Hanzell Vineyards

Hanzell Vineyards owes its existence to James D. Zellerbach, president of Crown Zellerbach, a large forest products company, and, later, U.S. Ambassador to Italy under the Marshall Plan. Zellerbach bought the 200-acre Mayacamas property near Sonoma in 1948. Inspired by time spent in Burgundy, he and his wife Hana set out to build a winery of redwood and local stone modeled on Clos de Vougeot, and in 1953 planted three acres of Chardonnay and three acres of Pinot Noir at a time when North America had fewer than a few hundred acres of either variety in the ground. The estate was named Hanzell by combining Hana's name with the Zellerbach surname. To realize his vision, Zellerbach hired viticulturalist Ivan Schoch and, in 1956, winemaker Brad Webb; the same year, the estate's Heritage Winery was completed. Hanzell's first vintage was produced in 1957. Zellerbach saw his vision through until his death in 1963; his widow Hana sold off the 1963 and 1964 vintages to Joe Heitz of St. Helena, who released them under the Heitz Cellars name, before selling the estate to Douglas and Mary Day. Barbara de Brye, a London-based heiress, bought Hanzell sight unseen in 1975, and her son Alexander de Brye inherited the estate in 1991 at age 16. Only three families have owned Hanzell in its history: the Zellerbachs, the Days, and the de Bryes.

• Zellerbach, a Crown Zellerbach executive and future U.S. Ambassador to Italy, bought the 200-acre property in 1948
• The name Hanzell combines his wife Hana's name with the family surname Zellerbach
• First three acres of Chardonnay and three acres of Pinot Noir planted in 1953, at a time when fewer than a few hundred acres of each grew in all of North America
• Three families have owned the estate: the Zellerbachs (1953 to 1965), the Days (1965 to 1975), and the de Bryes (1975 to present)

Hanzell's influence on California winemaking is hard to overstate. Working with founding winemaker Brad Webb, Zellerbach was the first in California to age wine exclusively in small French oak barrels, the same cooperage the estate still uses today, at a time when redwood and American oak barrels formerly used to age bourbon were the norm. He also designed the first temperature-controlled small stainless steel fermentation tanks used in California, replacing the concrete and redwood vats most wineries relied on and giving winemakers new control over fermentation temperature. Hanzell was also first to use nitrogen in bottling, fitting tanks to minimize oxygen and adding a touch of inert gas to each bottle before filling, and Webb pioneered controlled malolactic fermentation to stabilize the estate's wines while still in barrel. Ravenswood winemaker Joel Peterson has credited Hanzell as critical to the evolution of the California wine business, saying its innovations were central to building the credibility of small wineries statewide. Cyrus wine director Jim Rollston has pointed to Hanzell's decades-long track record of wines that age and gain complexity over time as central to its reputation.

• First California winery to age wine exclusively in small French oak barrels
• Designed the first small, temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation tanks used in California, replacing concrete and redwood vats
• First to use nitrogen in bottling to protect wine from oxidation; pioneered controlled malolactic fermentation in barrel
• Ravenswood's Joel Peterson has said Hanzell's innovations were critical to the evolution of the California wine business and to small-winery credibility statewide

Hanzell straddles the Mayacamas ridge at the southern end of the Moon Mountain District Sonoma County AVA, overlooking the south-western end of Sonoma Valley and San Pablo Bay. The estate's grapes grow in what the Press Democrat has described as acidic "red hill series" soils and volcanic subsoils. Of the 200-acre property, 46 acres are planted to vine. The Ambassador's 1953 Vineyard, the estate's original planting, has been described by wine journalist Fred Swan as home to the oldest continuously producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines in the United States, and by Sonoma Magazine as among the oldest continuously producing Chardonnay vineyards in North America. The original 1953 Chardonnay was planted to the Wente clone; the original Pinot Noir was planted to the Martin Ray clone, reputedly sourced from a clandestine late-night raid on a Napa Valley vineyard by Brad Webb, according to Prince of Pinot. Hanzell's current estate Chardonnay is planted to a mix of Wente and Hanzell's own selection, primarily on St. George rootstock.

