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Savoy Vineyard was planted by Richard Savoy in 1991 on 44 southwest-facing acres in the Anderson Valley, northwest of the town of Philo. The site sits at the base of the hills at the valley’s cooler end, protected on two sides — by the hills behind it and a small rise toward Philo to the…

Carlisle Vineyard was planted in 1927 by Alcide Pelletti on the eastern bench of the Laguna de Santa Rosa flood plain. It sits at the center of what is arguably the most significant concentration of old-vine Russian River Valley Zinfandel in existence — ground farmed by Italian immigrant families with names like Pelletti, Frati, Bacigalupi,…

Hamilton Crabb first planted To Kalon in 1868. More than 150 years later, it remains one of the Napa Valley’s most sought-after sources for Cabernet Sauvignon — a vineyard that has produced benchmark wine across ownership changes, replanting cycles, and generations of winemakers. Beaulieu Vineyard held it for decades before selling to Beckstoffer in 1993.…

The land that is now Beckstoffer Missouri Hopper Vineyard has been producing something since the 1870s — first wine grapes, prunes, and walnuts under Charles Hopper, who purchased the property and passed it to his daughter Missouri in 1877, and later as part of the historic Vine Hill Ranch under the Kelham family, who held…

Fanucchi-Wood Road Vineyard was planted in 1890 — old-vine Zinfandel dry-farmed in sandy loam soil near the town of Fulton in the Russian River Valley. These vines have been here for over 130 years. They have outlasted Prohibition, phylloxera scares, and every trend that has moved through California wine in the decades since. The Fanucchi…

Belloni Vineyard was planted around 1900 on Wood Road in Fulton, in the heart of the Russian River Valley. It is a classic California field blend — predominantly Zinfandel, interplanted with Petite Sirah, Carignane, Alicante Bouschet, Mataro, and other varieties that have shared the same rows for over a century. The original parcel was part…

Vista Verde Vineyard sits in San Benito County, on the rolling hills of a former cattle ranch outside the town of Hollister. It is east of Monterey County, on the far side of the Gavilan Mountains, in a part of California that does not always get the attention it deserves. San Benito County’s maze of…

Three Sisters Vineyard takes its name from the three daughters of George Charles — Carolyn (the eldest) and her two sisters — who would meet at this site under the redwoods, sitting in three plastic chairs, sharing a drink of their father’s preferred Johnnie Walker and occasionally a cigar, holding what they called a board…

Martaella Vineyard occupies 42 planted acres of a 58-acre knoll in the Laguna de Santa Rosa, in the heart of the Russian River Valley. Mount Saint Helena rises to the east. Fog from the Pacific drifts in from the west. Wild turkeys, jackrabbits, and hawks work the surrounding land. The soils are a mix of…

Beckstoffer Georges III is one of Napa Valley’s most storied pieces of ground. The vineyard’s history runs back to 1895, when a portion was first planted by Mrs. Thomas Rutherford. In 1928, Beaulieu founder Georges de Latour purchased the 300-acre parcel and designated it Beaulieu Vineyard #3 — the source for BV’s Rutherford Cabernets under…

Weir Vineyard sits in the Yorkville Highlands of Mendocino County, 16 acres of Pinot Noir on an ancient, rocky hillside that climbs from 850 to 1,000 feet. The soils are gravelly and brittle — old rock that stresses the vines and concentrates their energy. The Pacific Coast is close enough to deliver the cool climate…

Charles and Diana Karren searched more than 100 sites in Napa and Sonoma before finding their 53-acre ranch overlooking the town of Petaluma. They were looking for specific things: the right soil profile, fresh water, southwest-facing hills for sun exposure, and access to the wind and fog of the Petaluma Gap. They found all of…

Rochioli grapes have been part of Williams Selyem since 1980 — as foundational a relationship as exists in the winery’s history, and one of the reasons Russian River Valley Pinot Noir is taken seriously anywhere in the world. Joe Rochioli Sr. began acquiring his 162 acres in 1938, farming land he had already known for…

