Laurent's first winery was an insignificant wooden structure, which he replaced with a 6000 square foot stone winery in 1879 to meet the demands of his growing winery production. Laurent was one of the top-ten wine producers in Napa County. In 1890, Laurent died at the young age of 53 and over the next 87 years the Laurent winery changed ownership many times.

Bruce Markham arrived in the Napa Valley almost 100 years after Laurent, also looking to start a winery. Markham bought the Yountville vineyard in 1975, the Calistoga vineyard in 1976, the old Laurent Winery in 1977 and the Oak Knoll vineyard in 1978. With almost 225 planted acres and a winery, Bruce Markham founded Markham Vineyards in 1978 and the old Laurent Winery was reborn.

Markham focused on Cabernet Sauvignon in its early days and introduced the Markham Merlot with the 1980 vintage. From 1978 to 1988 the winery's production increased from 3,500 cases to 20,000 cases. The wine quality and praise from wine critics and consumers increased as well.

In 1988, the old Laurent Winery once again rose like a phoenix to take on another new life. The winery was sold to Mercian Corporation and began an ambitious four-year, multi-million dollar renovation, expansion and vineyard-replanting program. These efforts would more than double the capacity and make Markham one of the most advanced, stunning winemaking facilities in the country. Even through the dust of the renovation, Markham was able to produce three of the number-one rated wines from California, as judged by Wine Spectator magazine.