In 1962, Ridge Vineyards made its first Monte Bello, and two years later its first zinfandel. Since that time, Ridge has championed single-vineyard winemaking, searching California for those rare and exceptional vineyards where climate, soil, and variety are ideally matched. From the beginning, they have believed that the greatest wines of the world come from specific patches of ground.

75% of the fruit they use originates from the three vineyards they farm, where they use cover crops, integrated pest management techniques, mechanical weed removal, and composted grape pomace in place of pesticides, herbicides and synthetic fertilizers. Ridge Vineyards is one of the largest growers of organically certified grapes in Sonoma County and in the Santa Cruz Mountains appellation.

Ridge Vineyards takes an approach to winemaking that they describe as “pre-industrial”, believing that for anyone attempting to make fine wine, modern additives and industrial processing limit true quality. Their winemaking philosophy includes fermenting entirely with native yeasts from the vineyard, rather than cultured yeast strains; extracting color, flavor, and tannins from the grapes without use of commercial enzymes; allowing malolactic fermentation to occur naturally; achieving wine clarity through settling and racking.