We had a wonderful Virtual Wine Tasting with Halleck Vineyards in Sebastopol California.
What a great experience. The wines are delicious and Ross, Jennifer and Stephanie were all great to work with. We definitely recommend this winery for your next Virtual Wine Tasting.
Halleck Vineyards is a family artisan winery, judged #1 for Pinot Noirs in North America, earning "BEST OF CLASS" in the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition for 2019!
Virtual Tasting Salon in your Home!
• Choose the wine.
• Schedule a time.
• Log onto Zoom.
• Speak with the vintner, Ross Halleck, or Stephanie Culen, Certified Sommelier.
We also received with our wine selection a Halleck Vineyard wine opener, cheese from Valley Ford Creamery and chocolates from Sonoma Chocolatiers.
https://www.halleckvineyard.com/Wine/virtual-tasting
Ross Halleck
Ross Halleck provided the vision and passion behind Halleck Vineyard. He embarked upon his wine career unconventionally. He founded Halleck, Inc. in 1980 as one of the preeminent brand and marketing agencies in Silicon Valley.
Pursuing personal interests, Ross focused on both high technology and wine, maintaining offices in Palo Alto and Sebastopol, CA.
Companies such as HP, Agilent, McKesson Corporation, Beaulieu Vineyard, St. Supery Vineyards, Kendall-Jackson, Raymond Vineyards, Iron Horse Vineyards and Jordan Winery worked with Halleck to enhance their brands.
Ross moved to Sonoma County in 1991 to develop a Pinot Noir vineyard in the Sonoma Coast region. Once married, Ross and Jennifer dedicated their efforts in the vineyard to putting their future children through college. Planting in 1993, the first harvest was in 1999.
Now divorced, Ross and Jennifer and have redefined family, continuing to work harmoniously in the winery and in parenting their sons.
Ross shepherds the spirit of the earth into every glass of Halleck Vineyard wine. He brings business acumen and sensitivity, fueled by passion. He continues to drive the marketing of Halleck Vineyard, along with crafting the wines.
Ross is the father of three sons, now focused on his singular career of Halleck Vineyard. He recently retired his seat on the Board of Directors for Sonoma County Legal Aid which he held for 9 years, the longest serving Board member in the organization's history.
Jennifer Halleck
Jennifer was instrumental in bringing Halleck Vineyard to life. While their first son, Connor, was an infant, Jennifer researched rootstocks at local nurseries. Stumbling upon a single line entry in the yellow pages, she met John Caldwell, who set the cornerstone for Halleck Vineyard's success. He introduced Jennifer to the Dijon clones. During the 1992 Napa Valley Wine Auction, Ross and Jennifer tasted barrel samples of Pinot Noir from Saintsbury to discover the Dijon clones 667, 777, and 115. These were purchased from John.
With the vineyard and three children underway, Jennifer delved into the wine world, which quickly became a passion. Working in the cellar at Tandem Winery with Greg Lafollette, she then moved into the tasting room at J Vineyards and Winery, followed by a job in sales representing Kosta Brown. All her experience, with her love of agriculture, confirmed that producing Halleck Vineyard wines was her calling.
She now wears many hats, among them sourcing vineyards, wine production, hosting charity events, mounds of emails and, of course, creating many great wines.
Rick Davis, Winemaker
Fed by his life-long passion for all things gourmet and artistic, Rick’s epicurean and creative endeavors led to his graduate work in regional planning at University of Pennsylvania and a career as a leather artisan. However, he found the perfect balance of craftmanship, sensory experiences and life sciences in winemaking.
Within the wine industry, Rick’s desire to improve upon the processes and final product has proven very successful over 20 years. He specializes in cool climate varietals like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and has worked with many of the top producers on the Sonoma Coast. During the 2001 and 2002 vintages, Rick worked with winemaker Greg Lafollette, supervising the production of the 2001 Tandem Halleck Vineyard Pinot Noir that won the “Pinot Noir Summit” in 2002. Rick has become intimately familiar with the Halleck Vineyard Estate terroir, and in 2005, came on as Winemaker. Rick provides oversight and direction for the Halleck Vineyard winemaking, consulting Jennifer and Ross on final blends. https://www.halleckvineyard.com/People
The Estate
A family one acre site, Halleck Vineyard is perched above the Russian River watershed and flanked on the west by the slopes to the Pacific Ocean. It commands an expansive view of the rolling Sonoma County hills to the northeast. At 900 feet, it is one of the highest vineyards in Sonoma County. Planted to encircle the Burnside home, the vineyard faces the west and the north. During the second half of the growing season, coastal fog invades the landscape every afternoon and on rare days, the sun only peeks through. This cool weather allows the fruit to mature slowly and the flavors to intensify. Our Indian summer heat in late September through October spikes the ripening and sugar levels at the last moment for perfect harvest conditions.
The primary intent for this vineyard was to serve as a college fund for our three boys, Connor, Adam, and Quinn. Of course, a passion for Pinot led the charge.
https://www.halleckvineyard.com/Vineyards/Estate
The Farm Vineyards
The Farm Vineyards is a gorgeous, three-acre site on the edge of Sebastopol bordering the “Laguna of Santa Rosa”, making it one of the lowest vineyards in Sonoma County. Owned by our two good friends, George and Ben, the vineyards are organically grown and meticulously maintained.
Planted in 1999, it is cordon pruned using clone 777. Due to its terroir, it is usually our last vineyard to be picked. Surrounded by llamas, goats, bees and dogs, The Farm has consistently given us fruit that is rich and ripe with great texture and structure.
The Farm Vineyards stands as the second flagship in our fleet. We purchased it's very first crop in 2003 and have been crafting wine from this stunning site since.
While our Estate Grown represents our "Tete de Cuvee" from our Sonoma Coast properties, The Farm Vineyards is it's Russian River Valley counterpart. We are thrilled to be farming this vineyard organically, just as we do our Estate Grown vineyard.
https://www.halleckvineyard.com/Vineyards/The-Farm
Some photos courtesy of Halleck Vineyard