Wine · Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Rhys Vineyards
Site-driven Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from steep Santa Cruz Mountains vineyards.
- Founded
- 1995
- Founded by
- Kevin Harvey
- Based in
- Santa Cruz Mountains, California
Making it since
1995
Their story
Rhys began in 1995 when Kevin Harvey planted 30 Pinot Noir vines at his home in Woodside, on the Peninsula. He wanted to make the kind of wine he loved to drink, and by 2000 he had his first full barrel.
From there he planted a string of estate vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains, including Alpine, Horseshoe and Skyline, and later in Mendocino County at Bearwallow and Clarke. Each was chosen for elevation, slope and thin, rocky soil.
How it's made
Rhys plants and farms every estate vineyard itself, selecting rootstocks, clones and vine spacing site by site. More than 100 small fermentations each year use only native yeasts, and the wines are bottled without fining or filtration, partly in a gravity-flow cave winery at Skyline.
Why we carry them
Rhys is one of the reasons the Santa Cruz Mountains have such a strong following. These are wines to open slowly and talk about.
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