Hanzell Vineyards is a

California wine California wine production has a rich viticulture history since 1680 when Spanish Jesuit missionaries planted ''Vitis vinifera'' vines native to the Mediterranean region in their established missions to produce wine for religious services. I ...

producer located just outside the town of Sonoma. The winery was founded by James David Zellerbach (future

United States Ambassador to Italy Since 1840, the United States has had diplomacy, diplomatic representation in the Italian Republic and its predecessor nation, the Kingdom of Italy (1861–1946), Kingdom of Italy, with a break in relations from 1941 to 1944 while Italy and the U ...

) who acquired 200 acres in the

Mayacamas Mountains The Mayacamas Mountains are located in northwestern California in the United States. The mountain range is part of the Northern Inner Coast Ranges, of the California Coast Ranges System. Geography The Mayacamas Mountains are located south of the ...

in 1943 and began planting

Pinot Noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words for ''pine'' and ''black.' ...

and

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

in 1953. At the time, the entire state of California had fewer than 200 acres planted to Chardonnay.Hanzell Vineyards '
History of Hanzell Vineyards
"''. Accessed: March 20th, 2011 Hanzel would go on to pioneer in the California several

winemaking Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. The science of wine and ...

techniques that would become associated with the style of California Chardonnay including the use of barrel-aging, malolactic fermentation, and the use of inert gases and anaerobic winemaking. Hanzell was also among the first vineyards to plant the Wente Clone of Chardonnay.

History

The first plantings of Hanzell took place in 1953, when Zellerbach planted two acres of Pinot noir and four acres of Chardonnay. James Zellerbach and winemaker Ralph Bradford "Brad" Webb aimed to produce wines that would compare favorably to Old World wines such as

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The c ...

, but were quick to adopt some of the modernizing winemaking techniques that became characteristic of

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

style of winemaking. Webb commissioned what are believed to be the first small temperature-controlled stainless steel fermenters, an early nitrogen-sparged bottling machine and an electrode to measure dissolved oxygen.

Vineyards

The original vines planted at Hanzell are purported to be the oldest continually producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines in the Western Hemisphere. The original Chardonnay vines planted at Hanzell are Wente Clone and arrived at Hanzell by way of the McCreas' Stony Hill vineyard in

St. Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constitu ...

, which obtained its cuttings from the Wente Livermore Vineyard in 1948. The original Pinot noir vines planted at Hanzell were derived from Martin Ray estate cuttings (now commonly referred to as the Mount Eden clone). The original Pinot noir vines at Mount Eden Vineyards were pulled out in 1997, and the original block of Pinot noir at Chalone planted in 1946 was replaced in 2003. As of 2010, the 1953 blocks (C53 and N53) at Hanzell continue to produce, and the grapes are typically blended with grapes from the vines planted in subsequent years. From time to time, Hanzell bottles wines derived solely from these original blocks and dubs them "Ambassador's 1953 Vineyard" wines. A total 42 acres have been planted at Hanzell over the years ranging from 1953 to 2001. Interest in local growing conditions and grape quality have persisted at Hanzell, and careful monitoring and selection have yielded a their own "Hanzell Clone." This clonal selection is now planted at other vineyards in California and is used by such wineries as ZD and Brewer Clifton, among others. Hanzell's involvement with the establishment of high-quality wine in California can be seen as well in the example of Joe Heitz' purchase of several barrels of Hanzell wine in 1963, which he blended with success, achieving lucrative prices for the times.Prial, Frank J., ''The New York Times'' (December 23, 2000)

Ownership and winemakers

Three families have owned Hanzell Vineyards and four winemakers have been involved there since its founding. The first winemaker was involved for nearly 20 years, and the second continues to advise as Winemaker Emeritus after nearly 30 years overseeing production. *Zellerbach, James D. and Hana (inception to 1965) *Day, Douglas and Mary (née Schaw) (1965 - 1975) *de Brye, Jacques and Barbara, then Alexander (1975–present)

Winemakers

*Brad Webb (1956 - 1973) * Bob Sessions (1973 - 2001) *Michael Terrien (2001 - 2006) *Michael McNeill (2006–present)

References

{{Authority control Wineries in Sonoma County, California Sonoma Valley Food and drink companies established in 1948