Cliff Lede Vineyards

Cliff Lede grew up in Leduc, Alberta, helping run Leduc Construction, the company his father founded in 1947 and which was renamed Ledcor Construction in 1982; along with his brother David, Cliff helped build it into one of the world's largest construction companies. His interest in wine began as a boy making wine at home with his mother, and he later began collecting Bordeaux. A business trip introduced him to Napa Valley in the 1990s, and in 2002 he purchased sixty acres in the Stags Leap District, renaming the estate Cliff Lede Vineyards. The property had previously been home to S. Anderson Vineyard: Stanley (a Pasadena dentist) and Carol Anderson planted 28 acres there in 1971, built a winery by 1979, and released their first sparkling wine in 1983. One year after his purchase, Lede acquired the neighboring 16-acre hillside vineyard east of the winery and named it the Poetry Vineyard. In 2004, viticulturist David Abreu began replanting the estate's vineyards, and the plantings were so specific to soil type and exposure that Lede began naming each block after his favorite rock songs and albums, from "My Generation" to "Dark Side of the Moon," creating what the winery calls its "Rock Blocks."

• Property purchased 2002 (60 acres) in the Stags Leap District on the former S. Anderson Vineyard site; S. Anderson was planted with 28 acres by Stanley and Carol Anderson in 1971, with a winery built by 1979 and a first sparkling-wine release in 1983
• Founder Cliff Lede is from Leduc, Alberta; helped run Leduc Construction, his father's company (founded 1947, renamed Ledcor Construction in 1982), before turning to wine full time
• Poetry Vineyard (16 hillside acres east of the winery) acquired in 2003, one year after the estate's founding; viticulturist David Abreu began replanting the estate in 2004
• Vineyard blocks named after classic rock songs and albums ("My Generation," "Dark Side of the Moon," and others), a system now called the "Rock Blocks," numbering more than 45

Jason Lede, son of founder Cliff Lede, first worked a harvest at the winery in 2007 while in his teens and officially joined the company full time in 2015, spending four years in wholesale sales, two years in hospitality management, and three years as Director of Communications before being named General Manager and COO; the winery's own team page dates that promotion to January 2025, while the winery's history timeline dates it to 2024. Jason holds a business degree from the University of San Francisco, an MBA from the University of Alberta, and an Advanced Wine Certificate from the International Sommelier Guild, and continues the family's rock-and-roll naming tradition, occasionally performing as "DJ Jason Lede" at events including BottleRock Napa Valley. Winemaking is led by Director of Winemaking Christopher Tynan, who joined in 2012 after being introduced to Cliff Lede by David Abreu; Tynan had spent 2006 to 2011 as assistant winemaker at Colgin Cellars on Pritchard Hill under owner Ann Colgin and winemaker Allison Tauziet. Winemaker Travis Bullard moved to Napa Valley in 2010 for a Cliff Lede internship, became a full-time lab technician, was promoted to enologist in 2012 and associate winemaker in 2013, and was named Winemaker in 2021. Eric Gallegos, a third-generation Napa Valley farmer, joined as Director of Vineyard Operations in 2024 after farming for Pahlmeyer. The estate has also refocused around Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: the Lede family sold its 52-acre Savoy Vineyard in Anderson Valley to Donum Estate in 2023, ending new releases of the FEL Wines Pinot Noir label after the 2022 vintage though the family retained the FEL name, and sold the Poetry Inn boutique hotel to PA Capital Management in August 2024 while keeping the adjacent Poetry Vineyard and its namesake wine.

• Jason Lede became General Manager and COO (January 2025 per the team page; 2024 per the estate's own history timeline, an internal inconsistency on the producer's site)
• Christopher Tynan, Director of Winemaking, joined 2012 after being introduced by David Abreu; previously assistant winemaker at Colgin Cellars on Pritchard Hill, 2006-2011, under Ann Colgin and Allison Tauziet
• Travis Bullard joined as an intern in 2010, became lab technician, then enologist (2012) and associate winemaker (2013), and was named Winemaker in 2021; Eric Gallegos named Director of Vineyard Operations in 2024
• Savoy Vineyard (Anderson Valley, 52 acres) sold to Donum Estate in 2023, ending new FEL Wines Pinot Noir releases after the 2022 vintage (the Lede family retained the FEL name); Poetry Inn boutique hotel sold to PA Capital Management in August 2024, with the Poetry Vineyard retained

The estate's home vineyards sit in the northern Stags Leap District: the Poetry Vineyard, a steep west-facing hillside of shallow volcanic soils over fractured shale, planted by David Abreu to proprietary heritage Cabernet Sauvignon selections at high density and low yields; and the valley-floor Rhythm Vineyard, which surrounds the winery on gravelly loam soils and forms the backbone of the estate's Cabernet program, planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc, and Sémillon. In 2013 the Lede family added a 20-acre vineyard in Calistoga, at the base of Diamond Mountain, planted mostly to Cabernet Sauvignon with a small block of Sauvignon Blanc. The family also added the 87-acre High Fidelity Vineyard in Carneros, planted to Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Sémillon; the winery's own site dates this acquisition to 2019, while the Napa Wine Project and the winery's own 2025 press materials date it to 2020. In 2025 the family purchased a 7.5-acre parcel from the Andelin family, contiguous to the eastern edge of Rhythm Vineyard, for $5.467 million according to Napa County property records; the vineyard had been farmed and leased by Cliff Lede since the winery's 2002 founding. The winery describes its total holdings as more than 160 acres across the Stags Leap District, Calistoga, and Carneros.

