| Ridge Vineyards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Location | Cupertino, California,United States |
| Coordinates | 37°18′18″N122°07′46″W / 37.3050°N 122.1294°W /37.3050; -122.1294 |
| Appellation | Santa Cruz Mountains |
| First vintage | 1962[1] |
| Key people | David R. Bennion(Founder) Paul Draper(Chairman of the Board) Mark Vernon(CEO) David Amadia(President) John Olney(COO & Head Winemaker) Michael Torino(VP of Wholesale Sales) Ryan Moore(VP of Consumer Sales) |
| Parent company | Otsuka Pharmaceutical |
| Known for | Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Varietals | Cabernet Sauvignon,Chardonnay,Petite Sirah,Syrah,Zinfandel,Merlot,Grenache,Syrah,Carignane |
| Distribution | International |
| Tasting | Open to public on weekends |
| Website | www |
Ridge Vineyards is aCalifornia winery specializing inCabernet Sauvignon,Zinfandel, andChardonnay wines. Ridge produces wine at two winery locations in northern California. The original winery facilities are located at an elevation of 2,300 feet (700 metres) onMonte Bello Ridge in unincorporatedSanta Clara County in theSanta Cruz Mountains AVA, south ofLos Altos, California and west ofCupertino, California. The other Ridge winery facilities are at Lytton Springs in theDry Creek Valley AVA ofSonoma County.[1] Ridge Vineyard's 1971 Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon gained prominence for its fifth-place finish in the 1976"Judgment of Paris" wine tasting.
Although Ridge Vineyards was founded in the early 1960s, wine production at the winery's Monte Bello location has a much longer history.Grapevines were first planted on Monte Bello Ridge by Osea Perrone, a doctor and prominent member of the northern CaliforniaItalian immigrant community, in 1885. The first Monte Bello wine was produced in 1892.[1] FollowingProhibition, the vineyard at Monte Bello passed through the hands of several amateur winemakers until it was purchased in 1959 byDavid Bennion,Charles Rosen,Hewitt Crane, and Howard Zeidler, all engineers at nearbyStanford Research Institute. Ridge Vineyards was bonded and produced its first commercial wine, a Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon, in 1962.[1]
According to a 1987New York Times article, Ridge Vineyards was acquired by a Japanese company. "The new owner is Otsuka U.S., a subsidiary of theOtsuka Pharmaceutical Co Ltd, a producer of nutritional drinks and other pharmaceutical products. Otsuka operates an experimental wine-making center near Fuji, in Japan."
The international reputation of the Monte Bello wine produced by Ridge Vineyards was established when it achieved fifth place in the"Judgment of Paris", against nine other French and California wines. Monte Bello Cabernet Sauvignon was acclaimed in subsequent competitions, includingThe Judgment of Paris 30th Anniversary, the 30th anniversary retesting of the same red wines evaluated in the 1976 Pariswine competition. In thisblind tasting, held both in the United States and in the United Kingdom, judges in both countries ranked Ridge Monte Bello number one among all the wines judged.[2]
Ridge Vineyards produced its firstZinfandel in 1964. Beginning in 1966, the winery began sourcing some grapes for its Geyserville Zinfandel and other wines from vineyards in Sonoma County. In 1991, Ridge Vineyards purchased the Lytton Springs vineyard in theDry Creek Valley AVA.[1] The winery produces wine at both the Monte Bello and Lytton Springs locations, and operates tasting rooms open to the public at both.
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In 1959,David Bennion purchased the 80 acre winery and vineyard aboveCupertino in theSanta Cruz Mountains. That same year, he produced his very first wine, aCabernet Sauvignon from the estate. Excited by the quality of the early wines, the partners decided to re-bond the winery in time for the 1962 vintage, calling their endeavor Ridge Vineyards.
By focusing on single-vineyard Zinfandels—Sonoma, Santa Cruz, Lodi, and Paso Robles—Bennion showed that Zinfandel can expressterroir. He would go on to make single-vineyard wines from many other varieties including:Chardonnay,Pinot Noir,Ruby Cabernet,Carignan, andPinot Blanc.
His winemaking style championed minimal intervention. A major component of this philosophy was to make use of the natural yeasts on the grapes. To this end, only a small amount of Sulfur would be used during the winemaking process. This process would only kill off the wild yeasts but allow the wine yeasts to survive on the grapes.
In 1967 Dave Bennion left SRI completely, to become the first president and winemaker of Ridge. Bennion served as winemaker at Ridge until 1970, when he hiredPaul Draper to oversee winemaking operations. After hiring Draper, Bennion continued to serve as the President of Ridge until 1984.
Ridge had been under the direction of winemakerPaul Draper since 1971. He was hired by David Bennion and emphasized natural, ecologically sustainable farming and fermentation.[3][4] Draper is known for drying his own oak staves for use in barrels, which may be a component of the dusty "Draper Perfume" that is characteristic of Ridge wines. on 1 July 2016, Draper retired as CEO and Head Winemaker of the company, but remains chairman of the board.[5][6] He produced 47 vintages for Ridge.[7]
Ridge also focuses on single-estate wines where the grapes for a particular label are all grown at the same vineyard. The signature wine of Ridge is its Monte Bello, afield blend ofCabernet Sauvignon mixed with varying percentages of other grapes grown in the same location, usually includingMerlot,Petit Verdot, and occasionallyCabernet Franc.[8]
Ridge'sZinfandels (or mostly-Zinfandel field blends) constitute the bulk of the winery's production. Using grapes from selected sites from all over the state and bottling them each under their own label, Ridge Zinfandels emphasize the particular characteristics of each growing site and may show different aging characteristics than do other Zinfandels. Among the best known of the Ridge Zinfandels or Zinfandel-blends are those from Geyserville, York Creek, and Lytton Springs.[citation needed]