Precious Mountain Vineyard takes its name from its owners — Schatzberg translates from German as “precious mountain” — and the name fits. Donnie and Linden Schatzberg homesteaded 40 acres on a ridge top in 1970 and have been farming it ever since. They have been growing Pinot Noir for Williams Selyem since 1996. Donnie graduated…

Charley Papera planted this vineyard in 1934, the year after Prohibition ended — a fitting expression of optimism after thirteen years of waiting. He planted old-vine Zinfandel, head-trained and dry-farmed on the eastern side of the Laguna de Santa Rosa in the Russian River Valley. Most of his original planting is still in the ground.…

In 1973, Vincent and Ida Pellegrini converted a 70-acre apple and plum orchard on West Olivet Road in Santa Rosa into one of the first Pinot Noir estates in the Russian River Valley. The foresight it took to plant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on that ground at that moment — before the Russian River Valley…

Burt Williams began Williams Selyem winery in a garage in Forestville in 1981 and followed that legacy with growing grapes at Mountain Dew Ranch Vineyard in the Anderson Valley. After selling Williams Selyem to John and Kathe Dyson in 1998, Burt purchased the 40-acre ranch in Anderson Valley, just north of Philo, and immediately planted…

David Hirsch planted his vineyard beginning in 1980 on a ridge overlooking the Pacific at Fort Ross on the extreme Sonoma Coast — 1,400 feet of elevation, three miles from the ocean, uplifted seabed soils with gravelly loam and varying degrees of clay. He started with some Riesling. Then a mentor told him: “If you…

Heintz Ranch has been in the same family for more than a century. Charlie Heintz’s grandparents purchased the land in 1912, farming chickens, berries, cherries, apples, and other vegetables through the early decades. In 1980 the vineyard was planted to Clone 4 Chardonnay. Charlie took over farming in 1984, following his father’s lead, and has…

Foss Vineyard sits above Eastside Road in the Middle Reach of the Russian River Valley, on a site that was once a farm for hops, Herefords, and a particular breed of Sicilian miniature donkeys. Bill Foss found this ground after nearly 15 years of searching for the right place. He purchased it in 2005 and…

Ferrington Vineyard was originally planted in the 1970s by Dr. Ferrington, a Santa Rosa dermatologist who recognized something in the cool Anderson Valley air that most of his contemporaries were still figuring out. Kurt Schoeneman purchased the property in 1996, and expanded and deepened what was already a serious Pinot Noir site. The Schoeneman family…

Cohn Vineyard is one of the few heritage vineyards still standing in Sonoma County, initially planted in 1970. Hemmed in by forest, with sweeping views across the Russian River Valley, it is a site defined by its soil — ruddy, iron-rich “Terra Rossa” with a top layer of quartz and old riverbed stones that drain…

Coastlands Vineyard sits on a ridge in Occidental, roughly six acres of Pinot Noir at an elevation of 1,000 feet, a few miles from the Bodega Coast. The Pacific is close enough to feel. Fog moves in and out on its own schedule, and the growing season runs long and cool — conditions that push…

Don and Patsy Calegari purchased their 40-acre parcel on Eastside Road in 1977, in the heart of the Russian River Valley. Don grew up making wine and stomping grapes with his grandfather — the instinct never left him. In 1980, they planted two rows of Zinfandel and started making wine in the horse barn. They…

Bucher Vineyard sits on land the Bucher family has owned since 1958, when Joe and Annemarie Bucher arrived from Switzerland and put down roots in Healdsburg. The vineyard is farmed across three distinct blocks — Frost Hill, North Pyramid, and Saddle Block — each contributing its own character to the Pinot Noir Williams Selyem sources…

The Bacigalupi family has been farming in the Russian River Valley for more than seven decades. The vineyard is divided into four parcels — Williams Selyem sources Zinfandel from the Frost 3B block and Pinot Noir from SE Block G#8. The vines are trained high, up to four feet from the ground to the fruit,…

Allen Vineyard sits on Westside Road in the Russian River Valley, planted across seven blocks — three devoted to Pinot Noir (North Hill, South Hill, and West Hill) and four to Chardonnay. The site is close neighbors with Rochioli Vineyard, which tells you something about the ground beneath it. Howard Allen didn’t arrive here by…