Cecil O. De Loach Jr. (born September 14, 1938, Montgomery, Alabama) is a California grape-grower and winemaker in the Russian River Valley AVA who has contributed to the reputation and notoriety of Sonoma County viticulture. [1]
Cecil O. De Loach Jr. (born September 14, 1938, Montgomery, Alabama) is a California grape-grower and winemaker in the Russian River Valley AVA who has contributed to the reputation and notoriety of Sonoma County viticulture. [1]
Prior to his name-making career in viniculture, De Loach was a United States Marine Corps sharpshooter, a race-track photographer at Golden Gate Fields, a private pilot, and received a degree in Anthropology from San Francisco State University. During his childhood he was raised in Macon, GA where he attended Lanier High School, an all-boys military school. His family subsequently moved to San Francisco in 1945. [2] He graduated from Lincoln High School in San Francisco's Sunset District in 1956.
De Loach began growing grapes in 1970 when he purchased the 24-acre Barbieri Ranch at 2150 Olivet Road in Santa Rosa, CA for approximately $60,000. The Barbieri Ranch had been planted by Itilo Barbieri in 1905. De Loach purchased the old Zinfandel vineyard from Itilo's son Louis. [3]
In 1973 he purchased his second vineyard property, 17 acres located at 1791 Olivet Road, to which he planted Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Gewurztraminer. The site also comprised approximately five acres of 1940s-era mixed-grape vineyards (mostly Palomino and Golden Chasselas), an orchard of approximately 5 acres (Gravenstein apples, figs, Santa Rosa plums, peaches, French prunes, pears, walnuts), and a small sheep-shearing barn. This site became what is now De Loach Vineyards.
These early De Loach plantings combined modern ecologically sound techniques with existing local farming methods including the planting of tilth- and nutrient-producing native cover crops, rotating-row tillage, drip irrigation, micro-frost protection, permanent cover farming, and the integration of beneficial birds, animals and biological components which eventually became known as sustainable farming. De Loach's wife Christine helped draft the first California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing in 1999. De Loach Vineyards was the first farming operation in Sonoma County to be certified by Fish Friendly Farming, in 2000.
In 1975 De Loach made his first commercial wine, approximately 1000 cases of Zinfandel from the Barbieri Ranch, in a rented industrial space on the west side of Santa Rosa. While selling this wine he sought permits for a permanent winery to be built at his new vineyard on Olivet Road. The first phase of the three-phase construction was completed in 1979. In addition to Zinfandel, that year the winery produced its first Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Gewurztraminer, White-Zinfandel and Pinot noir-blanc.
De Loach had been serving as a firefighter and tillerman in the San Francisco Fire Department, which he joined in 1966. He retired from the hook & ladder company Station 10 in 1982 in order to tend to the fledgling De Loach Vineyards brand full-time. The winery grew to produce other varietals including Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon blanc (Fume Blanc), Merlot, Pinot gris, Viognier, and Sangiovese, along with late harvest and reserve wines. In 1996 De Loach added a 250,000 case capacity crush facility at 2120 Olivet Road which was capable of processing in excess of 100 tons of grapes per day. Notable De Loach alumni winemakers include Bob Cabral of Three Sticks and Randy Ullom of Kendall-Jackson Winery.
During his tenure as Founder, President and Winemaster at De Loach Vineyards, De Loach served as president of the Sonoma County Wineries Association, now Sonoma County Vintners the Sonoma County Vintners Coop, and the Russian River Wine Road, now simply Wine Road. He created his eponymous De Loach Vineyards brand along with several other labels still in production including Hartman Lane Vineyards and Winery, Sonoma Cuvee, and Hook & Ladder, which was originally a port offering under De Loach's "OFS" (Our Finest Selection) reserve banner in the 1990s.
At its peak De Loach Vineyards produced 250,000 cases, and owned or leased over 1000 planted vineyard acres in the Russian River Valley. Notable single vineyards included Papera Ranch, Pelletti Ranch, Gambogi Ranch, Saitone Ranch and Barbieri Ranch, which were all zinfandel plantings from the late 1800s and early 1900s.
In November 2003 De Loach sold the De Loach Vineyards brand and the original winery site to Boisset Family Estates for $17.5 million just prior to emerging from an 8-month Chapter 11 (protection from creditors) bankruptcy proceeding pending reorganization. [4] [5] Cecil De Loach and his farming company, Sweetwater Land & Cattle Company, retained ownership of the majority of his vineyard holdings. [6] [7]
In December 2004 De Loach started C & C Wine Company, a custom-crush winery with offices at The Saitone Ranch at 2027 Olivet Road, a zinfandel vineyard which was planted in 1895. In the same month De Loach sold the 250,000 case capacity crush facility at 2120 Olivet Road to Derek Benham of Sonoma Wine Company, now Purple Wine + Spirits, for $6.2 million. [8]
In May 2005, Joe Anderson and Mary Dewane purchased Hartman Lane Vineyards and Winery from Cecil De Loach for $3.6 million. Hartman Lane was De Loach's 18-acre Pinot noir vineyard and winery facility, which the new owners renamed Benovia Winery. [9] Prior to De Loach's ownership the site was originally home to celebrated Pinot noir winemaker Merry Edwards' winery The Merry Vintners. Hook & Ladder Winery continues to produce the Hartman Lane Pinot noir label.
