Rob Costantino provides more about the history of the Russian River Valley as a wine region and the growers, winemakers, and producers who built its reputation.

RRV Wine History The region and its river were named after the Russians, who arrived in 1812, hunted otters off the Sonoma coast for fur and food, and left by 1841. They may have planted the first wine grapes, but it was settlers from European grape-growing countries, spilling in from the Gold Rush, that ignited what became a vibrant wine industry. By 1876 grape vines covered 7,000 acres and more than a half million gallons of wine were produced. The era's prominent wineries included the Martini & Prati Winery, established in 1880 and now the home of Martin Ray Winery; Korbel Champagne Cellars, which opened in 1882 after two decades of lumber production; and Foppiano Winery, founded in 1896 and still going strong under Foppiano family leadership. Prohibition crippled the RRV wine industry; many wineries shut their doors for good, and the industry was slow to start up again after Repeal. The region's modern wine industry began in the early to mid-1960s, when farmers and visionaries such as Joseph Swan began planting cool-climate grape varieties. In the beginning Chardonnay was easier to sell than Pinot Noir, but the high quality of the fruit was undeniable, and the Burgundy varieties have attracted many who believe that the Russian River Valley is California's promised land for the great grapes of Burgundy.

RRV Divisions The fog may help define the appellation's borders, but the region's soils, aspects, and mesoclimates vary widely, and variability is evident even within vineyards. Grape growers and producers divide the territory into several areas. The Green Valley and the Sebastopol Hills are the coolest areas, and the predominant vineyard soil, Goldridge (nutrient-poor, eroded sandstone from uplifted ancient seabeds), is an excellent substrate for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, unfortunately, gophers, a vineyard scourge that requires constant pest management. The Laguna Ridge, which lies just east of Route 116 between Molino and Forestville, also has the favored Goldridge soils and is prime Pinot and Chardonnay land. The northern stretch of vineyards that line the Russian River from east of Guerneville to just south of Healdsburg is referred to as the Middle Reach, an area renowned for lush, multitextured Chardonnay and Pinot Noir; the soils vary from alluvial soils and soils laden with what was once volcanic ash to denser, packed clay soils; and more. Many of the vineyards on the Santa Rosa Plain and the less foggy Chalk Hill AVA, which has volcanic ash-derived soils resembling chalk in appearance, are better suited to Chardonnay and grape varieties that thrive in warmer conditions than Pinot Noir likes.

RRV Winegrowers Grape growers and producers, both small and large, from the region and beyond its borders, have harvested Chardonnay and Pinot Noir gold and helped build the region's sterling reputation. Long-time RRV farmers, such as the Martinellis and Rochiolis, began planting the Burgundy varieties, sold their grapes, and eventually built their own wineries. In the mid-1950s, the Bacigalupis bought land along Westside Road southwest of Healdsburg, expanded and improved the vineyard acreage, and sold grapes. Bacigalupi fruit composed 40 percent of Chateau Montelena's 1973 Chardonnay—the white wine that was judged the best at Steven Spurrier's famous 1976 Paris Tasting. The family is now making wine under the John Tyler Wines label.

Davis Bynum, Bryce Cutre-Jones, Tom Dehlinger, Cecil DeLoach, Kent Richie, and Joseph Swan were in the Chardonnay growing business in the early and mid-1970s, and all except Richie became producers—really "winegrowers," the American equivalent of the French vignerons, people who are intimately involved in all aspects of grape growing and winemaking. Gary Farrell, Iron Horse, Marimar Torres, Williams Selyem, and others followed, further enhancing the RRV name for wines made with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Today such stellar artisanal producers as DuMOL, Hartford Family, Paul Hobbs, Kosta-Browne, Littorai, Olson Ogden, and Siduri receive high praise for their RRV wines.

Large-scale farmers and producers include Korbel, which sources more than half of their fruit from their own vineyards, including 500 acres of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley. Korbel's vintage cuvées, Natural (about 45,000 cases) and its toasty, small-volume (2,000 cases) Brut Premier, are both made with grapes sourced exclusively from the appellation. Gallo has a strong presence in the appellation, with their Laguna Ranch, MacMurray Ranch (450 acres of Fred MacMurray's cattle ranch are now vineyards), and other properties, the sources for the value-packed Frei Brothers Chardonnay and Pinot Noir and the complex MacMurray Pinot Noir. Two of Jackson Family Wines' prestigious labels, Hartford Family Wines and La Crema, have received consistent praise for both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Hartford specializes in small-lot, mostly single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from estate-owned, cool-site vineyards in the Green Valley. La Crema's output is larger and appellation based; talented winemaker Melissa Stackhouse makes moderately priced, high-value Chardonnay and Pinot Noir by blending fruit from company-owned RRV vineyards. Arrowood, a recent Jackson Family Wines acquisition, makes an elegant and flavorful Chardonnay among its RRV cuvées.

The majority of 1,100 vineyard acres farmed by the Dutton Ranch are Green Valley properties within a short drive of the original 35-acre ranch purchased by Warren and Gail Dutton in 1964 and are planted with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines. Today Gail and her sons Steve and Joe sell grapes from vineyards they own or lease to more than 50 producers. In addition, the sons also are accomplished wine producers; Steve is a partner with winemaker Dan Goldfield in Dutton-Goldfield, and Joe owns Dutton Estate/Sebastopol Vineyards. Both lease vineyard land from the Dutton Ranch for their own wines.

Richard and Saralee Kunde own six vineyards and farm 18 wine-grape varieties on more than 500 acres. The Kundes' highly sought-after grapes were sold to 45 producers for the 2009 harvest.

RRV Sparklers The appellation is home to consistently good sparkling wine made with Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, together or alone. Besides Korbel, the first and largest RRV sparkling wine producer (see "RRV Winegrowers" above), Iron Horse, founded by Barry and Audrey Sterling in 1976; J Vineyards & Winery, established by Judy Jordan in 1986; and Piper-Sonoma, a Rémy Cointreau USA brand made by Winemaker Rafa&eunlaut;l Brisbois at the winery that was sold to J, all have their fans. Joy Sterling, president of Iron Horse, and Judy Jordan are two of the most dynamic, engaged, take-charge women wine producers that you'll find anywhere in the wine world. Both have improved their respective wineries' sparkling-wine portfolios and expanded their range of still wines. Iron Horse bottles nine different cuvées, all vintage dated except the small-lot multivintage Joy (50 cases), a tête de cuvêe sold in magnums and aged on yeast lees for at least ten years. J Winery sells five different cuvées made by Winemaker Hollis Price; their Vintage Brut, Late Disgorged is their top-of-the-line sparkler. Piper Sonoma markets two nonvintage bottlings, a Brut and a Blanc de Blancs.

RRV Wine Value The region's Chardonnay is a better value than the Pinot Noir. Quality Pinot Noir requires lower yields and more work in the vineyards, and these two factors necessarily raise the overall cost of the wines. When considering the entire spectrum of prices for American wines, small-lot, single-vineyard RRV Chardonnay and Pinot Noir are expensive—too dear for many restaurant guests, who will spend only so much for a bottle of wine. As a group, however, these wines are among the most coveted Californian Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs—diners with deep pockets order them, often because they are highly allocated wines they cannot purchase elsewhere. On the other hand, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir appellation wines—not vineyard-designated wines—are often excellent values on restaurant wine lists. These wines will be less expensive and also more consistent from vintage to vintage because many are blended from a number of different vineyards within the expansive appellation. The appeal of RRV fruit cannot be denied, and both mainstream and ethnic restaurants list these popular RRV wines.