• Poetry Vineyard: steep west-facing hillside, shallow volcanic soils over fractured shale, planted by David Abreu to proprietary heritage Cabernet Sauvignon selections; sole source of the flagship Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon
• Rhythm Vineyard: valley-floor site surrounding the winery, gravelly loam soils; planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Sauvignon Blanc, and Sémillon
• Calistoga vineyard (20 acres, base of Diamond Mountain) added 2013; High Fidelity Vineyard in Carneros (87 acres) dated 2019 by the winery's own site and 2020 by the Napa Wine Project and the winery's 2025 press materials
• Andelin Vineyard (7.5 acres, contiguous to Rhythm Vineyard) purchased 2025 for $5.467 million per Napa County property records, after decades as farmed and leased ground; estate totals more than 160 acres

The winery, designed by architect Howard Backen of Backen, Gillam and Kroeger, was completed in 2005 as a 25,000-square-foot winery and cave system. Grapes are hand-picked at night into twenty-five-pound bins, then pass through a three-tiered sorting process: hand sorting, an optical sorter, and a final hand sort. Whole berries are delivered to tank by gravity using a custom crane system, and fermentation takes place in truncated tanks from American manufacturer Mueller, commissioned after Lede saw similar tanks at Château Latour in Bordeaux, to allow more skin contact. Wines age in French oak barrels in caves built into the hillside behind the winery. A 300-kilowatt solar array installed in 2011 helps power the winery, and the estate achieved Napa Green Winery certification in 2015. The estate's rock-song block-naming system, begun by Cliff Lede to track soil type and exposure without referring to a clipboard, now numbers more than 45 "Rock Blocks" and continues under Jason Lede; the winemaking team crafts an annual small-lot Rock Block Series "mash-up" blend of two or more blocks, sold through the tasting room and wine club, with past bottlings including "Intergalactic Rain," "Roundabout Midnight," and "Soul Fire."

• Winery designed by architect Howard Backen (Backen, Gillam and Kroeger), completed 2005; 25,000-square-foot winery and cave system
• Three-tiered sorting (hand, optical sorter, hand) and gravity-flow delivery to Mueller tanks modeled on tanks seen at Château Latour; barrel aging in hillside caves
• 300-kilowatt solar array installed 2011; Napa Green Winery certification achieved 2015
• Rock Block vineyard-naming system (more than 45 named blocks) continues under Jason Lede; annual small-lot Rock Block Series blends have included "Intergalactic Rain," "Roundabout Midnight," and "Soul Fire"

Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon, the estate's flagship, has earned 100-point scores across five vintages from five critics or publications, according to the winery's own accolades page: the 2013 from eRobertParker.com, the 2015 from Jeb Dunnuck, the 2018 and 2019 from The Wine Advocate (the 2019 review by Lisa Perrotti-Brown), and the 2021 from both Decanter (reviewer Jonathan Cristaldi) and The Wine Independent (reviewer Lisa Perrotti-Brown). Wine critic Robert Parker has separately called the wine "bottled perfection," according to the winery's own site. The estate's Cabernet Sauvignon from the Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard in Oakville has also earned 100-point scores, including for the 2015 (Jeb Dunnuck) and 2016 vintages. Individual bottlings remain small: the winery's accolades page cites about 2,000 cases of the 2021 Poetry and 467 cases of the 2021 Beckstoffer To Kalon. Total annual production across the portfolio is typically 18,000 to 20,000 cases, with most of that coming from the Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc and Stags Leap District Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2023-2024 divestitures of the Savoy Vineyard and the Poetry Inn concentrate the estate's resources on the Stags Leap District, Calistoga, and Carneros vineyards behind that acclaim.

• Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon 100-point scores: 2013 (eRobertParker.com), 2015 (Jeb Dunnuck), 2018 and 2019 (The Wine Advocate), 2021 (Decanter and The Wine Independent)
• Robert Parker has called Poetry Cabernet Sauvignon "bottled perfection," per the winery's own site
• Cabernet Sauvignon, Beckstoffer To Kalon Vineyard (Oakville) has also received 100-point scores, including for the 2015 (Jeb Dunnuck) and 2016 vintages
• Total annual production is typically 18,000 to 20,000 cases, with individual small-lot bottlings such as the 2021 Beckstoffer To Kalon (467 cases) far smaller than the roughly 2,000-case 2021 Poetry

Primary sources (producer's own site, fetched as raw page text via curl and tag-stripping, not a summarizing tool): https://cliffledevineyards.com, .../about/story/, .../about/team/, .../about/vineyards/, .../about/winery/, .../about/our-values/, .../about/napa-green/, .../visit/, .../wines/, .../accolades/, .../poetry/, .../about/philanthropy/. Secondary sources (also fetched as raw page text): The Napa Wine Project (accessed 2026-09-09), San Francisco Chronicle (published/updated June 12, 2023, on the Donum Estate purchase of Savoy Vineyard), Wine Industry Advisor (published August 21, 2024, on the Poetry Inn sale), and the Napa Valley Register (on the 2025 Andelin Vineyard purchase and Napa County property records). Last verified 2026-09-09. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, or where the producer's own pages disagree with each other, the article notes both dates rather than silently picking one; see conflicts.json for the Jason Lede promotion date, the Carneros/High Fidelity Vineyard acquisition year, and the Rhythm Vineyard naming discrepancy with an older secondary source.