Hook & Ladder Winery is a family-owned and operated wine producer located at 2134 Olivet Road (Santa Rosa, CA) in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, CA, founded by Cecil De Loach and his wife Christine, in 2005. [10] [11] [12] The winemaker is Cecil De Loach's grandson Jason De Loach, formerly cellar master at Dutton-Goldfield Winery and Balletto Vineyards. [13] Michael De Loach served as president until October, 2016; prior to Hook & Ladder he was president of De Loach Vineyards. [14] [15] [16] [17]
As an estate producer, Hook & Ladder sustainably grows all of its own grapes, makes all of its own wines, and bottles the wine on its premises. [18] The winery sources its grapes from Sweetwater Land & Cattle Co., a grape farming operation owned by Cecil De Loach, which comprises 375 acres of vineyard in Russian River Valley. [19]
The winery produces blends from a variety of grapes including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet and Carignane. The winery also produces a full range of varietal wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Pinot noir, Sauvignon blanc, Zinfandel and Gewurztraminer. The total annual case production is approximately 25,000 cases. In addition Hook & Ladder produces an extra virgin olive oil from their Los Amigos Ranch in Healdsburg, CA. Hook & Ladder owns four other wine brands: Hartman Lane Vineyards & Winery, Tuscan Ridge, Sweetwater, and Four Rows.
Ridge Vineyards is a California winery specializing in Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, and Chardonnay wines. Ridge produces wine at two winery locations in northern California. The original winery facilities are located at an elevation of 2,300 feet on Monte Bello Ridge in unincorporated Santa Clara County in the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA, south of Los Altos, California and west of Cupertino, California. The other Ridge winery facilities are at Lytton Springs in the Dry Creek Valley AVA of Sonoma County. Ridge Vineyard's 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon gained prominence for its fifth-place finish in the 1976 "Judgment of Paris" wine tasting.
Brown Brothers Milawa Vineyard is a family-owned wine company based in Milawa, Victoria, Australia. Brown Brothers was founded in 1889 by John Francis Brown and continues to be owned and operated by his descendants on the original property. Brown Brothers makes wine from a wide range of grape varieties and into a range of styles.
The state of Oregon in the United States has established an international reputation for its production of wine, ranking fourth in the country behind California, Washington, and New York. Oregon has several different growing regions within the state's borders that are well-suited to the cultivation of grapes; additional regions straddle the border between Oregon and the states of Washington and Idaho. Wine making dates back to pioneer times in the 1840s, with commercial production beginning in the 1960s.
The Duckhorn Portfolio Inc. is an American wine company producing varietal labelled and blended red, white, rosé, and sparkling wines from California and Washington State. The main winery, Duckhorn Vineyards, is outside St. Helena, California.
The Mendocino County wine is an appellation that designates wine made from grapes grown mostly in Mendocino County, California. The region is part of the larger North Coast AVA and one of California's largest and most climatically diverse wine growing regions. Mendocino County is one of the northernmost commercial wine grape regions in the state with two distinct climate zones separated by the Mendocino Range. Ten American Viticultural Areas have been designated within Mendocino County. Mendocino is one of the leading wine growing regions for organically produced wine grapes. Nearly 25% of the acreage in Mendocino County is grown organically. In 2004, the residents of the county voted to become the first GMO-free county in the United States in an initiative that was supported by many of the county's largest wineries. The county's widespread focus on organic viticulture has inspired journalists to describe it as "California's organic wine Mecca".
Sonoma County wine is wine made in Sonoma County, California, in the United States.
The Russian River Valley AVA is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) in Sonoma County, California. Centered on the Russian River, the Russian River Valley AVA accounts for about one-sixth of the total planted vineyard acreage in Sonoma County. The appellation was granted AVA status in 1983 and enlarged in 2005. The area generally lies between Sebastopol and Santa Rosa in the south, and Forestville and Healdsburg in the north. The Russian River Valley has a characteristically cool climate, heavily affected by fog generated by the valley's proximity to the Pacific Ocean. The area is known for its success with cool climate varietals, notably Pinot noir and Chardonnay.
DeLoach Vineyards was started in 1975 by Cecil DeLoach, Christine DeLoach, Berle Beliz and Jack Fleming, and was one of the first wineries established in the Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California after Prohibition.
California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted Vitis vinifera vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. In the 1770s, Spanish missionaries continued the practice under the direction of the Father Junípero Serra who planted California's first vineyard at Mission San Juan Capistrano.
