STORY

It’s July, 2009. Jet-lagged, bleary-eyed and without a working cell phone after a 24-hour travel day, Johannes stumbles to the kitchen of an otherwise empty rental home to check the blue glow of the stove clock, just to be sure he’s up in time for his first day of work at a winery, not his own, thousands of miles away in the Mosel Valley, where he’s from, but in Sonoma, California, where he’ll spend the next three months.

Johannes and Jenny, his locally raised coworker-turned tourguide, hit it off right away. 2009, as it turned out, was a fantastic year, not only for the growing of grapes and making wine but also for creating and growing a relationship, if you know what we mean.

Between then and 2013, when we tied the knot, we traveled to many different places, experiencing and working in other corners of the wine world. We always wanted to make our very own wine and slowly set out on the path that would allow us to do so.

We grew into careers in our respective fields - Johannes in winemaking and Jenny in hospitality and marketing - putting down roots here in Sonoma. It would still take five more years until we finally began making wine for ourselves, realizing a decade-long dream.

In 2018, we had the unique opportunity to work with Sonoma Valley High School to teach their students and the FFA to tend for their very young, on-campus vineyard. As a reward, we would receive the Sauvignon Blanc grapes, make wine and sell it within the community and to family and friends. This was a life lesson as permits, insurance and packaging costs allowed us to break even on the 100 cases we produced. Along the way, our supporters grew as well as their interest in whether we’d be introducing more varietals. Our wine was well received and we were proud of it!

However, before our portfolio grew, our family grew. Vintages 2019 and 2022 made us proud parents of two beautiful girls, Josie and Joliene, and all of a sudden, we had a stronger motivation of finally realizing that dream of making and growing a brand, sharing with them our passion of combining the outdoors and farming with creating something truly magical over time and, most importantly, as a family.

In June 2022, the four of us were on our way to Bodega Bay when suddenly, Johannes made a quick detour to see a small vineyard he had recently scouted, keeping it a secret until just then. We suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a thick fog and rows of Pinot Noir in the Petaluma Gap. Fascinated by its allure, terroir and famous neighboring sites, we knew we had found a special place. After talking with Ed, the grower and diving more into conversations of soils and farming, we were lucky to make a handshake deal, securing our first ton of Pinot Noir…

A year and a half is quite a long time to wait for Pinot Noir to age, it turns out, and we couldn’t resist occasionally barrel tasting for the sake of research and quality control. Often, Patrick, a coworker of Jenny’s and good friend, joined us to impart business advice in exchange for tasting new and different wines. He quickly became an integral partner in crime, that shares both our vision and passion for the future of our project.

We are delighted you've decided to join the three of us at the very beginning of an exciting journey to discover delicious, handcrafted wines from distinct, expressive vineyard sites and create a fun community along the way!