DeLoach Vineyards was founded in 1975 by Cecil DeLoach, Christine DeLoach, and Jack Fleming. It was one of the first wineries established in the Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California.
As a pioneering producer and winegrower of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel in Sonoma’s Russian River Valley, DeLoach Vineyards has been experimenting with and perfecting the best combinations of soil, rootstock, and clones for over three decades. In 2003, the Boisset family brought two generations of sustainable winemaking experience from Burgundy, France to California’s Russian River Valley and pulled up the estate vineyards that had just produced Wine Enthusiast magazine’s 2004 wine of the year: DeLoach Vineyards’ 30th Anniversary Cuvée Pinot Noir. The award-winning vineyards were replanted with cover crops in order to revitalize the soil and in the meantime, DeLoach partnered with winegrowers equally dedicated to and passionate about eco-friendly farming practices and the production of high-quality wines. Wine & Spirits magazine named DeLoach Vineyards a Top 100 Winery for the twelfth time in the winery’s history in 2012.
Organic and Biodynamic Farming
DeLoach Vineyards considers themselves stewards of the land, with a profound responsibility to pass along a clean environment and revitalized, healthy soil to future generations. They take to heart the Native American proverb “We do not inherit this land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children.”
In that spirit, they look to the future with a new focus on eco-friendly farming practices. In July 2008, they were awarded an organic certification by the CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers). Committed to the application of biodynamics, beginning with the conversion of 17 acres of estate vineyards from sustainable to biodynamic farming methods, which involves the use of cover crops, the application of biodynamic specific preparations and composts, and the maintenance of biodiversity within the estate. In December 2009, Demeter granted DeLoach their biodynamic certification for both their estate vineyards and 1-acre garden.
Per the guidelines of biodynamics, they are as attentive to the other aspects of their property and the community as they are to their vines. They maintain and encourage biodiversity on the winery estate with chickens, a thriving beehive, and a diverse vegetable and herb garden that includes the medicinal plants used in the compost preparations such as yarrow, chamomile, and dandelion. In the holistic spirit of biodynamics, they will also continue to cultivate a sense of community with neighbors, growers, and natural surroundings.
