The idea behind Craggy Range Winery began a decade before its birth in the minds of Steve Smith and Terry Peabody - people who shared a passion for wine, quality and a desire to bring the two together in a lasting legacy.

Terry Peabody and his family had searched for ten years to find the people and the places that could fulfill a dream – that they could make some of the best wine in the world. It was this notion of legacy – to create something greater than here and now – that led Terry Peabody in 1997 to Steve Smith and to the development of Craggy Range. Together they set a plan to buy the best vineyard land, select some parcels of grapes grown by the country’s best farmers, and to choose a place for their homes, cellars and country restaurant. Their aim was to make single-vineyard wines – wines that are true expressions of the vineyard’s terroir – that will compete wit the best in the world. No small goal and one that is not achieved without considerable effort. Effort comes easily to these two men.

Craggy Range produced its first wines in the 1999 vintage from mature vineyards in Marlborough and Hawke's Bay with the philosophy to which Steve Smith is committed: to make the very best wine, expressive of the vineyard's highest potential, letting the character of the mesoclimate speak clearly in the finished wine with minimal intervention in the winery. He believes in an intensive hand management technique he calls "footprints in the vineyard". He has since applied this commitment to wines produced from the estate vineyards, which are exclusively estate grown, estate vinified and estate bottled.

Craggy Range produces two lines of wines under its label: the Varietal Collection and the Prestige Collection. The Varietal Collection is a range of single-varietal, single-vineyard estate wines produced from parcels planted to varieties specifically suited to each soil profile, bottled under a varietal designation. The Prestige Collection is a range of single-varietal and blended wines sourced from select estate terroirs which yield fruit of exceptional ripeness, expression and complexity. Produced on a small scale, they bear proprietary rather than varietal names. Whereas both the Gimblett Gravels and Te Muna Road vineyards contribute to the Varietal Collection wines, releases of the Prestige Collection wines are produced primarily from Gimblett Gravels.

Two winemaking facilities, both located in Hawke's Bay, serve all production. The beautiful Giant's Winery, dedicated in January of 2003 and located on the Tukituki estate, is specifically designed for and dedicated to the production of Craggy Range's Prestige Collection Bordeaux blends and Hawke's Bay Chardonnay from the Gimblett Gravels and Tukituki estates. Architecturally inspired both by tradition and innovation, it is also the site of the visitors center, guest lodge, administrative offices and a classic French country restaurant called "Terroir." A second, larger winery on nearby Highway 50, is technologically advanced and different in focus and feel, and produces primarily Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir from the Te Muna Road estate and Merlot and Syrah from Gimblett Gravels.

JUSTIN Winery is a family owned and operated winery making estate grown and produced wines. The property was founded in 1981 by Justin and Deborah Baldwin when they planted their 160 acre property to the major Bordeaux varietals and created their Estate vineyard.

The winery is located in the Paso Robles appellation of California’s Central Coast. The region’s first grapes were planted in 1779 by Franciscan missionaries and today are home to the third highest concentration of wineries in the United States.

Together Justin and Deborah Baldwin have focused their efforts on producing world class Bordeaux style blends from their estate vineyards for the JUSTIN label. Emphasis is placed on making Bordeaux-style blends and single varietals, combining Old World tradition with New World techniques. They were the first to produce this style of wine on the Central Coast of California and are today a recognized world leader in that category. For more than a quarter century they have set the standard for quality in all that they do. Their spirit and dedication is stamped on all that is JUSTIN.

In the early 1970s, Silver Oak Cellars winery emerged as a dream tied to an intrepid idea. Founders—Ray Duncan, an entrepreneur with a sense of adventure, and Justin Meyer, a former winemaker with Christian Brothers—dared to devote every effort toward the pursuit of a single wine, Cabernet Sauvignon. What’s more, they resolved to create a wine with a style all its own—not another hard, tannic red wine requiring years of aging to enjoy, but a wine of fully developed flavors and a velvety soft texture on the day it is released for sale.

Ray and Justin believed that if they chose the right Cabernet Sauvignon vineyards from California’s premier appellations, and if they aged their wine for as long as five years, first in American oak barrels and then in bottles, they could produce an exhilarating, smooth red wine. At every opportunity they have reaffirmed their commitment to excellence—by purchasing and improving new vineyards, by fully dedicating each one of the two estates to make just one wine, and by developing a partnership with a family-run Missouri cooperage to ensure the long-term availability of first-rate American oak barrels.

