Virtual Wine Tasting Long Meadow Ranch St Helena CA Ted and Laddie Hall
"THE STORY OF LONG MEADOW RANCH
In the late 1800’s, the majestic Long Meadow Ranch property thrived with vineyards, apple orchards, olive groves, hay and a goat milk dairy until farming fell dormant during Prohibition. Over the following years, the property became swallowed by the encroaching forest until the Halls bought the property in 1989.
The Hall family carefully breathed life back into the land, nurturing it back to its glory, and then some, by cutting back the abandoned olive trees and replanting the vineyards and apple orchards as you see them growing today. Home to the Mayacamas Estate, the rugged 650-acre landscape nestled in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains also gave way to a long, sweeping meadow, thus the name Long Meadow Ranch was born.
POST CIVIL WAR
President Ulysses S. Grant signs a land patent granting 640-acres to Civil War veteran E.J. Church, which becomes Long Meadow Ranch.
PRE-PROHIBITION
Grapes, apples, olives and hay are cultivated and brought to market by horse-drawn carriage.
PROHIBITION
All farming practices are brought to a halt and a spectacular limestone block residence is built.
LATE 1980’S
The Hall family purchases the overgrown, neglected property and begins a careful restoration.
TODAY
Long Meadow Ranch farms, in 3 counties, over 2,000 acres of grapes, olives, fruits, vegetables and pasture.
TED AND LADDIE HALL
Ted and Laddie’s story began in the late 1960’s. After high school, Ted set out for Princeton University. Two years later, Laddie was accepted to the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Introduced by family in La Porte, Texas because of their similar plans to head east, Ted and Laddie shared a college dance and a courtship followed. The two married in 1971. After a short time in the military, the couple moved to Northern California so Ted could attend business school at Stanford University. Not surprisingly, the move to California ignited a love of winemaking in Ted and he soon dreamed of owning his own vineyard.
Ted and Laddie live on our Mayacamas Estate property. You can find Laddie at the farmer’s market every week and Ted on stage playing the melodic sounds of jazz greats on his trombone.
VISION
To be a family-owned producer and purveyor of world-class wine and food that is economically successful and socially responsible using diversified, sustainable, and organic farming methods.
Our Motto: “Excellence through Responsible Farming”
MISSION
To produce and purvey world-class wine and food and to create the highest quality wine & food experiences that are richly flavorful, healthy, safe, and enjoyable.
VALUES
Balance, respect and stewardship.
FULL CIRCLE FARMING
An organic, sustainable, integrated farming system that relies on each part of the ranch to contribute to the health of the whole.
COMPOST
We make our own fertilizers on the ranch through an extensive composting operation that relies on organic material from each segment of the ranch. When we’re done with the crop season, we move organic material like old pumpkin vines and dead tomato plants into a compost pile, then we add chicken manure as the source of essential nitrogen. By spring, the compost is ready to go back on the field as fertilizer.
SOLAR POWER
We use solar energy to power our commercial and residential needs. This clean form of energy production saves nearly 70 tons of carbon monoxide a year as compared to a natural gas power plant.VINEYARDS
Vineyards are the backbone of Long Meadow Ranch. All of our vineyards, over 150 planted acres in Napa and Anderson Valleys, are farmed using organic practices certified by California Certified Organic Farmers. We farm Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Sangiovese, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Gris.
OLIVE GROVES
Our Prato Lungo (Italian for Long Meadow) groves are the oldest olive orchards in Napa Valley, dating back to the 1870’s. Abandoned for years, these trees were hidden by dense forest until Ted and Chris Hall discovered them while exploring the property on Appaloosas (excellent horses for mountain terrain) in the 1990’s. We cultivate eight acres of these ancient trees and even propagated them to grow new ones to fill in missing plots in the historic grove. Chris planted additional groves using Italian cultivars Frantoio, Leccino, Pendolino and Moraiolo for our Napa Valley Select olive oil.
HIGHLAND CATTLE
The Highland breed has lived for centuries in the rugged, remote highlands of Scotland, where extremely harsh conditions led to natural selection. Only the fittest, most adaptable animals survived. Long Meadow Ranch is proud to have one of the largest herds of this fine animal in California. Several hundred strong, these pasture-raised cattle are at home on our more than 800-acre Tomales Station.
Ted Hall is an entrepreneur and business leader with deep experience in agriculture, wine, specialty foods, food service, consumer products, and retailing. He is a frequent panelist and speaker on sustainable farming practices, especially on the science and economics of organic farming.
Mr. Hall is President & CEO of Long Meadow Ranch & Affiliates, an innovative group of family-owned companies producing grapes and ultra-premium wine, olives and extra virgin olive oil, grass-fed beef and lamb, and fruits and vegetables, using diversified, organic and sustainable farming methods.
Established in 1989, the businesses, which include four wine estates, have farming operations in northern California on more than 2000 acres in Napa, Marin, Mendocino, and Humboldt counties. Long Meadow Ranch is among the pioneers in California of organic viticultural practices and the re-establishment of extra virgin olive oil production.
Long Meadow Ranch operates a sustainable food, wine, and agricultural education destination located in St. Helena, CA, which is anchored by the distinctive farm-to-table restaurant, Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch.
SERVE AND SUSTAIN
Corkage for Community
This unique program was created by Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch to support local, community-based nonprofit organizations monthly. We collect a $10 corkage fee from guests at the restaurant who bring their own bottle of wine and then donate the fees to a different beneficiary each month. In the six years since we launched Corkage for Community (and our restaurant first opened its doors), we have donated over $200,000 to local, community-based nonprofit organizations. If your organization would like to be considered as a recipient,
Timothy Hall Foundation
Founded in memory of Timothy Hall, the Timothy W. Hall Foundation (a 501(c)3) was created to honor his love of agriculture and music. Since 1997, the foundation has been dedicated to supporting innovative, cost effective K-12 school programs in arts and sciences, including school gardens, animal husbandry projects, and music curriculum.
The LMR All Star Big Band performs a benefit concert for the foundation annually. This year marks the sixth annual concert which will be held at Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch on October 6, 2019.
https://www.longmeadowranch.com/the-ranch/philanthropy
Land Trust
The Halls are deeply committed to preserving agriculture and protecting the soil, water, productivity and vitality of Long Meadow Ranch. Through multiple land trust easements in both Napa and Marin Counties, we have turned over 800 acres into protected agricultural land forever. Not only does this mean preserving Napa Valley from becoming overdeveloped, but it also helps maintain water quality, mitigate erosion and restore riparian vegetation in Marin. "
Membership
Join the LMR Corral Club to savor Long Meadow Ranch wines year-round, and enjoy unique benefits and hospitality at its finest.
Araucana
Appaloosa
Highland
All photos and text courtesy of Long Meadow Ranch https://www.longmeadowranch.com/