Buena Vista Winery is a winery located in Sonoma, California, United States. It is the second oldest winery in California after the D'Agostini Winery, which was founded a year prior in 1856. It was founded by Agoston Haraszthy in 1857. The winery is located on its original grounds, just east of Sonoma, California.
Foris Vineyards Winery is an American winery located near Cave Junction, Oregon in the Illinois Valley region of the Rogue Valley AVA of Southern Oregon. As one of Oregon's pioneering grape growers, Ted Gerber planted his first vineyard in 1974. For 15 years, Gerber provided fruit to other winemakers, until 1986 when the winery was founded by Ted and Meri Gerber and the Foris label was launched.
Benovia Winery is a family-owned producer of Pinot noir, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel wines in Santa Rosa, California. Founded in 2005 by Joe Anderson and Mary Dewane, Benovia Winery farms three estate vineyards which total 71.67 acres (290,000 m2) and are located in the Russian River Valley AVA and Sonoma Coast AVA in Sonoma County. To supplement the fruit it harvests each year, Benovia purchases additional grapes from two sites farmed by the Martinelli family. Benovia's winemaker, Mike Sullivan, is also co-owner of the winery. Benovia wines are produced and bottled at the winery's winemaking facilities at the Martaella Estate Vineyard in the Russian River Valley AVA. Annual production is approximately 6,000 cases. Benovia wines are sold direct to customers, as well as distributed to restaurants and other retailers for resale.
Cono Sur Vineyards & Winery is a subsidiary of Concha y Toro Winery and is the third largest exporter of bottled wine in Chile. Established in 1993, its name is a reference to its location in the Southern Cone of South America and a play on the word connoisseur. In 2015, it was the official wine of the Tour de France.
Adelaida Vineyards & Winery is a family-owned and operated winery that was named after a 19th-century settlement in the mountains of west Paso Robles, California. Situated at 2,000 feet (610 m) of elevation and 14 miles (23 km) from the Pacific Ocean, the terrain of the Adelaida, California district is marked by ancient calcareous soils, diurnal temperature variations of nearly 50 °F (10 °C), and warm, dry growing seasons. Adelaida Vineyards & Winery produces Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot noir, Syrah, Rhône blends, Zinfandel and other wines from the Paso Robles AVA.
Bianchi Winery is a winery in Paso Robles, California. The property includes the winery, a tasting room and a vineyard house for guest accommodations, all located among the estate vineyards. Bianchi Winery produces approximately 10,000 cases annually.
Twomey Cellars is a California winery. It was established in 1999 by the Duncan Family, who have operated the successful Silver Oak Cellars in California since 1972. The Duncan Family started Twomey Cellars to pursue varietals other than Cabernet Sauvignon. Twomey has three wineries: one in Calistoga in the Napa Valley; one in Healdsburg in the Russian River Valley; one in Philo in Anderson Valley, and produces mainly Pinot noir and Sauvignon blanc. Twomey’s Sauvignon blanc is a blend of Sauvignon blanc grapes from their estate vineyards at their wineries in Napa Valley, Anderson Valley, and Russian River Valley.
Daniel Baron is an American winemaker. He is best known for his work with the Duncan family-owned Silver Oak Cellars and Twomey Cellars, and was Director of Winemaking for both. After his retirement in 2017, he launched Complant Wine with his son, Sam Baron, to produce small production, artisanal, single vineyard wines. Originally a field worker for John Rolleri at Chateau Montelena, he gained experience in the Bordeaux region of France and was mentored by the likes of grape geneticist Professor Harold Olmo, and winemakers Jean-Claude Berrouet and Justin Meyer. He became general manager of Christian Moueix's Dominus Estate in the 1980s. He became winemaker for Silver Oak, an exclusive Cabernet Sauvignon producer, in 1994, and was trained by Justin Meyer to follow in his footsteps as Silver Oak's winemaker before Meyer’s retirement in 2001. In 1999, Baron was instrumental in persuading the Duncans to establish Twomey to pursue Merlot, Pinot noir, and Sauvignon blanc after discovering high quality Merlot grapes on Silver Oak’s Soda Canyon Ranch Vineyard. He has served on boards such as the American Society of Enology and Viticulture and the Napa Valley Wine Technical Group.
Baldacci Family Vineyards is a family-owned winery located in the Stags Leap District AVA of Napa Valley. Established in 1998, Baldacci Family Vineyards owns over 50 acres of sustainably-farmed vines in three distinct Napa Valley appellations: Stags Leap District, Calistoga, and Los Carneros. The wine portfolio is focused on limited-production, estate-grown wines.
Lone Buffalo Vineyards is a winery in Auburn, California in the United States.
Kenwood Vineyards is a winery in Kenwood, California, located on Highway 12 in the Sonoma Valley wine country. It is currently owned by Pernod Ricard Winemakers.