In this episode of The Good Stuff presented by the Sonoma County Winegrowers, hosts Virginie Boone and Karissa Kruse talk to Amy Chenowith, Winemaker & Owner of Chenoweth Wines & Charlie Chenowith, Equipment Manager in Vineyard Management Business, leading role in providing grapes for Chenoweth Wines.
Amy Chenoweth wasn’t destined to make some of Sonoma County’s most sought-after Pinot Noirs. The small-town West County girl, born and raised along the famed Russian River in the rustic hamlet of Guerneville, was less interested in Wine Country’s celebrated vineyards than its iconic river, rugged beaches and towering redwood forests. But the vineyards eventually won.
Not unlike every good wine, Amy’s path to winemaking started in the vineyard, specifically the ones tended by her husband Charlie, a grape grower and vineyard. Ever since they married more than two decades ago, Amy has worked alongside Charlie, managing the business that produces the grapes for such well-known cult brands as Patz & Hall, Kosta Browne, and Bob Cabral, among many others.
Over the years, Amy had the chance to observe the region’s best winemakers ply their craft, and she “became a sponge, learning from the masters.” Though the classroom training in oenology she received at UC Davis bolsters her knowledge, her real education came through long days on the crush pads and in the barrel rooms of the most respected Sonoma County wineries.
The winery’s first vintage was in 2010, just fifty cases or so of Pinot Noir from the Chenoweth’s own vines, planted on the family’s historic, sprawling hilltop ranch in the Green Valley appellation of the Russian River Valley AVA. Since then Amy has steadily increased production and the portfolio from just Pinot Noir to Chardonnay, Rose, and Sauvignon Blanc. When asked to describe the philosophy that underpins her winemaking, Amy sums it up this way: “start with epic grapes and then don’t screw it up.” In actual practice, that means using French oak barrels, but only 30% new ones, so the oak doesn’t mask the flavors of the fruit. “Why hide that?” she asks, answering her own question, “everything we do emphasizes the fruit.”
Charlie (CJ) is Amy & Charlie’s eldest son, he is 6th generation on the ranch and is raising the 7th. He grew up in the Chenoweth Vineyards and today he helps Charlie run the vineyard management business as the Equipment Manager. He has a lead role in providing exceptional grapes for Chenoweth Wines, and winery clients who buy Chenoweth fruit. His wife Kyra is Chenoweth’s PR & Marketing person.
Chenoweth Wines/Vineyards:
The Chenoweth family has been growing fruit of one kind or another on their sprawling ranch for more than 150 years. Rising some 750 feet above the Russian River Valley floor, the land has supported generations of the Chenoweth family, sometimes with cherry trees, sometimes with apples and briefly, before Prohibition, with grapes. Redwoods from the farm helped rebuild the city of Santa Rosa, clearly visible in the middle distance from their hilltop Treehouse Vineyard, after it was largely leveled in the 1906 earthquake. Charlie’s grandfather found the rolling high ground suitable for cherries. His father uprooted them to grow the region’s signature Gravenstein apples. But it was Charlie’s idea in 2000 to clear the land and plant it to Pinot Noir grapes.
The first vineyard, Home Ranch (also called Chenoweth Ranch), is where the family lives and where winemaking started. Grapes from this vineyard were initially sold to Patz & Hall for their vineyard-designated Pinot Noir. In 2006, the family expanded by planting Treehouse Vineyard, named after a towering redwood at the highest point of the property. The family continued to grow in 2009 with the planting of Bootlegger’s Hill Vineyard in the cool, fog-drenched Green Valley sub-appellation.
Chenoweth Wines first official vintage came out in 2010 with just 50 cases of Pinot Noir from the Green Valley vineyard. Today, Amy Chenoweth leads the winemaking efforts, crafting wines that reflect both the family’s passion for the land and their commitment to high-quality, sustainable wine production.
Vineyards:
- Home Ranch
- Bootlegger’s Hill
- Treehouse
And finally, Virginie and Karissa share their Tuesday Night wine picks!