The elegance and finesse of the wines have attracted as zealous a circle of customers as any winery can boast, and they are truly grateful for their allegiance, although they will never relax in pursuit of perfection. They believe that they have yet to make their best bottle of wine, and they will never stop trying.

The Twomey story begins with a remarkable vineyard – the Soda Canyon Ranch in southeastern Napa Valley – which the Duncan family acquired in 1999. Planted with the finest French clones in well-drained volcanic soils, the vineyard enabled the Duncans and Winemaker Daniel Baron to fulfill a long-held dream: to produce a Napa Valley Merlot with the depth and concentration that characterize Merlots of true distinction.

Today, Twomey Cellars continues to make wines that reflect the very best of their vineyard and vintage. In 2000, they secured the nine-acre West Pin vineyard in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, legendary for its extraordinary Pinot Noirs. This provided the perfect opportunity to put their unique mark on this varietal by creating a handcrafted Pinot Noir that’s both delicate and charismatic. Their newest offering is Twomey Sauvignon Blanc, a crisp, refreshing wine that originates at their estate vineyard in Calistoga.

Founded in 1985 by W. Clarke Swanson, Jr., Swanson Vineyards is dedicated to handcrafting small quantities of the finest quality Napa Valley wines. Swanson holdings total 140 acres in the renowned Oakville district. The largest vineyard is located on the Oakville Cross Road, next to such neighbors as Opus One, Groth, and Silver Oak.

Every bottle of our Oakville Estate wine charms the senses with velvety, luscious and distinctive character. To know Swanson is to know Napa Valley merlot; of course, no conversation about this merlot is complete without a nod to the Oakville’s most established producer of estate-grown merlot, Swanson Vineyards. From vintage to vintage, Swanson Vineyards brings balance, consistency and blockbuster richness to the table. Customers describe Swanson Vineyards merlot as their go-to wine—as appropriate with pizza on Tuesday evening as it is with rack of lamb on Saturday night … as it is with nothing at all on those lazy Sunday afternoons with family. Merlot is who they are and what they have done for 20 years. After 14 years of crafting such refined and innovative wines as late-harvest semillon, Syrah, sangiovese, rosato di Syrah and our signature cabernet sauvignon blend, Alexis, they opened a private tasting salon in 2000. As the first luxury wine-tasting salon in the United States, it offers only three seatings per day and takes tasting out of the wine glass and into the context of real-life enjoyment.

Swanson is a small, family-owned winery, which released its first wines in 1990, garnering accolades from leading wine publications and awards from major wine competitions. Its production facility, located in Rutherford, has a capacity of 25,000 cases, with Merlot, Sangiovese, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon forming the core of production. “Alexis,” Swanson's first proprietary red wine, was added with the 1994 vintage, and Pinot Grigio in 1998. Additionally, small quantities of Late Harvest Semillon are made when climatic conditions are right. Winemaker Marco Cappelli has worked in Bordeaux, Tuscany, and Australia. Traditional winemaking techniques are employed to create wines of complexity and elegance through the masterful blending of components grown in different parts of Napa. Swanson wines have superb balance and complex flavors, selected from the best vineyard blocks, clones, and wine lots.

In 1734, Jacques Fourneaux, a merchant of champagne wines, established the company that would some day become Taittinger. The company prospered throughout the XIXth century and after the First World War moved to the fine XIIIth century historical residence located on rue de Tambour: "The House of the Counts of Champagne". This was the home of Thibaud IV, known as the Singer, who brought back from Cyprus the vines which are the ancestors of today's Chardonnay. It is at this time that the merger occurred between the company, which had come to be known as Fourneaux-Forest, and the Taittinger family, which would ultimately take control. The Taittinger family had its roots in Lorraine, but left its native province in 1870 following the Treaty of Frankfurt and settled in the Paris area in order to retain its French nationality.

