Peake Ranch Winery

The Sta. Rita Hills AVA is one of California’s coolest (in both senses!) regions for elegant, precise, and complex Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays, and one of the most exciting Estates is John and Gill Wagner’s Peake Ranch Winery. Their stunning wines have attracted a huge following, and serious critical acclaim.

Story

Owned by PhD Physicist and Hegde Fund Manager, John Wagner, and his wife Gill, Peake Ranch Winery has gone from strength to strength in just a short time, to become one of Santa Barbara County’s leading names. While the first vintage was 2014, the land has a prestigious history.

The Peake Ranch Vineyard surrounding the winery was previously home to the Sandford Winery, owned by pioneering vintner Robert Sandford. It was here that he and a few other regional legends developed what was to become the Sta. Rita Hills AVA in the 1990s – it’s literally the birthplace of the area surrounding it! The land was purchased by the Wagners in 2012, and developed in the stunning site and winery that stand there today.

Their vinous tail starts earlier, though, with John’s purchase in the early 2000s of the Sierra Madre Vineyard, around 30 miles north in the Santa Maria Valley. He has since developed it into one of the most coveted sources of the high-quality fruit, especially the Chardonnay.

In 2008, John entered into a partnership to develop 150 acres of land in the east of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA, that was to become the John Sebastiano Vineyard. It is renowned as a ‘Grand Cru’ for Pinot Noir fruit.

Having simply farmed the land to this point, John and Gill hired renowned winemaker Paul Lato to craft their first ever vintage as vintners with their 2014 release, under their new Peak Ranch Winery brand, and the rest is history.​

Vineyards

Located on the eastern end of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA on Santa Rosa Road, Peake Ranch is a 43 hectare parcel with 20 hectares under vine. The combination sloped with of 360 degrees of aspect coupled with the exposure to varying degrees of the cool wind give the vineyard a diversity of fruit flavour profiles that is unique for a ranch of our size.

John Sebastiano Vineyard is located on the eastern edge of the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. The raised elevation of this vineyard exposes this spot to an extra dose of the winds that the region is famous for. Cool nights and constant wind make for grapes that show great concentration.

Sierra Madre is located on the western side of the Santa Maria Valley, around 50 miles north of the winery, where it benefits from cool summers. the Peake Ranch block is a south-facing hillside comprised of sandy, well-drained soil. The Robert Young clones that grow here take advantage of the spot to become both fully ripe and at the same time retain a high level of acidity.

The vineyards are managed by a true West Coast icon among wineries, Michael Anderson. Michael spent most of his life in vineyards, and viticulture is both a profession and avocation. He grew up working in his family’s grape nursery leading to an early interest in viticulture. After finishing his education at UC Davis, Michael served as a researcher, author and educator at his alma mater for 30+ years. He was also vineyard manager for the University’s legendary Oakville Station in Napa. He joined the Peake team in 2017.

Winemaking

Wynne Solomon grew up in Sonoma County, in the town of Windsor, and fell in love with the wine culture there. She moved down to the Central Coast to study Wine and Viticulture at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo in 2010. She began making wine with Stephen Ross Winery in the Edna Valley and moved down to the Sta. Rita Hills to continue pursuing cool climate winemaking with Melville Winery. She worked with Paul Lato in blending the 2017 vintage and made the 2018 vintage hand in hand with him. She joined the Peake Ranch team in 2018, and inaugurated the new winery and tasting room with the 2019 harvest. Her vision for Peake Ranch is to focus on the unique attributes of this area while emphasising balance in Californian wines.

