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 …
RADIO COTEAU 2040 Barlow Ln. Sebastopol CA 95472 (707) 823-2578 radiocoteau.com PEOPLE Winegrower Eric Sussman studied agriculture at Cornell University before heading off to France to work at various wineries in Bordeaux and Burgundy. A dedication to cool climate coastal vineyards drew him to the area of Occidental, not far from the Pacific Ocean. …
VERDAD 2963 Grand Ave. Los Olivos CA 93441 (805) 686-4200 verdadwine.com PEOPLE Despite its historic association with and climatic similarity to Spain, California hadn’t had a serious foray into Spanish grape growing or wines made thereof until 2000 when Louisa Sawyer Lindquist released her first vintage under the Verdad label. Much like her husband did …
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 …
BECKMEN VINEYARDS 2670 Ontiveros Rd. Los Olivos CA 93441 (805) 688-8664 beckmenvineyards.com Tom and Judy Beckmen and their son Steve, the winemaker, purchased their 40-acre estate in Santa Ynez in 1994 when the Santa Barbara County winemaking community was still in its youth. They have been growing the grapes and managing the vineyards there since …
RIDGE VINEYARDS (BOTTLE) 17100 Montebello Rd. Cupertino CA 95014 (408) 867-3233 ridgewine.com PEOPLE Osea Perrone, a doctor from San Francisco, first purchased the Monte Bello Ridge property in 1885 and the first Monte Bello wine was produced in 1892. 70 years later, four friends and Stanford researchers founded Ridge Vineyards bottling their first Zinfandel …
COBB WINES (BOTTLE) 18100 Fitzpatrick Ln. Occidental CA 95465 (707) 874-1962 cobbwines.com PEOPLE Ross Cobb studied Agro Ecology and Sustainable Agriculture at University of California Santa Cruz with an emphasis on living soil, thus paving the way for a lifetime dedicated to maintaining soil health and integrity. Prior to 2016, Ross worked for a number …
HANDLEY CELLARS (COIN) 3151 Hwy. 128 Philo CA 95466 (800) 733-3151 handleycellars.com PEOPLE Founder Milla Handley is an Anderson Valley original, having first come to this remote Mendocino County region in 1978, when it was still a bit of a viticultural backwater. Located at the northwestern end of the valley on the site …
CAMPOVIDA 13601 Old River Rd. Hopland CA 95449 (707) 400-6300 campovida.com PEOPLE In 2010 Gary Breen and Anna Beuselinck purchased an abandoned 50-acre property that once served as an educational culinary center for Fetzer. They chose the property for its bucolic setting, the six-acre garden, and the 2,000 species of plants. But they ended …
BIG BASIN VINEYARDS 14598 Big Basin Way, Suite B. Saratoga CA 95070 (408) 564-7346 bigbasinvineyards.com PEOPLE Bradley Brown enjoyed a rare American upbringing that welcomed wine to the table rather than shunned it. He expanded on this interest as many do, by drinking and traveling, but it wasn’t until had been working in Silicon Valley …