Bedrock Wine Co.

Morgan Twain-Peterson launched Bedrock Wine Co. in 2007 out of a converted chicken coop, working initially with fruit from Bedrock Vineyard and the Teldeschi Ranch in Dry Creek Valley. The first vintage was hand-destemmed and fermented in traditional redwood fermenters, a deliberate nod to old California winemaking practice. Those debut wines hit the market in September 2008, just ten days after the collapse of Lehman Brothers, a timing that would have tested the resolve of any new producer. The name and identity of the project were inseparable from Bedrock Vineyard itself, a 152-acre site in Sonoma Valley with roots stretching back to 1854 and vine stock replanted by Senator George Hearst in 1888.

• Founded 2007, first wines fermented in a converted chicken coop using redwood fermenters
• Debut release timed just 10 days after the Lehman Brothers collapse in September 2008
• Initial fruit sourced from Bedrock Vineyard and Teldeschi Ranch, Dry Creek Valley
• Bedrock Vineyard first established 1854, replanted 1888 by Senator George Hearst

Morgan Twain-Peterson is the son of Joel Peterson, founder of Ravenswood, so old-vine Zinfandel and Sonoma's field-blend tradition run deep in his background. He completed the Master of Wine examination in 2017, one of very few practicing U.S. winemakers to hold that qualification, which informs both the intellectual rigour of his wine research and the precision of his vineyard documentation. Chris Cottrell joined as partner in 2012, the first person outside the founding circle to become part of the business, and the two now lead a team of ten spanning winemaking, vineyard management, and hospitality. Together they have grown Bedrock from a one-man garage project into a nationally recognized voice for California's heritage vine culture.

• Morgan Twain-Peterson is the son of Joel Peterson, founder of Ravenswood winery
• Earned Master of Wine qualification in 2017, one of a handful of practicing U.S. winemakers with this certification
• Chris Cottrell joined as co-owner and partner in 2012, the first outsider admitted to the business
• Current team numbers ten people across winemaking, vineyard management, and hospitality

Bedrock's vineyard portfolio reads like a catalogue of California's pre-Prohibition past. The 152-acre Bedrock Vineyard in Sonoma Valley, with plantings dating to 1888, anchors the range, but the winery also works with Evangelho Vineyard in Contra Costa County, planted in the 1890s on its own roots, and Pato Vineyard nearby, planted in 1905 on Delhi sands and also own-rooted. Bien Nacido Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley, developed in the early 1970s, supplies Syrah and Chardonnay, while Hudson, Sky, Weill, and White Hawk vineyards provide additional Syrah sources. Teldeschi Ranch in Dry Creek Valley rounds out a portfolio that deliberately spans California from the Central Coast to the Bay Area foothills.

• Bedrock Vineyard: 152 acres, Sonoma Valley, vine stock from 1888 replanting by Senator George Hearst
• Evangelho and Pato vineyards, Contra Costa County: own-rooted vines planted in the 1890s and 1905 respectively on Delhi sands
• Bien Nacido Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley: developed early 1970s, source of Syrah and Chardonnay
• Portfolio spans Sonoma Valley, Dry Creek Valley, Contra Costa County, and Santa Maria Valley

Bedrock's winemaking philosophy centres on preserving the complexity already present in ancient co-planted vineyards rather than engineering it in the cellar. The flagship Heritage wines are true field blends, fermenting Zinfandel alongside Carignane, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, and assorted mixed black varieties as they were grown together in the vineyard. Native yeasts drive fermentation, handling is kept gentle throughout, and maturation relies predominantly on neutral French oak so that the fruit and site character dominate. Bedrock Vineyard itself operates under Practicing Organic principles and received full Regenerative Organic Certification in 2025, joining just 19 U.S. vineyards and 24 globally at that certification level.

• Heritage wines are authentic field blends: Zinfandel co-fermented with Carignane, Petite Sirah, Alicante Bouschet, and mixed black varieties
• Fermentation with native yeasts; maturation in predominantly neutral French oak to preserve site character
• Bedrock Vineyard certified Practicing Organic and achieved Regenerative Organic Certification in 2025
• Redwood fermenters used from the inaugural vintage, referencing pre-Prohibition California winemaking tradition

Bedrock Wine Co. occupies a singular position in California wine: it is simultaneously a quality-driven producer with national critical acclaim and an active preservation organization working to keep irreplaceable old-vine sites in production. As a founding member of the Historic Vineyard Society, the winery has helped build the institutional framework for cataloguing and protecting California's ancient vineyards. The Bedrock Heritage Wine's repeated appearances in Wine Spectator's Top 100, including a ranking as high as number 13, demonstrate that heritage-vine field blends can compete at the very top of the critical conversation. For students of American wine, Bedrock represents the argument that California has genuinely old viticultural history worth understanding and protecting, not just a modern industry built on international varieties.

• Founding member of the Historic Vineyard Society, dedicated to saving and rehabilitating California's historic vine sites
• Bedrock Heritage Wine has appeared three times in Wine Spectator Top 100, reaching number 13
• Named Winery of the Year by critic Antonio Galloni in 2020
• Demonstrates the commercial and critical viability of authentic pre-Prohibition field-blend winemaking in modern California