Rutherford Hill Winery
200 Rutherford Hill Rd, Rutherford, CA 94573
Website: http://www.rutherfordhill.com/#
This is one of the three wineries within the Rutherford appellation that starts with the same name, but each has a different owner. Rutherford Hill is the furthest north of the three wineries located off of the Silverado Trail. This winery was purchased by the Terlato family in 1966 and is one of the many wineries in the Terlato Wine Group international portfolio. The family motto is “Quality is a way of life”, and that is evident in the state of the art facility at Rutherford Hill.
I was surprised when my husband and I pulled up to the winery. I had seen a couple of pictures of the barn-like structure on their website but was not prepared for how massive it really was. From the outside the winery looks like a large ski lodge or recreation hall, which is in stark contrast to the bright, spotless interior of the tasting room with light wood paneling and tasting bar. There are large windows that bring in lots of sunlight and a tiled floor that blends in with the rest of the room. It clearly looks like a place that was recently renovated. In the spring of 2000 the Terlatos spent more than $7 million building a 5,100 square foot expansion that included 24 fermentation tanks ranging from 1,500 to 6,000 gallons.
I had made a tour reservation in advance through their website. Tours are conducted several times a day and tour passes can be purchased in the tasting room. Check the website for specific times. This was a nice tour that I would recommend to anyone spending some time around the northern end of the Silverado Trail. The tour started off outside of the winery near the edge of a hill looking down onto the surrounding valley. In the background was a view of the mountains. We looked out at the beautiful view while the tour guide talked about the importance of terroir. One of the lasting memories I will have of this place is when the tour guide asked who knew what terroir is, and I – being in a somewhat inebriated state – raised my hand and gave my best definition. In response, the tour guide said “You get a gold star!” Now whenever someone mentions the work “terroir”, my husband refers to me as his “little wine nerd”.
Entrance to the wine caves at Rutherford Hill Winery
Our second stop on the tour was a short walk to the wine caves built into a hill. The entrance to the cave is built of stone with large wooden doors. On each side of the cave are huge wooden trellises covered in vines and surrounded by cypress trees. It was very impressive to see! We then took a walk inside the cave. The caves were also refurbished in 1999 and contain 8,000 wine-filled French and American oak barrels year round. As we moved along the tour, our tour guide poured a few different wines. Rutherford Hill produces several varieties of wine with Merlot taking up 75% of production. Other varietals they focus on are Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, and Cabernet Sauvignon. There are additional limited production wines available through the winery.
Fermentation room at Rutherford Hill Winery
Our final stop on the tour before heading back to the tasting room was to the fermentation room. This was also incredible to see. The 24 fermentation tanks lined both sides of the walkway, reaching from floor to ceiling. It was evident that the Terlatos spared no expense in building this world class facility. Based on my personal preference, I would have appreciated the tour a little more if we were able to sample all of the wines together at the end of the tour instead of while we were walking around. I don’t say that to put down the tour because I did enjoy it. However, I am the type of person who likes to really think about the wines I am sampling and take notes. It is very difficult to do that while walking around. I have been on a few other tours that have done this. Many tours will offer a taste of wine at the beginning or at specified points but follow with a seated tasting at the end. That wasn’t the case with this tour.