August 18th – Cienega Valley AVA, CA – Eden Rift, underneath vine since 1849, has positioned within the esteemed Prime 100 Wineries of the 12 months listing, printed by main wine publication, Wine & Spirits. Amongst different noteworthy wineries included within the listing are Domaine de Bellene (Burgundy), Bollinger (Champagne), Domaine Fournier (Languedoc), Selbach-Oster (Mosel), Ornellaia (Tuscany), Elena Fucci (Basilicata), Tempos Vega Sicilia (Ribera del Duero), Chateau Musar (Lebanon), Drew Household Wines (North Coast/CA), Corison (Napa Valley, CA) and Nicolas-Jay (Oregon).
Acquired in 2016 by San Francisco native, Christian Pillsbury, Eden Rift rose shortly in recognition amongst discerning wine drinkers, sommeliers, and retailers, for his or her limestone-borne pinot noirs and chardonnays. “This accolade is very significant to us, as we maintain Wine & Spirits journal in very excessive regard. They assume reader intelligence, constantly providing elevated, well-written content material for a broad vary of wine lovers, from the curious entry-level wine buyer to the seasoned collector. To be included of their listing of high 100 wineries is humbling for a model as comparatively younger as ours, however completely indicative of the place we imagine we’re taking it.” says Pillsbury.
Situated within the Cienega Valley AVA, which straddles each Monterey and San Benito counties, Eden Rift can also be residence to considered one of California’s oldest Zinfandel plantings, established in 1906. Extra just lately, the property crew has devoted a small, three-acre planting to syrah, grenache and mourvedre. Winemaker and Hollister native, Cory Waller, who tenured underneath Josh Jensen at Calera, amongst different pinot noir makers of notice, focuses his efforts on shepherding wines of place, highlighting pure acidity, steadiness, freshness, construction, and a compelling textural profile.
The Eden Rift tasting room is positioned contained in the property’s Dickinson Home, designed by Walter Burley Griffin, a devotee of the Prairie College and shut affiliate of Frank Lloyd Wright. In-built 1906, it’s a true illustration of Prairie College structure from the early twentieth century. An aesthetic born in opposition to mass manufacturing and assembly-line manufacturing, the Prairie College advocated for “natural structure”; {that a} construction ought to look as if it grew organically from the bottom upon which it was constructed.
To study extra about Eden Rift, please go to www.edenrift.com
About Eden Rift
The land recognized at the moment as Eden Rift has been underneath vine since 1849. For properly over a century, its limestone- and dolomite-rich soils have handed via the arms of fearless pioneers, every with their very own daring viticultural obsessions.
In 1830, a French wine service provider, Theophile Vache, got here to the US from Bordeaux by means of Cape Horn. In 1849, whereas California was nonetheless underneath the Mexican flag, he ventured from Monterey to the Cienega Valley and planted a small winery on this website. In 1883, Vache’s neighbor, William Palmtag, then the mayor of Hollister, purchased the property from Vache and, underneath the title, Palmtag Mountain Vineyards, elevated the wines being made there; a lot in order that his wines swept advantageous wine classes in each nationwide and worldwide wine competitions of the day.
By 1906, underneath the twin possession of Captain Jules Jacques St. Hubert, a winemaker, and a Chicago grain dealer named John Dickinson, the property was remodeled additional when Dickinson made a dedication to his homestead by including a residence to the property. He employed Walter Burley Griffin, maybe finest often called the associate of Frank Lloyd Wright, to custom-design the Dickinson Home, which at the moment serves because the residence of Eden Rift proprietor, Christian Pillsbury.
Lengthy fascinated by early California historical past, and by the Prohibition-Period, Pillsbury was partially drawn to this land by its wealthy, nuanced historical past. Amongst his personal assortment of early Cienega Valley artifacts are previous labels and articles in regards to the Valliant label, which for years thrived at this website underneath the stewardship of Hiram Walker, the worldwide spirits home. The property was later owned by the Gimellli household, Italian immigrants who delivered to the property a fantastic, “new nation” aesthetic.
Previous to buying the property, Pillsbury and his crew carried out intensive analysis on the land; the soil points, diurnal swings, wind patterns, micro- and macro-climates of every block… and concluded that the calcareous, limestone wealthy soils could be finest suited to pinot noir and chardonnay. A severe, unflinching winegrower, he has invested nice emotional and monetary sources to strengthen Eden Rift’s place within the continuum of California’s winemaking lineage.
