Sonoma County vineyards named among 150 to visit before you die

Editor’s note: The 11th annual North Coast Wine Challenge happens this week with 32 judges tasting roughly 1,000 wines, all made in the North Bay. The contest attracts many high-caliber wines, from Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino, Marin and Lake counties and parts of Solano County. To celebrate the vibrancy of Sonoma County’s wine industry, we’re publishing stories on diverse aspects of wine, from where and how you can learn about wine to how winemakers and grape growers are dealing with climate change. And, of course, we’ll have the results of the North Coast Wine Challenge in The Press Democrat and pressdemocrat.com this week. We thank Sonoma-Cutrer for supporting our efforts.

One of California’s oldest pinot noir vineyards sits on Santa Rosa’s van der Kamp Vineyard — a tiny 25-acre vineyard on the north-face bench of Sonoma Mountain.

Indigenous tribes believe the world began right on top of that mountain.

Whether that’s true or not, one thing is for certain — great wine begins there.

For those reasons, the Santa Rosa vineyard is among over 100 featured in “150 Vineyards You Need to Visit Before You Die,” published in December 2022, by Shana Clarke.

Among other Sonoma County vineyards that made it into the book for their uniqueness-factor were Hirsch Vineyards in Healdsburg, Jordan Vineyard and Winery in Healdsburg, and Sonoma’s Bedrock Vineyard and Bedrock Wine Co.

“It was a surprise, you know, we don’t get off the mountain often,” said Malia van der Kamp, 32, the vineyard’s winemaker who was born and raised on the land. “At times we’re out of touch with the outside world, so it’s always a surprise when people hear about us and appreciate what we’re doing.”

When a publisher asked Clarke in 2022 to author the book, she started her search for vineyards, some in Africa and Japan, that represent the wine world today and those that have laid the groundwork for various regions, she said.

To put it simply: Interesting and unique vineyards that inspire one to travel.

“I want people to travel, I want people to love wine, and I hope the book can fuel a reader’s passion in a deeper way or spark that fire,” said Clarke, a freelance journalist and author based in New York City.

Multi-generations stewarding land

Family-owned and operated van der Kamp Vineyard was spotlighted for having one of California’s oldest pinot noir vines and producing the hard-to-find Pinot Meunier.

Their vines, some of which are from the early 1950s, sit at 1,500 feet, where they are met with thick fog from opposite sides of the vineyard and “battle each other,” as Malia’s father, Martin Van der Kamp, says, for a taste of sunlight — weather conditions perfect for pinot noir.

They produce rare pinot meunier and chardonnay for still and sparkling wines, which are made by Malia, who owns and operates her own wine brand. She does it all while raising her 10-month old baby, Inanna, on the vineyard.

“I remember running through the vines as a kid and staying home from school to help pick grapes,” said Malia, the youngest of six kids. “Now my daughter gets to run through the vines.”

The land, once used for trading and a sacred meeting spot for Indigenous tribes, Malia said, is used for tribal ceremonies now. And the vineyard is riddled with history — they’ve found several Native artifacts in the area including arrowheads and pistols.

“It’s truly a magical, spiritual piece of land,” Malia said. “The area has a bit more character.”

Malia’s father, who was raised in Napa by an Irish immigrant mother, has made wine since the ’60s, often using the vineyard’s fruit. Raised by a single mother, he turned to his friends’ fathers, all winemakers in Napa, to learn the craft.

In 1989, he and his wife, Dixie, bought the land and made the vineyard a home for their six kids. Her brother Ulysses has managed and farmed for the last 30 years, pruning every grapevine with their longtime foreman Jesus Perez Rojas, who also lives on the farm with his family.

When they bought the land, it was mainly pinot noir, cabernet sauvignon, and a few acres of chardonnay and Golden Chasselas — an old-time grape planted during Prohibition to make altar wines, Malia said. Since then, they’ve replanted but preserved and maintained their long-beloved pinot noir vines.

When Clarke was asked what she hopes readers take away from the book, she responded, “Inspiration”

Preserving living pieces of history

At Sonoma’s Bedrock Vineyard, wine masters take pride in their 130-year-old vines. It’s why Clarke highlighted the vineyard in the book.

“There’s about over 50,000 wine producers in the world, so that’s narrowed down pretty heavily,” said Morgan Twain-Peterson, winemaker and founder of Bedrock Wine Co. “It’s an honor and it’s pretty cool.”

The vineyard, originally planted in 1854, was replanted in 1888 after grape phylloxera — a sap-sucking insect that feasts on the roots of certain Vitis grapevine species — wiped it out. Today, the vineyard is cared for by Twain-Peterson and his father, winemaker Joel Peterson.

The 35-acre field blend vineyard, containing nearly 30 varieties, is home to zinfandel, carignane, alicante bouchet, mourvedre, tempranillo and petite sirah, as well as more obscure varieties, such as peloursin, mondeuse, negrette, serine and castets. Many are combined to create their award-wining wines.

For Twain-Peterson and his business partner and best friend, Chris Cottrell, their mission is simple: Revive and preserve rehabilitating old vineyards across California and make beautiful wine.

“As a country, our wine industry is still relatively new compared to places like Europe,” Clarke said. “I love how they work to preserve these old vines and celebrate a key part of our history.”

Bordeaux-inspired château and estate

Healdsburg’s Jordan Vineyard and Winery is of Bordeaux-inspired elegance.

It was hard for Clarke to miss this one as the vineyard transports you to France.

Tucked into the hills of Alexander Valley, a France-inspired chateau,verlooks 1,200 acres of hills and vineyards.

A culinary garden and acres of olive trees flourish too as part of Jordan’s landscape. Despite Jordan’s dynamic landscape, more than 75% of the property is left untouched to protect the estate’s ecosystem.

“Their land preservation efforts is quite telling of their mindset of sustainability,” Clarke said.

The first vineyards, planted with cabernet sauvignon and merlot, were founded in 1972 in Alexander Valley by couple Tom and Sally Jordan. Their dream? Be the first to create a Bordeaux-style California cabernet sauvignon.

“Jordan was founded in 1972, more than 50 years ago, so this is a true attest to the hard work and dedication of the winery team to keep our vineyard in pristine condition, and continuing to produce quality cabernet sauvignon and chardonnay wines year after year,” Maggie Kruse, a winemaker at Jordan Vineyard and Winery, said in an email.

These Sonoma County vineyards are laser-focused and dedicated to their work. In fact, when asked if they knew they were featured in the book — they had no idea, but were honored nonetheless.

“We had no idea,” Cottrell said with a laugh. “What an honor.”

You can reach Staff Writer Mya Constantino at mya.constantino@pressdemocrat.com. @searchingformya on Twitter.