Rutherford Hill Winery

Nestled high in the eastern hills, Rutherford Hill Winery commands a spectacular view of Napa Valley's Rutherford Bench. From a handful of the most select Napa vineyards Rutherford Hill continues its tradition of crafting legendary wines. In 1976, while the world was just beginning to notice the Napa Valley, the founders of Rutherford Hill recognized a unique opportunity. They believed that the Valley's climate and soil, similar to Pomerol, were well suited to Merlot and were among the first to pioneer what has become one of Napa's premier varietals. The Terlato Wine Group (TWG) began their association with the winery as Rutherford Hill's Illinois distributor. After four years of handling Rutherford Hill's fine wines Terlato Wines International, a Terlato Wine Group company, became the winery's U.S. marketer. In 1996 the partnership that owned Rutherford Hill decided to sell. The Terlato family purchased the winery and seized the opportunity to continue and improve a Napa Valley brand synonymous with quality and excellence. The Terlato family, owners of Terlato Wines International, has been associated with many of the world's greatest wines and the world's most influential winemakers and producers. This involvement has provided them with unique insight to an array of winemaking styles, soils and grapes. The purchase of Rutherford Hill provided an opportunity to apply their love of wine, their commitment to quality and extensive industry knowledge to the creation of wines that express their own vision. Rutherford Hill has closed the circle for the Terlato family, adding production to their decades of experience in retailing, distributing, sales and marketing, giving them a scope unmatched in the wine industry. The Terlato's influence on the winery was immediate. Working closely with their winemakers, the family chose to eliminate 14,000 cases of wine from their first blend. This sacrifice ensured the 1995 vintage of Rutherford Hill Napa Valley Merlot reflected the core philosophy of the family - always place quality first. Rutherford Hill's grape sourcing has undergone a significant, beneficial evolution. Today, the winery sources premium fruit from a network of meticulously selected Napa Valley grape growers. These chosen growers share the winery's commitment to quality and intelligent farming practices. Along with a palette of contracted grape sources, Rutherford Hill utilizes fruit grown on a 60-acre, estate-owned vineyard in the Rutherford appellation. In addition to this estate-owned vineyard, Rutherford Hill farms another 130 acres under a controlling lease. In conjunction with improvements to fruit sources, the winery's production equipment has also been significantly enhanced. In the spring of 2000, Rutherford Hill added a state-of-the art fermentation area dedicated to the production of Reserve-tier wines. This 5,100 square foot addition houses an assortment of small- capacity fermentation tanks, an extremely gentle de-stemmer and a pneumatic press. This wing functions as a "winery within the winery" and allows precise, quality-enhancing techniques to be applied to the most promising fruit. These new grape sources and more than $4 million in capital improvements have contributed to a history of vintage-by-vintage enhancements. A distinctive aspect of Rutherford Hill is the extensive hillside cave system. The mile-long caves contain over 8,000 French and American oak barrels in which all of the winery's harvests are matured. This unique, natural environment enhances the wine-aging process and produces wines of consistent, notable character. The winery is under the direction of Willis Blakewell who joined in 1992 as controller/CFO. In 1996 the Terlatos appointed Blakewell Rutherford Hill's General Manager. In addition to their award-winning Merlot and Merlot Reserve, Rutherford Hill also produces superb Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, Sangiovese, Gewürztraminer, Sauvignon Blanc and Zinfandel Port. For the Terlato family, the business and the pleasure of wine are one and the same - quality is a way of life.

Napa, United States

200 Rutherford Hill Road,

(707) 963-7194