(NVR) - Beckstoffer Vineyards and Salvestrin Wine Company are suing a Walnut Creek company over the use of the name of a historic vineyard in St. Helena, according to a federal complaint.

The plaintiffs allege Natural Selection 357 LLC wants to co-opt the name and legacy of the historic Crane vineyards, according to the complaint filed in San Francisco. The plaintiffs are suing Natural Selection, alleging unfair competition and trademark infringement, according to the complaint.

Both Beckstoffer and Salvestrin are longtime owners of portions of the vineyard Napa Valley pioneer Dr. George Belden Crane originally planted in 1858.

The Salvestrin family purchased a portion of the historic Crane ranch and vineyard from Dr. George Crane’s heirs in 1932. It now owns 18.7 acres, according to a representative. Beckstoffer Vineyards, which farms about 1,000 acres in Napa County, bought 25 acres of Crane vineyards in 1997, according to the company’s website.

Natural Selection 357 LLC, whose partnership produces wine under the brand “G.B. Crane,” purchased 8 acres of Crane vineyard two years ago, according to its website.

The “G.B. Crane” wine, the plaintiffs assert in the complaint, is sold at the same establishments as the wines produced by Salvestrin Wine Co. and the vintners who buy Crane grapes from Beckstoffer Vineyards, the biggest grapegrower in Napa County.

“Defendant has launched a wine brand under the G.B. Crane name, thus attempting to co-opt for itself the Crane vineyard legacy and create confusion among consumers surrounding the prior and decades-long association of the historic Crane heritage vineyard site with each Plaintiff,” according to the complaint filed in federal court in San Francisco in December.

The plaintiffs also allege Natural Selection has been selling wines made from grapes that are not grown on the historic vineyard, according to the complaint.

Daniel Reidy, an attorney in St. Helena who represents Natural Selection, has filed a trademark application on behalf of Natural Selection for G.B. Crane with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. The matter is proceeding. Both Salvestrin and Beckstoffer filed letters of opposition with federal officials.

Reidy declined to comment this week on the Beckstoffer and Salvestrin federal lawsuit, which seeks unspecified monetary damages. “We have yet to be served,” he said Wednesday.

The plaintiffs seek an order requiring Natural Selection to abandon its trademark application, as well as attorney fees and other relief, according to the complaint.