Nestled near the top of Arrowhead Mountain was five acres of overgrown hills that one day would be home to a critically acclaimed vineyard, Arrowhead Mountain Vineyard.
History
Initially, in order to reach the top of the property a machete was required. Over several years brush was removed, many tons of rocks were re-located, and numerous efforts were undertaken to keep what little dirt we had on the hills.
The first rootstock was planted in 1997. Zinfandel buds were used from an award winning Sonoma vineyard and grafted onto the rootstock in 1998. Our first harvest was one and a half tons of Zinfandel in 1999. The tonnage and quality was insignificant. However, by 2000 our crop was large and the quality was much improved. The wine was being served in some of the top restaurants in the United States under the Copain Winery label. Wells Guthrie, the winemaker and owner of Copain had worked at several vineyards in the Rhone region of France and the topography, volcanic soil, and large rock outcroppings were nearly identical. His experience allowed him to produce a wine that showed the grapes to their greatest advantage. Demanding that the vineyard be farmed organically proved to be one of the best things Wells did for us. It guaranteed the wine tasted rich and pure.
In 2001 and 2002, Copain continued to make an outstanding wine that received the highest ratings ever given a Zinfandel. By 2003, Copain was ready to concentrate on other varietals and we divided the harvest between Copain and J C Cellars. Jeff Cohn, winemaker and owner had years of experience making Zinfandel and we felt it was a good match. This arrangement continued in 2004, and in 2005 J C Cellars purchased all of the Arrowhead Mountain Vineyard grapes.
Things changed dramatically in 2006. The vineyard production had become more than J C Cellars could handle so we made the huge decision to produce and bottle Arrowhead Mountain Vineyard wine on our own. Chris Brockway, an outstanding young winemaker took our grapes, and lovingly produced a Reserve Zinfandel and Red Table wine that we are extremely happy with and proud of.
During this period Chris started his own winery, Broc Cellars, and he started buying our grapes for his Zinfandel. The time came when Chris did not have time to make our wine and keep his winery running as he wanted so he stopped making our wines but purchased more of our grapes.
Today
We are very fortunate to have a new winemaker, who has a great reputation for Zinfandel winemaking. His successful wines consistently win “Best in Class”, Golds, and Double Golds at wine competitions. He made our 2019 Rosé which sold out very quickly. We are very excited to have him make our Zinfandel, Primary Red Blend, Mourvèdre, and Petite Syrah along with the 2020 Rosé.
The magic of the 55-degree slopes, soil, and even the rocks have provided a perfect balance to produce grapes which offer and amazing. complex, full bodied wine. As you enjoy our existent wines and additions of Mourvèdre and Petite Syrah, picture a vineyard nestled near the top of the mountain, overlooking the beautiful town of Sonoma, in the heard of the “Wine Country”. We hope you will join us in our little piece of heaven, either while visiting or enjoying a bottle of our wine.