Bedrock

AVA

Sonoma Valley

Decade

1880s

County

Sonoma

Location Notes

Madrone Road

Historical Producers

Bedrock, Biale, Carlisle, Ravenswood, Ridge

Characteristics

Spice, vibrant red fruits, hints of orange peel in young wines, vibrancy, bright acidity.

Description

From the Bedrock Wine Co. website:

“Bedrock Vineyard is one of the most historically and qualitatively gilded plots of land in Sonoma Valley. Taking up 152 acres of the heart of Sonoma Valley, the vineyard occupies a large section of one of the best growing climates for grapes on earth.

Founded in 1854 by Generals William ‘Tecumseh’ Sherman and General ‘Fightin’ Joe’ Hooker, Bedrock Vineyard has grown grapes for over 150 years. Following the first epidemic of phylloxera in the mid-1880s, the vineyard was replanted in 1888 by Senator George Hearst—a mining magnate, an early father of California, and the father of publisher William Randolph Hearst. It is from those 135-year-old vines that the Bedrock Heritage Wine is crafted.

Hearst’s widow eventually sold the vineyard to the California Wine Association in the early 1900s, and the vineyard produced grapes for the CWA until the passage of the Volstead Act and Prohibition. In 1934 the property was purchased by the sausage-making Parducci Family and was part of the estate vineyards of early Valley of the Moon Winery. In 1953, when relations between the Parducci family and the business partner Domenici family became acrimonious, the vineyard was split. The Parduccis took a smaller parcel of land with the winery, while the Domenicis took 152 acres of what was then known as ‘Madrone Ranch.’ In 2005, our family became the latest curators of this remarkable piece and the ancient vines rooted in its soils.”

Facts

Under the ownership of the former American Consul to China Eli T. Shepherd, the first vines on rootstock were planted at the vineyard between 1886 and 1888. Unfortunately, this planting was likely on the hybrid Lenoir rootstock which was not completely resistant to phylloxera. Senator George Hearst purchased the property in 1888 and planted most of the vines that still exist today. These vines were among the first to be grown on phylloxera-resistant rootstock in the state due to the Senator’s connections with the University of California.

 

Certified