The Wehners became part of San Jose's large German community, coming here from Chicago. He had been listed as a farmer when he entered the United States in 1860, from Hanover Germany. Mr. Wehner made his fortune prior to moving west as a talented artist with a keen business sense. William Wehner had the vision and financial resources to recreate a vast wine growing estate. Working with his brother Earnest, over 3000 acres were planted. He was a leader in the development of the wine industry in California.

By 1915 the aging Wehner sold a large portion of the estate to the Albert Haentze, another experienced German winemaker and businessman from Chicago. Renaming the winery Rancho Villa Vista, Haentze succeeded as leader of the Santa Clara Valley grape growers, but fought a loosing battle with the forces of prohibition, which closed most of the wineries in 1918. When prohibition was lifted in 1933, the estate came under the control of the Cribari family who maintained the winery on site until 1959 when the land passed through the hands of several would-be developers. Eventually, it became the site for the Villages.

The mansion, the summer kitchen, the garden house, along with the 1890 hillside winery building comprised the original Lomas Azules Estate. A larger winery building was added in 1908, and was still functional in the mid 1970's, being then used by the nearby Mirassou Winery to cellar wines. All winery buildings along with the adjacent barns were destroyed in 1994 under pressure from the Villages community.