Cedarville Vineyard

Cedarville Vineyard was founded in 1995 by Jonathan Lachs and Susan Marie Marks, a husband-and-wife team who met at a UC Davis student wine tasting and went on to earn Enology degrees together. Jonathan's first cellar internship at Cakebread Cellars in Napa Valley confirmed his attraction to small-scale, hands-on winemaking, and the couple spent years accumulating Napa Valley and Central Coast cellar experience while building the technical and business skills they would need to launch their own estate. In 1995 they discovered the property that would become Cedarville in the historic Gold Rush town of Fair Play, El Dorado County, drawn to the high-elevation Sierra Foothills setting and the decomposed-granite soils. Jonathan and Susan built the winery themselves and divided operating responsibilities: Susan oversaw the laboratory, label production, finance, and compliance; Jonathan managed the vineyard, sales, and marketing. Susan Marie passed away in 2020, and Jonathan has continued to steward the estate the two of them created, with her contributions woven through every part of the operation she helped design.

• Jonathan Lachs and Susan Marie Marks met at a UC Davis student wine tasting and both earned Enology degrees
• Lachs's first cellar internship was at Cakebread Cellars in Napa Valley
• Cedarville founded in 1995 in Fair Play, El Dorado County; founders built the winery themselves
• Susan oversaw lab, labels, finance, and compliance; Jonathan ran the vineyard, sales, and marketing
• Susan Marie Marks passed away in 2020; Jonathan continues to operate the estate she co-founded

The Cedarville estate vineyard covers 10 acres at 2,500 feet in the Fair Play area of the El Dorado AVA, planted on decomposed-granite soils characteristic of the western Sierra Foothills. The lean granite combined with the hillside aspect and elevation naturally limits vine vigor and yields, producing the small clusters and concentrated fruit that define the estate's house style. Cedarville transitioned to organic farming practices in 2010 and continues to manage the vineyard without synthetic herbicides: weed control relies on mowers, tillers, weed-eaters, and hand labor, while pest and disease pressure are addressed through plant extracts, sulfur, bacillus, soaps, and oils. Cover cropping supports soil health between rows. The varietal mix reflects the founders' decision to focus on grapes suited to the warm-day, cool-night Sierra Foothills climate and the mineral-driven granite terroir: Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Grenache on the red side, and Viognier as the principal white.

• 10-acre estate vineyard at 2,500 feet on decomposed-granite soils
• Organic farming practices in place since 2010; no synthetic herbicides
• Weed control by mowers, tillers, weed-eaters, and hand labor
• Pest and disease management by plant extracts, sulfur, bacillus, soaps, and oils
• Planted to Syrah, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Grenache, and Viognier

Cedarville produces a focused portfolio of estate-grown varietal bottlings: Syrah is the flagship red, reflecting the dark fruit, peppery spice, and structured tannins characteristic of high-elevation Sierra Foothills Syrah on decomposed granite. Zinfandel from the estate shows the briary fruit and balanced concentration of low-yield Sierra Foothills Zin. Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah complete the principal red lineup, with Grenache contributing to additional bottlings and blends. Viognier is the principal white, with stone fruit aromatics and the natural acidity preserved through elevation. Cellar work emphasizes minimal intervention, with wines bottled unfiltered to retain texture and character. Cedarville also releases a Susan Marie Rosé each year, introduced in 2021 to mark the one-year anniversary of Susan Marie's passing because she had loved Rosé; the wine is sold exclusively to the estate mailing list as a fundraiser for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

• Syrah flagship; high-elevation Sierra Foothills expression on decomposed granite
• Estate Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Grenache on the red side; Viognier the principal white
• Wines bottled unfiltered; minimal-intervention cellar approach
• Susan Marie Rosé released annually as a fundraiser for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network
• All wines sourced from the 10-acre estate vineyard; no purchased fruit

Cedarville operates at small-producer scale, releasing approximately 2,300 cases per year primarily through the estate mailing list, with limited specialist retail and restaurant distribution. The direct-to-consumer focus reflects the founders' decision to build a closely curated single-estate program rather than scale into broader wholesale channels. The estate maintains an appointment-based tasting room at the property in Fair Play, providing visitors with the opportunity to taste the estate wines in the context of the hillside vineyard and small production cellar. The 2021 Caldor Fire, which burned across El Dorado County during what had promised to be an exceptional vintage, was a significant blow to the estate and to the broader Sierra Foothills wine community; Cedarville has continued under Jonathan Lachs's stewardship, sustaining the practices and standards the two founders established together.

• Annual production of approximately 2,300 cases
• Direct-to-consumer sales primarily through estate mailing list; limited specialist retail and restaurant accounts
• Appointment-based tasting room at the Fair Play property
• Caldor Fire (2021) significantly affected El Dorado County and the estate during a promising vintage
• Operations continue under Jonathan Lachs's stewardship after Susan Marie's passing in 2020

Cedarville sits within the El Dorado AVA in the Fair Play area, a Sierra Foothills sub-region recognized for high-elevation, decomposed-granite hillsides that produce structured, acid-preserved wines distinct from the warmer valley-floor sites of the broader region. The estate is part of a tightly knit El Dorado community of small, family-owned producers, many of whom have built reputations on organic or sustainable farming and on the suitability of the granite terroir to Rhône and heritage Sierra Foothills varieties. Cedarville's profile is grounded in the founders' technical training, their decision to keep the operation small enough to handle every aspect themselves, and the consistency of the dry-style, unfiltered wines they have produced from the same 10-acre site since the late 1990s. The Susan Marie Rosé extends the estate's identity beyond the wines themselves, connecting the brand to ongoing pancreatic cancer research and to the memory of one of its founders.

• Sited within the El Dorado AVA in the Fair Play area
• High-elevation, decomposed-granite hillside conditions distinct from valley-floor sub-regions
• Part of a small-producer Sierra Foothills community focused on organic and sustainable practices
• Single 10-acre site sustained since 1995 founding
• Susan Marie Rosé connects estate identity to pancreatic cancer research fundraising