Maysara Winery 15765 SW Muddy Valley Rd. McMinnville OR 97128 (503) 843-1234 maysara.com 260 ac – 96.000 bt Coin Prize – awarded to wineries whose wines represent excellent value. PEOPLE Moe Momtazi and his wife Flora fled to the US to escape post-revolution Iran in 1982. Fueled by fond memories of his father’s …
Big Basin Vineyards 830 Memory Lane Boulder Creek (831) 621-8028 bigbasinvineyards.com 10 ac – 60,000 bt Bottle Prize – awarded to wineries whose wines represent benchmarks in quality. PEOPLE Bradley Brown had ridden his mountain bike past the historic ranch before it was even on the market. He purchased the overgrown property in …
Bien Nacido & Solomon Hills 2963 Grand Ave. Suite B Los Olivos CA 93441 (805) 691-9913 biennacidoestate.com 650 ac – 590.000 bt Bottle prize – awarded to wineries whose wines represent benchmarks in quality. PEOPLE The Miller family began planting vines in the early 1970’s. Their grapes are highly sought after, as they …
LA CLARINE FARM (SNAIL) 7721 Snowbird Ln. Somerset CA 95684 (530) 306-3608 laclarinefarm.com Perhaps more than any other California grape grower and winemaker, La Clarine Farm has been able to balance the fine line between minimalist intervention in winemaking and the compelling quality of the wine it produces. PEOPLE Since 2001, Hank Beckmeyer and Caroline …
LICHEN ESTATE 11001 County Rd. 151 Boonville CA 95415 (707) 895-7949 lichenestate.com PEOPLE With one winery and an organic foods business under his belt, owner Douglas Stewart launched Lichen after reacquiring the site of his previous winery (the acclaimed Breggo), this time abandoning the négociant model and growing his own grapes. VINEYARDS Stuart planted the …
LAUREL GLEN VINEYARD 969 Carquinez Ave. Glen Ellen CA 95442 (707) 933-9877 laurelglen.com PEOPLE Upon graduating divinity school in the 1970’s, Patrick Campbell made his way out west to join the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center. The Buddhist monastery assigned him a small plot of vines to tend, a task in which he flourished, eventually moving …
AMBYTH ESTATE 510 Sequoia Ln. Templeton CA 93465 (805) 319-6967 ambythestate.com PEOPLE Phillip and Mary Hart came to Paso Robles with the intention to retire, but have since ended up launching a full-blown farming operation. They’ve kept the staff intentionally small, recently welcoming the Hart’s oldest son Gelert and his wife Robyn to the …
VOLKER EISELE FAMILY ESTATE (SNAIL) 3080 Lower Chiles Valley Rd. St. Helena CA 94574 (707) 965-9485 volkereiselefamilyestate.com The Volker Eisele Family Estate is one of the rare family-run small-scale estates in Napa where organic farming practices have always been practiced. Now managed by its second generation, it produces some of the most stunning Cabernet …
CLOS SARON 9269 Collin House Road Oregon House CA 95962 (530) 692-1080 clossaron.com PEOPLE Husband-and-wife team Gideon Beinstock and Saron Rice are the owners of Clos Saron. They live among their vineyards in the northern reaches of the Sierra Foothills. VINEYARDS The heart and soul of Clos Saron is its three-acre “Home Vineyard,” which, though …
LIMERICK LANE (SNAIL) 1023 Limerick Ln. Healdsburg CA 95448 (707) 433-9211 limericklanewines.com As the current generation of a family steeped in the traditions and history of California viticulture, Jake Bilbro represents both the future and past of California wine. His forward-leaning approach to farming and winemaking has delivered some of the best wine of …