Rhys Vineyards

Kevin Harvey, a dedicated wine collector who frequently visited the vineyards of Burgundy and became close friends with several families behind the top domains of the Cotes d'Or, founded Rhys Vineyards in 2004. When he started dabbling with the idea of planting his own Pinot Noir vines, Harvey was privileged to have access to these friends’ properties, researching the terroir, soil depth, structure, chemistry, hydrology, and climate, among other attributes. Harvey then utilized this information to seek out what he thought were the best sites in California, looking for analogies in the vital characteristics that he believed drove the quality of the wine. His research led him to his backyard—the rugged, rocky terroir of the Santa Cruz Mountains. Rhys Vineyards is a benchmark producer of great Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah with seven estate vineyards: six in the Santa Cruz Mountains and one in Anderson Valley, each capable of producing uniquely compelling, distinctive, soil-driven wine.

The Santa Cruz Mountains
One of the wine world’s best-kept secrets, the Santa Cruz Mountains have long produced some of the New World’s very finest wines. For decades, inspirational wines like Ridge Monte Bello and Mount Eden Chardonnay have thrilled serious wine enthusiasts. In addition, there have been many legendary Pinot Noirs from producers like Mount Eden, David Bruce, and Santa Cruz Mountain Vineyards. At their best, Santa Cruz Mountain wines offer all the key ingredients for truly fine wine: breathtaking balance, terrific concentration, uncommon minerality, thrilling complexity, and Old World age worthiness. With approximately 600 acres planted to Pinot Noir in the entire appellation, Santa Cruz Mountain Pinots are also quite rare.

Santa Cruz Mountain Pinot Noir derives its quality from a very unique confluence of climate and geology. The appellation is bordered by two bodies of water: the Pacific Ocean on the west and San Francisco Bay on the east. This situation creates a cool climate that moderates California’s late-season heat spikes, producing intense wines with beautiful balance.

Anderson Valley
Located over 100 miles north of San Francisco, the wine-producing reputation of this beautiful, remote valley has been steadily climbing for decades. The 16-mile-long, transverse valley extends from the southeast to the northwest and becomes increasingly cool as it nears the Pacific Ocean. The geology in the valley is quite diverse but includes a band of rocky, southwest-facing hillsides that produce intense, mineral-driven wines of great elegance. The site for Bearwallow Vineyard is in the coolest northwest corner, or “Deep End,” of the valley, where 31 acres have been planted on the rocky slopes.