History
Our history of interest in wine and winemaking goes back about 25 years, when we first lived in Chicago, but took numerous business and pleasure trips to Europe, and began learning about winemaking in France. Our attraction to the world of wine continued when we lived overseas, first Australia for five years, where we came to love Australian wines, particularly the small boutique wineries near where we lived in Melbourne; then England for two years, which enabled us to make frequent trips to the vineyards of France, Italy and Spain. In the summer of 1994, we returned home to the central coast of California; in the following year, we researched our microclimate in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation, and found that it was uniquely suited for pinot noir grapes. (Wine Spectator has identified the Santa Cruz Mountain appellation as the most underrated wine appellation in the world.) We planted the first three acres of pinot noir in the spring of 1996, and built our winery in 2000.
Specialties
Artisan winery featuring gold medal winning estate-grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay produced in all-gravity winery, using half wild yeast and no additives such as enzymes. The wines aged 17-27 months in French oak barrels on lees with no racking, and then bottled by gravity unfiltered and unfined. Sustainable vineyards using largely organic materials. The well-known pinot noir critic, Rusty Gaffney, recently reviewed Windy Oaks wines and said