Something of an innovator and visionary, Pierre Taittinger decided that Chardonnay was to be the dominant grape for the brand. This has been a wise choice since the modern consumer enjoys the lightness, finesse and elegance afforded by this variety. From 1945, François, the third son of Pierre Taittinger, along with his two brothers Jean and Claude, oversaw a period of remarkable growth for the champagne house which for a number of years had carried their family name and began operation in the cellars of the Saint-Nicaise monastery, built in the XIIIth century on magnificent Gallo-Roman chalk cellars dating from the 4th century. A tragic car accident in 1960 cut short his brief but prolific career.

For almost half a century Claude Taittinger presided over the destinies of Champagne Taittinger, remaining faithful to family and champagne-making tradition. Since he took over the management of the company in 1960, Champagne Taittinger has truly acquired the status of Grande Marque house. In 2005 Claude passed on the mantle Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, who brings to the company some thirty years' experience in the champagne business.

Truchard Vineyards is a small, family owned winery established in 1974, when Tony and Jo Ann Truchard came to the Carneros region of the Napa Valley and purchased a 20 acre parcel of land. They transformed what was an abandoned prune orchard into a vineyard and began selling the fruit to a local winery. Through hard work and dedication they quickly developed a reputation as one of the outstanding vineyards in Carneros. Over the past 31 years the Truchard Estate Vineyard has grown to 400 acres, of which 270 acres are planted. The Truchards now sell grapes to more than 20 premiere Napa Valley wineries.

The Truchard Estate Vineyard is a series of hills and valleys, which contain a variety of soils: clay, shale, sandstone, volcanic rock and ash. The various combinations of terrain, geology, and marine-moderated temperatures provide unique winegrowing conditions. Currently the vineyard grows 10 different grape varieties, making it one of the most diverse estate vineyards in California.

In 1989, the Truchards began making wine for themselves using only their estate-grown fruit. An old barn on the property was converted into a winery; this barn became the symbol for Truchard Vineyards and adorns the top of the wine label. With the addition of a 10,500 square foot wine cave, the winery has become a beautiful, modern facility. The winery makes 11 different wines, producing a total of 16,000 cases per year. Truchard wines are produced with the vineyard in mind. We always will consider ourselves “a big vineyard and a small winery”. The wines are hand-crafted using traditional winemaking techniques and exemplify the high quality fruit of the Truchard Estate Vineyard. They are truly: “wines with a sense of place”.

The Truchard Estate Vineyard encompasses 383 contiguous acres, of which 270 acres are planted. The vineyard is a series of hills and valleys, and contains a variety of soils: clay, shale, sandstone, volcanic rock and ash. The various combinations of terrain, geology, and marine-moderated temperatures provide unique winegrowing conditions. Currently the vineyard grows 10 different grape varieties, making it one of the most diverse estate vineyards in California.
Only 20% of the grapes from the Truchard Estate Vineyard are reserved for Truchard wines. The wines are hand-crafted using traditional winemaking techniques, and exemplify the high quality fruit of this unique estate. They are truly: "wines with a sense of place".

Truchard wines have garnered much critical appreciation. Wines from the 1994, 1996, and 1997 vintages have been included in the Wine Spectator's Top 100 wines of the world. The winery was selected as the "Estate Winery of the Year" by Wine & Spirits in 1997 and 1998.

Born in 1989, Van Duzer was the culmination of a search for a cool weather location that, like Burgundy, the traditional home of pinot noir, would produce pinot noirs of pleasing balance and intriguing layers of flavor that express the terroir from which they sprung. From the start, Van Duzer Vineyards was conceived as a winery which seamlessly converts its detailed knowledge of its estate vineyards into finely crafted wines which bear the distinctive stamp of their particular location, soils and site.

Van Duzer owners Carl and Marilynn Thoma absorbed the interest of their partner, vineyard pioneer William Hill, in 1998. A family-owned estate winery that has evolved as a producer of precisely farmed, finely crafted wines. The estate vineyard lies within the Williamette Valley
Believing it was essential to develop a 100% estate fruit winery, they located a winery with existing vineyards in the Van Duzer Corridor and set about upgrading the vineyards and winery. To date, 38 acres of vineyard have been replanted or grafted to new grape clones. An additional 15 acres in the Westside Bowl were planted in 2001, bringing the total estate to 77 acres of vineyard.