firm in 1965. Within a year, Fred founded his own law firm. Internationally recognized, The Furth Firm specializes in complex business litigation. Fred is a preeminent antitrust litigator, focused on class action and other plaintiff's cases. He was recently nominated to the Judicial Congress (RHI). He serves on the Boards of Directors of Robert Half International, the National WWII (D-Day) Museum, and the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES).
He began his venture into viticulture and winemaking in the 1970s. Having trained to fly while in the Army, Fred rented an airplane from the Santa Rosa Air Center and began scouting for land, first over Napa Valley, then over Sonoma County. He spotted a hilly, rugged area in Sonoma County that appealed to him and, in 1972 he purchased the land - 242 acres, the founding parcel of the Chalk Hill Estate. Through the years, he has added to the estate, reassembling the original ranch holdings of the pioneer founder, Sarah Rich Latimer.
Inspired by his memory of hillside vineyards in Germany and his determination to preserve the natural contours of the land, Fred pioneered vertical planting on the slopes of Chalk Hill in 1974. "I try to do what is right, even if uncommon," says Fred. "Owning the land is much more than technical legal title. You own the land when you work the land. I want to live with nature, not opposed to it. I want to know every bump, stump, pothole, waterhole and slope on the ranch."
