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Wine Partners
Written By: Davis Picklesimer - Highlands Wine Shoppe | Issue: 2018/08 - August
In the beginning…A few wine pioneers can say they helped shape the landscape of the California wine industry. It’s easy to forget that quality California wine is still in its infancy compared to the century-old wine traditions of Italy and France. For Sonoma, we can thank the early pioneers, Cecil and Christine De Loach, for cutting a path for others to follow.
In 1970, while Cecil was still a San Francisco firefighter (Tillerman) and Christine worked in a correctional facility, they purchased their first property in Sonoma.
Christine explains, “Against the ‘wise judgment’ of the time, we purchased 27 acres…at first; our only hope was to make enough to pay the taxes.”
With Cecil growing up on a family farm in Andalusia, Alabama, and Christine spending her youth at a cousin’s Calistoga cattle ranch, they both share “a love and respect of land.”
Fortunately, during the 70’s, Americans started drinking more quality wine. This allowed the De Loaches to grow and acquire more land. Going against the conventional wisdom again, they chose property further south of the more popular Dry Creek Valley and Anderson Valley – in Chalk Hill and Olivet Lane. Wanting to produce a Cabernet, they purchased property used for other purposes. Chalk Hill was a prune orchard and an Arabian horse training facility. These trend-setting decisions would be enough for most, but not the De Loaches. In 1975, they made a decision that marked them as “crazy” for a number of years but ultimately benefited the entire Sonoma region; they planted Pinot Noir. Now, Pinot Noir is the top red varietal and is only behind Chardonnay for Sonoma.
With their personal success, the wine community asked for help in establishing Sonoma as a wine region. After a few years of collaborative work, Christine helped establish Russian River Valley as an AVA in 1983.
Currently, they produce 25,000 cases under the Hook & Ladder label and sell enough grapes to other wineries to produce over 30,000 additional cases. In the wine industry, this symbolizes one of the highest levels of respect for your land and growing practices.
In the end, the De Loaches are able to look over a landscape in full bloom they helped plant. Their vines will bear fruit long after they are gone.
May our next glass of wine be together!
