Ridge Vineyards

Ridge began transitioning from sustainable to organic farming in 2008, initiating the certification process block by block to mitigate risk. As the largest grower of organically certified grapes in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Sonoma County, it took several years to fully convert the vineyards. Conversion began with certification of blocks in Monte Bello, Lytton Springs and Geyserville. Ridge has now certified 345 acres. Former longtime Monte Bello winemaker Eric Baugher says the push for sustainable farming and winemaking practices began with Paul Draper. “Paul came down on the team to really begin looking at ways to minimize impact, water use and energy consumption,” he remembers. “He was the driving light of those decisions.” He also points out that commitment to sustainability extends to economics. Gaining organic certification is costly, and investments in sustainable systems for the winery involve huge upfront investments. Baugher installed solar panels for hot water and a bioreactor system that reclaims used water from the winery, the first installation of its kind on the West Coast. It uses specialized bacteria and filtration to purify the water, which is stored in an aquifer for use in irrigation during drought years. Apart from their commitment to organic farming and sustainable winemaking, what is perhaps most striking about Ridge is transparency. They began including ingredient lists on labels in 2011, a move only a few others have made in the decade since. This early emphasis on transparency paralleled the farm-to-table movement and increasing pressure from consumers keen to examine the food chain and source more locally, responsibly produced foods. This sensibility has extended to the beverage world, and an important first step is ingredient labeling. Its use by an estate long known for producing one of California’s grand cru wines should be a lighthouse for other wineries in California moving toward more sustainable and responsible vineyard and winery practices.

Vines were first planted on Monte Bello Ridge, in the Santa Cruz Mountains, in 1880, but its modern era began in 1962, when it was re-bonded and named Ridge Vineyards. A Monte Bello was made that year, and the first Zinfandel from old vines was made in 1964. Chicago native and Stanford graduate Paul Draper joined Ridge in 1969, restoring the original stone winery and focusing on what he calls “pre-industrial” winemaking techniques—moving away from the practices of conventional farming in favor of minimizing impact, energy consumption and water use. In 1976, Steven Spurrier’s Judgement of Paris tasting helped rocket Ridge onto the world stage when the 1971 Monte Bello came in fifth. Monte Bello vineyard has long been called a California grand cru, but Ridge prizes its single-vineyard philosophy and old-vine farming and purchased Sonoma County’s historic Lytton Springs estate in 1991. In 2011, ingredient lists debuted on Ridge labels, pushing the envelope of transparency in winemaking. Significantly, winemaking at Ridge has changed hands very few times. Draper retired at the age of 80 in 2016, after nearly half a century as winemaker. Eric Baugher joined the winery in 1994, working for years alongside Draper before his promotion to winemaker at Monte Bello in 2004. Baugher has only just passed the torch to John Olney, who joined Ridge in 1996 and was this year made head winemaker & COO, overseeing winemaking at Monte Bello and Lytton Springs.