55 miles north of San Francisco, in the western part of Sonoma County is California’s prized Pinot Noir appellation the Russian River Valley. Russians created outposts in Sebastapol, Graton and Freestone in 1812-1841. If you look at the back label of a Row Eleven Pinot Noir you will see that we bottle in Graton. European immigrants, primarily Italians and Germans came next, settling in Sonoma County in the late 1800’s. The Sanchietti family purchased their property in 1919. In the 1970’s they planted Pinot Noir. Today they have some of the oldest vines in the Russian River appellation. Row Eleven Russian River Pinot Noir comes solely from the Sanchietti’s Ranch. Mel Sanchietti's father bought it from his father, Mel bought it from his father, and now Mel farms with his son Mark. It is a small wine world. The family of Mark’s best friend in college owns RiverBench in Santa Maria where we get grapes for our Vinas3 Pinot Noir. His good friend Melissa farms with her father Jim, who grows the Dijon clone Chardonnay in Carneros that is our Stratton Lummis Chardonnay. There are no better people than the Sanchietti family or better grapes than Sanchietti Ranch in Russian River, which is why we say we choose vineyards for place, people and soil. This is some of the most beautiful land in Sonoma County. Follow the Russian River as it flows past different communities, redwoods, and vines. No one knows why centuries ago it stopped flowing to San Francisco Bay and turned suddenly west. Try lunch at the Underwood in Graton, where many winemakers and growers eat, or the K&L Bistro in Sebastapol, or have dinner at the Farmhouse in Forestville. Lastly, if you are in need of a little spiritual renewal and the redwoods and the river aren’t enough, check out the lazy sea lions that like to sleep in the sun where the river touches the sea.