St. Peter’s Church

History

St. Peter’s Church vineyard lies just behind St. Peter’s Catholic Church located in the Alexander Valley AVA of Sonoma County in the town of Cloverdale. The site was first planted in the early 1870s by Irish immigrants Frank McElarney and Patrick Smith. While original vines were lost to phylloxera, the vineyard was replanted in the 1880s with zinfandel, carignane, and petite sirah— vines that continue to thrive across the five-acre site today. To protect the new plantings, McElarney and Smith planted the zinfandel in the center and surrounded them with carignane and petite sirah, which at the time was viewed as the lesser-than varetials.

The vineyard was sold by the Smith family to Italian immigrant Andre Ghiotti in 1906. Later on, ownership transferred to the Catholic Church, which sold grapes to large producers in addition to producing sacramental wine until the early 1990s. In that period, Jack Florence Jr. took over management of the vineyard, which produce the first initial vineyard-designated bottling of St. Peter’s Church vineyard in 1992 by White Oak Vineyard. Soon thereafter, Jack connected with Kent Rosenblum – founder of Rosenblum Cellars and father of RIDGE winemaker Shauna Rosenblum – an ideal partner to help realize the full potential of the zinfandel from St. Peter’s Church Vineyard.

Location

Alexander Valley

Grape Varieties

Zinfandel, petite sirah, and alicante bouschet

Age of Vines

Perimeter vines on cordon were planted around 2004, while the core of the old vines is in the middle, head-trained vines planted in the 1880s.

Soil

Zamora silty clay loam

Training & Yields

3.5 tons per acre

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Learn more about this vineyard’s fascinating history and why the San Francisco Chronicle called it “one of the most influential vineyards in America” on our blog: St. Peter’s Church Zinfandel