“Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery has one of the most spectacular estates in the U.S.”
—Hemispheres Magazine
A Sense of Place
Our approach to winemaking is simple. It is the vineyard that’s complex. We place our effort in farming and working with this exceptional vineyard site. Winemaking is gentle and with utmost respect for the vineyard and nature. With over thirty vineyard blocks, we study, harvest, and ferment each block individually. All wines are made with native yeast and careful balance of extraction, oak and aging so as to preserve the utmost character of the vineyard.
Gentle Winemaking
Winemaker, Jeff Pisoni, and Owners Lester and Linda work closely together, repeatedly walking the vineyard, carefully tasting the grapes from each block. During the cool morning hours, each block is hand-picked into small trays, sometimes with several passes through a single block to ensure ideal fruit ripeness and acid balance. Grapes are hand-sorted, destemmed, cold-soaked for several days then fermented in simple open-top fermenters and manually punched down. Shortly after pressing, the wines are aged in a combination of new and neutral French oak barrels.
Estate-farmed Pinot Noir & Chardonnay
At the core of our farming is Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Over decades of growing these varieties in California have continuously reminded people that the Sonoma Coast, and specifically Fort Ross–Seaview, is one of the most premier places to grow these varieties in the state. These bottlings represent the essence of what we do. Cool-climate and slow-ripening wines that are made in a most gentle fashion to retain freshness and character.
Our Pinot Noir and Chardonnays are expressed as blends of various blocks and also expressions of single blocks to truly discover the vineyard site.
Explore the nuances of Fort Ross Vineyard
Rosé, Chenin Blanc, Pinotage and more. Farmers and winemakers like to explore. Linda and Lester Schwartz have a fondness for adventure that found them importing Pinotage cuttings from their native South Africa into UC Davis. This penchant for adventure and discovery brings additional wines from specific blocks that push the boundaries of what is possible in this cold and rugged grape growing region. Delicate Rosé of Pinot Noir, textural Chenin Blanc, powerful Pinotage, and intense balancing act of late-harvest Chardonnay are all grown in unique corners of this vineyard.
Winemaker Jeff Pisoni takes a minimalist approach to keep things pure.Boston Herald
