In 1970, Cecil and Christine staked their claim in the wine grape business by purchasing 24 acres of old vine Zinfandel in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County. They originally planned to use this vineyard as a place to retire to, but when grape prices skyrocketed in the 1970's, the De Loach decided to acquire additional vineyard land.

GROWERS FIRST. Christine and I fit the description of "vineyardists-turned-winemakers" because we moved from supplying grapes to other wineries to having our own estate operation. We've always thought of ourselves as being in the wine business, going back to 1970-74 when we developed our vineyards seven miles northwest of Santa Rosa in Sonoma County, California. In 1975, we released our first wine, a Zinfandel.

A WINE TRADITION. There were vineyards here when we started, great old Zinfandel vines planted between the turn of the century and 1934. We still make wine from them and will as long as they're producing. There were four wineries here in the immediate area up until Prohibition, so we think we're building on a solid Sonoma County winemaking legacy.

OUR VINEYARDS TODAY. We own and operate nearly 500 acres of vineyards in the Russian River Valley appellation, 321 of which are located within 2 miles of the winery. Besides Zinfandel, we grow Pinot Noir, Merlot, Gewurztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. In addition, we have 157 acres just south of Healdsburg that are devoted mainly to Red Bordeaux varieties such as Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. Ours is a cool, regionaI area; fog rolls in just about every evening and there are definite marine influences. We usually have long, slow growing seasons, although each year varies.

THE DE LOACH LABEL. We're winning some noteworthy awards, but just as importantly, we're hearing from people who like what we're doing. We make well-crafted, clean, authentic wines, each one as good an example of the varietal as we can make it. We produce Fume Blanc, an Early Harvest Gewurztraminer (and, when the growing conditions are right, a Late Harvest dessert Gewurztraminer), White Zinfandel, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.

De Loach Vineyards / 1791 Olivet Road / Santa Rosa, CA 95401 / 707-526-9111

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