Its about the land
It might be kind of old hat to say that wines are made in the vineyard, but it really is a truism we believe in. Our mission is to produce outstanding wines from our home vineyards in the far western areas of the Russian River Valley. These are wines that could be made nowhere else.
Steve Dutton’s father Warren first planted grapes on Graton Road in 1964, which made the Duttons viticultural pioneers in the coldest parts of our appellation. They also were among the first to champion Pinot Noir in this region where, less than a decade ago, most of the fruit went exclusively for sparkling wine. There was also a bit of prodding from Dan Goldfield (then winemaker at Hartford Court Winery) for some of these Pinot plantings. Steve now manages many of the finest vineyards in the Russian River Valley and the family continues to push the limits with spectacular new vineyards in the colder Freestone and Occidental areas, as well beautiful little Syrah plantings.
Since Steve joined the family operation in 1987, the size of Dutton Ranch has more than doubled to over 1,000 total acres. Yet the overall size belies the family holdings, which actually are a series of small vineyard sites throughout the area, each with unique soils and microclimates.
Those who know fine wine have long appreciated Dutton Ranch because of the high-quality fruit cultivated by the family. About this Steve remarks, "I farm for quality, and in everything I do, quality comes first. Not only is this what the market demands, it’s how we’ve made our reputation through the years at Dutton Ranch. It shows by the stature of the wineries who put the Ranch name on their bottles."
Steve and his ranch team plant and tend each vineyard to the respective winemaker’s specifications, and this certainly applies to Dan for the Dutton-Goldfield wines. Notes Steve, "Dan and I try to reduce the crop level somewhat to get the most intense fruit we can. Each vineyard is planted and farmed with soil composition and climate conditions in mind, and we carefully monitor each one to ensure optimum ripeness.
"For instance, the Widdoes Vineyard is a 23-acre block of Dutton Ranch planted to Pinot Noir. It was planted in 1989 in a very cool section of Green Valley abutting the Atascadero Creek at the town of Graton. Because it’s got deep soils, we’ve initiated some trellis experiments here to control the vine vigor. The Dutton-Goldfield fruit comes off an open-U trellis, giving it the nice exposure and the long hangtime it needs. Our newer Pinot plantings such as the V Bar C ranch in Freestone are planted mainly to Dijon Clones, and trellised vertically."
Our winery is a partnership of friends, neighbors and families. The wines reflect this spectacular part of Sonoma County where the grapes are grown, the superb quality of the Dutton Ranch fruit, and the work of an appreciative winemaker. The wines are crafted using traditional techniques such as barrel and malolactic fermentation for the Chardonnay, and open top fermentation for the Pinot. Both were bottled unfined and unfiltered.
History
Vineyards
New
Vineyards
Freestone
Hill
Morelli
Lane
Cherry
Ridge
Maurice
Galante
Green
Valley
Climates
& Topography