Latest arrivals from Peake Ranch Winery

2018 Peake Ranch, Chardonnay, Santa Barbara County 1x75cl

JD94
Blend: 100% Chardonnay Vintage production: 584 cases Peake Ranch has gone from "One to watch" to a fully-fledged Santa Barbara Superstar in just a few years, and with wines like their delectable... Santa Barbara County Chardonnay it's not hard to see why! Described as Peake's 'Appellation' wine by Jeb Dunnuck, it has 'Grand Cru' stats. It falls very much into limited-production territory, which belies a remarkable price point. Counting two of the region's top sites in the Estate portfolio - the Sierra Madre Vineyard in Santa Maria, and Peake Ranch Vineyard in Sta. Rita Hills - winemaker Wynn Solomon has fruit of the highest quality possible to pick from. Both sites are combined to perfection in the Santa Barbara County Chardonnay.
£34 / BottleDuty Status: In Bond ⋅ Price incl. of Duty & VAT: £44.00 / BottleAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days

2019 Peake Ranch, Sierra Madre Vineyard Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley 12x75cl

JD96RP96+
Blend: 100% Chardonnay Vintage production: 251 cases A single-vineyard Chardonnay from one of the hottest producers on the West Coast... Only 251 cases produced... Scores of 96+ WA and 96 JD...... This already sounds like a serious prospect, and with an incredible price the Peake Ranch Sierra Madre Vineyard Chardonnay 2019 is an unbelievable buy. Winemaker Wynn Solomon has produced a wine that showcases the pedigree of this vineyard in northern Santa Barbara County, and why Peake Ranch is held in the very highest regard. The Wine Advocate's Erin Brooks picked up on the Sierra Madre 2019s "Tangy acidity and shimmery mineral character", which is textbook for the vineyard. The cold Pacific breezes and fog drawn inland from the nearby coast, and terroir dominated by chalky/sandy ancient seabed, come together gloriously. Jeb Dunnuck talked about how it is "Delivering California fruit in a Burgundian style" (i.e. richness and bags of tension), yet a Chardonnay of the same class from the Côte d'Or would be double the price if not more. The Sierra Madre 2019 is a tremendous wine to savour now and anytime over the coming 10 years.
£550 / Case£45.83 / BottleDuty Status: In Bond ⋅ Price incl. of Duty & VAT: £698.45 / Case, £58.20 / BottleAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days

2019 Peake Ranch, John Sebastiano Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills 12x75cl

RP96
Blend: 100% Pinot Noir Vintage Production: 273 cases This highly regarded Pinot Noir showcases perfectly why the top wines of the cool-climate Sta. Rita Hills AVA are regularly likened to the greats... of Burgundy, while standing apart for their distinctive depth of fruit and wonderful aromatics. The hallmarks of the vineyard's raised elevation and increased exposure of the steep vineyard blocks to the cold Pacific breezes. Now part of the Peake Ranch Estate, John Sebastiano Vineyard was developed by John Peake and his family friend Sebastiano Sterpa in 2008, and became established as one of Santa Barbara County's 'Grand Crus' in an incredibly short space of time. It is now a prized source for the region's top names including Paul Lato, Foxen, Siduri and Dragonette.
£655 / Case£54.58 / BottleDuty Status: In Bond ⋅ Price incl. of Duty & VAT: £824.45 / Case, £68.70 / BottleAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days

2019 Peake Ranch, John Sebastiano Vineyard Pinot Noir, Sta. Rita Hills 1x75cl

RP96
Blend: 100% Pinot Noir Vintage Production: 273 cases This highly regarded Pinot Noir showcases perfectly why the top wines of the cool-climate Sta. Rita Hills AVA are regularly likened to the greats... of Burgundy, while standing apart for their distinctive depth of fruit and wonderful aromatics. The hallmarks of the vineyard's raised elevation and increased exposure of the steep vineyard blocks to the cold Pacific breezes. Now part of the Peake Ranch Estate, John Sebastiano Vineyard was developed by John Peake and his family friend Sebastiano Sterpa in 2008, and became established as one of Santa Barbara County's 'Grand Crus' in an incredibly short space of time. It is now a prized source for the region's top names including Paul Lato, Foxen, Siduri and Dragonette.
£55 / BottleDuty Status: In Bond ⋅ Price incl. of Duty & VAT: £69.20 / BottleAvailability: Immediate ⋅ ETA to UK address: 2-4 days