Failla Wines

Failla Wines was founded in 1998 by Ehren Jordan and his wife Anne-Marie Failla, releasing their first vintage under the Failla-Jordan label. Jordan, then a rising winemaker who had also been working at Turley Wine Cellars, used early releases to bottle small lots of single-vineyard Syrah and Viognier sourced from California's coolest sites, including Alban Vineyard Viognier and Que Syrah Syrah from the Sonoma Coast. The label was simplified to Failla in subsequent years. Around the same time, Jordan and Failla purchased land in Cazadero in what is now the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA, planting an estate site that became the philosophical center of the project. Over the next two and a half decades, Failla built one of the most respected cool-climate California programs, particularly for Pinot Noir from named West Sonoma Coast vineyards.

• 1998 first vintage: Failla-Jordan (Alban Vineyard Viognier, Que Syrah Syrah from the Sonoma Coast)
• Label simplified to Failla shortly after launch
• Estate Vineyard in Cazadero planted starting in 1998; established the project's cool-climate identity
• Founder Ehren Jordan also worked simultaneously as winemaker at Turley Wine Cellars for an extended period

Ehren Jordan and Anne-Marie Failla remain the owners and creative force behind the winery. Jordan continues as winemaker and is among the most experienced practitioners in California's cool-climate scene, having simultaneously served as winemaker at Turley Wine Cellars for many years before stepping back to focus more time on Failla and his Day Wines project. Anne-Marie Failla provides business and operational leadership; the winery remains independently family-owned. The Failla project is fundamentally winemaker-led: small lots, native fermentations, vineyard-designate program, and a focus on long-term partnerships with site-specific growers rather than rapid expansion. The Oregon Failla satellite, run as a separate label and tasting facility in the Willamette Valley, extends the cool-climate philosophy to a different regional context.

• Ehren Jordan continues as winemaker and co-owner; Anne-Marie Failla as co-owner and business lead
• Winery remains independently family-owned
• Oregon arm operates as a separate Willamette Valley project with dedicated tasting facility
• Style is winemaker-led and vineyard-driven, with long-standing grower partnerships

At the heart of Failla is the 14-acre Estate Vineyard in Cazadero, planted on steep, rocky hillsides about three miles from the Pacific Ocean within the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA. Initially planted to Chardonnay and Syrah, the site has since added Pinot Noir and is farmed organically. Beyond the estate, the Pinot Noir program is built around partnerships with celebrated grower vineyards: Hirsch Vineyard (since 2001) and Occidental Ridge (since 2005) anchor the Sonoma Coast lineup, with Peay and Pearlessence (2006), Whistler (2009), Savoy in Anderson Valley (2012), and Platt (2015) added over time. The Chardonnay program spans eight bottlings, drawing from the Sonoma Coast Estate, Sonoma's Olivet Road and Olivet Lane plots, Napa Valley (Hudson Vineyard in Carneros, Haynes Vineyard in Coombsville), and other cool sites. The three Syrahs source from Hudson, Kick Ranch, and the Estate Vineyard.

• Estate Vineyard: ~14 acres (6 hectares) in Cazadero, Fort Ross-Seaview AVA; organic; rocky soils on steep hillsides three miles from the Pacific
• Pinot Noir program partners with Hirsch (2001+), Occidental Ridge (2005+), Peay (2006+), Whistler, Savoy, Platt
• Chardonnay sources include Hudson and Haynes (Napa) plus Sonoma Coast Estate and Olivet Road
• Syrah sources include Hudson (Napa Carneros), Kick Ranch (Sonoma), and the Estate Vineyard

Failla's stylistic identity rests on transparency to site. Each Pinot Noir and Chardonnay bottling is built around a single named vineyard, with minimal-intervention winemaking aimed at preserving the textural and aromatic signature of each plot. Native yeast fermentations, gentle handling, and judicious use of new oak are standard across the lineup. The Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley Pinot Noir programs prioritize whole-cluster fermentation in many cuvées, with elevage typically lasting 12 to 18 months in French oak. The Chardonnays, often built on long-aging coastal sites, balance restraint and texture rather than weight. Across the portfolio the goal is to give each vineyard a distinct voice rather than smooth differences into a single house style, and Failla has become a reference point for pure West Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley expressions of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

• Native yeast fermentations and minimal-intervention winemaking
• Whole-cluster Pinot Noir common across the cool-climate lineup; 12 to 18 months in French oak
• Site-driven house style: each bottling expresses vineyard identity rather than blending toward a single profile
• Reference point for West Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay

Failla occupies a distinctive position in the California cool-climate scene as a winery-driven, family-owned project whose work helped establish the West Sonoma Coast as a serious zone for Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. Through long partnerships with Hirsch, Peay, Occidental, and Savoy, Failla bottlings have served as benchmark examples of cool-climate California for over two decades. Ehren Jordan's broader influence on California winemaking, including his lengthy parallel role at Turley Wine Cellars, has also placed him among the most experienced practitioners in the state. The winery's deliberate growth, stable vineyard partnerships, and continued estate organic farming have allowed the project to remain culturally significant within the California cool-climate community without scaling into something that loses its identity.

• One of the founding cool-climate California projects since 1998
• Long-standing partnerships with Hirsch, Peay, Occidental, Savoy, Whistler, and Platt vineyards
• Ehren Jordan also served as winemaker for Turley Wine Cellars over an extended period; among California's most experienced cool-climate winemakers
• Family-owned and independent for over 25 years; Oregon arm extends the same philosophy to the Willamette Valley