Chateau St. Jean

Chateau St. Jean was established in 1973 in Kenwood, in the heart of Sonoma Valley, by Ken Sheffield, Bob Merzoian, and Ed Merzoian. The property was named after Jean Sheffield, a member of the founding family, and centered on a historic 1920s chateau that still anchors the estate today. From its earliest years, the winery pursued a philosophy then rare in California: bottling individual vineyard sites separately to show how place shapes character, with Chardonnay as the primary vehicle. That approach helped establish single-vineyard designation as a serious concept in American fine wine. The estate's reputation grew through the 1980s and 1990s, culminating in the landmark recognition of the 1996 Cinq Cépages.

• Founded 1973 by Ken Sheffield, Bob Merzoian, and Ed Merzoian in Kenwood, Sonoma Valley
• Named after Jean Sheffield, a member of the founding family group
• Pioneered vineyard-designated Chardonnay production in California from the outset
• Historic 1920s chateau remains the center of the 250-acre estate

Chateau St. Jean was acquired by Treasury Wine Estates in 2000, and during a difficult period of corporate ownership, on-site wine production ceased entirely from 2016 to 2021. Foley Family Wines and Spirits reacquired the property in 2021, restoring independent, estate-focused winemaking. The 2022 vintage marked the return of full on-site production, and the 2022 Cinq Cépages release reflected a deliberate stylistic modernization under the new team. Courtney Foley serves as Executive Vice President, and in October 2024 Lisa Evich was appointed winemaker, continuing Foley's established practice of women-led winemaking teams across its portfolio, which also includes Chalk Hill, Sebastiani, and Ferrari-Carano.

• Acquired by Treasury Wine Estates in 2000; on-site production ceased 2016 to 2021
• Foley Family Wines reacquired the estate in 2021; 2022 vintage marked the return of on-site winemaking
• Courtney Foley serves as Executive Vice President; Lisa Evich appointed winemaker in October 2024
• Winery celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2023 and modernized its production facility post-acquisition

The estate encompasses 250 acres in Kenwood with 79 planted acres in Sonoma Valley, providing the core of the winery's fruit supply. Beyond the home estate, Chateau St. Jean sources from a network of Sonoma County sub-appellations, including Alexander Valley and Knights Valley for Cabernet Sauvignon, Russian River Valley and the Petaluma Gap for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, and Dry Creek Valley for additional variety. Key named sites include Belle Terre Vineyard, Hallberg Ranch Vineyard, and Gap's Crown Vineyard in the Petaluma Gap AVA. This multi-appellation approach allows the winery to match grape variety to the specific conditions of each growing area, a strategy at the core of both its single-vineyard tier and its blended wines.

• Estate: 250 total acres in Kenwood, Sonoma Valley, with 79 planted acres
• Named vineyard sources include Belle Terre, Hallberg Ranch, and Gap's Crown (Petaluma Gap AVA)
• Fruit sourced across Sonoma County AVAs: Alexander Valley, Knights Valley, Russian River Valley, Dry Creek Valley
• Sub-appellation sourcing supports both single-vineyard Chardonnays and the Bordeaux blend program

Chateau St. Jean built its reputation on two pillars: expressive, site-driven Chardonnay and the multi-appellation Cinq Cépages Bordeaux blend. The Cinq Cépages, whose name is French for five grape varieties, incorporates all five classic Bordeaux red varieties, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and Petit Verdot, and is sourced primarily from Alexander Valley and Knights Valley. Single-vineyard Chardonnays remain central to the lineup, with Sonoma Coast bottlings providing broader appellation expression alongside the estate wines. The 2022 vintage Cinq Cépages incorporated a stylistic modernization under Foley ownership, signaling a shift toward greater precision and freshness while honoring the wine's historic identity. Production runs at significant scale for a premium estate, with 329,000 cases produced as of 2021.

• Cinq Cépages blends all five Bordeaux red varieties; 1996 vintage won Wine Spectator Wine of the Year in 1999
• Single-vineyard Chardonnay designation was central to the winery's identity from founding
• Flagship red program focuses on Knights Valley and Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2022 Cinq Cépages marked stylistic modernization after the Foley reacquisition

Chateau St. Jean occupies a specific and important place in the story of California fine wine. The winery was among the earliest in the state to take vineyard designation seriously as a quality signal rather than a marketing device, helping lay the conceptual groundwork for how American producers talk about terroir today. The 1999 Wine Spectator Wine of the Year honor for the 1996 Cinq Cépages was a watershed moment for Sonoma, proving the valley could produce a red wine that commanded national attention at the highest level. The disruption and revival of the past decade, with six years of halted production followed by a deliberate recommitment under Foley Family Wines, makes Chateau St. Jean a case study in the challenges and possibilities of premium California winery ownership. For students of American wine, it represents both pioneering legacy and an ongoing experiment in what a large, multi-appellation Sonoma estate can achieve.

• One of the first California wineries to systematically pursue and market single-vineyard designations
• 1996 Cinq Cépages was the first Sonoma wine to win Wine Spectator Wine of the Year (awarded 1999)
• Six-year production hiatus (2016 to 2021) under Treasury ownership makes it a notable case study in corporate versus family stewardship
• Part of Foley Family Wines portfolio, one of Sonoma's largest family-owned wine groups