• Sits at the southern end of the Moon Mountain District Sonoma County AVA, straddling the Mayacamas ridge
• Grows in acidic "red hill series" soils and volcanic subsoils per the Press Democrat; 46 of the estate's 200 acres are planted to vine
• Wine writer Fred Swan has described the Ambassador's 1953 Vineyard as home to the oldest continuously producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines in the United States
• Original 1953 Chardonnay is the Wente clone; original Pinot Noir is the Martin Ray clone, reputedly obtained via a late-night cutting raid on a Napa vineyard by Brad Webb

Hanzell's current estate portfolio is anchored by the Heritage Chardonnay and Heritage Pinot Noir. The Heritage Chardonnay is an estate blend sourced from 32 acres across the Ambassador's 1953, Day, de Brye, Ramos, and Zellerbach vineyard blocks, planted to Wente and Hanzell clones primarily on St. George rootstock, with an average vine age by volume of 40 years. The Heritage Pinot Noir is sourced from 12 acres across the Ambassador's 1953, de Brye, Maggie's, and Sessions blocks, with an average vine age by volume of 33 years. A Heritage Cabernet Sauvignon, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, is sourced from two acres of the Zellerbach and de Brye blocks planted in 2012. Ultra-limited single-block bottlings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the original two-acre Ambassador's 1953 Vineyard, planted by Zellerbach in 1953, are produced in runs of 75 cases each. Current releases also include the Hanzell Farm Zellerbach Selection Chardonnay, the de Brye Selection Chardonnay, and the Hanzell Farm Maggie's Selection Pinot Noir. The more accessible 'Sebella' tier is crafted from Hanzell's younger Day and Zellerbach vines, averaging 17 years by volume; the Sebella Chardonnay is fermented in stainless steel and aged six months in neutral French oak, while the Sebella Pinot Noir is made in partnership with growers along the Sonoma Coast. Across the portfolio, Hanzell ferments with native yeast naturally occurring on the grape skins, adds no malolactic bacteria, uses minimal additives beyond sulfur, grape tartaric acid, and, when needed for Chardonnay, bentonite clay for stabilization, and bottles under Diam 'Origine' natural corks without foil capsules.

• Heritage Chardonnay: 32 acres across five named blocks, Wente and Hanzell clones on St. George rootstock, average vine age 40 years by volume
• Heritage Pinot Noir: 12 acres across the Ambassador's 1953, de Brye, Maggie's, and Sessions blocks, average vine age 33 years by volume
• Single-block Ambassador's 1953 Vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir bottlings, 75 cases each, from the original two-acre 1953 block
• 'Sebella' tier from younger Day and Zellerbach vines (average 17 years); Sebella Chardonnay fermented in stainless steel, aged six months in neutral French oak

Hanzell has had a small number of winemakers across more than seven decades. Brad Webb served as founding winemaker from 1956, pioneering the estate's core techniques. In 1973, the Day family hired Bob Sessions, who had made his name on mountain-grown Cabernets at Mayacamas Vineyards, and José Ramos joined as Vineyard Manager in 1976. Sessions oversaw more than 30 vintages before handing the winemaking baton to Michael Terrien, previously of Acacia, in 2005; Terrien made Hanzell's 2005 through 2007 vintages. Michael McNeill, previously of Chalone Vineyard and Keller Estate, was hired as winemaker in 2008 alongside Linda Hanson, and remained the estate's winemaker as of a November 2025 visit reported in Sonoma Magazine. In 2003, elevated levels of TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole) were found in the original winery; Wine Spectator's James Laube brought the issue to Hanzell's attention, and though the levels involved were minute (2 parts per trillion in the Chardonnay, 3 in the Pinot Noir), the estate built a new winery and excavated a cave system for cellaring, with construction beginning that year. Jason Jardine joined Hanzell as President and Director of Winemaking in 2014. Today, 24 percent of Hanzell's staff has a tenure of more than twenty years, 67 percent has a tenure of more than ten years, and average staff tenure is fourteen years.

• Brad Webb (from 1956), Bob Sessions (1973, more than 30 vintages), Michael Terrien (2005 to 2007), and Michael McNeill (from 2008) have led winemaking
• José Ramos joined as Vineyard Manager in 1976
• A 2003 TCA (2,4,6-trichloroanisole) issue in the original winery, flagged by Wine Spectator's James Laube, led to a new winery and cave system
• Jason Jardine joined as President and Director of Winemaking in 2014; average staff tenure across the estate is fourteen years

Hanzell became Certified Organic through CCOF in 2021 and describes itself as a Certified Organic, Integrated Holistic Farm. Alongside its 46 acres of vineyard, the 200-acre property is home to cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, geese, ducks, dogs, cats, and turkeys, plus vegetable gardens, fruit orchards, and roughly 150 acres of native forest land. In 2017, chickens, sheep, and pigs joined the farm alongside two Maremma livestock guardian dogs, Scout and Radley; work implementing Holistic Integrated Farming practices had begun the year before, in 2016. Grazing animals rotate through the vineyard in paddocks of one to three days, covering only about a third of the vineyard in a given year, and the resident pigs are used for weed control. Soil is kept covered through annual cover cropping, rotational grazing, and roller-crimping rather than tilling; cover crops run roughly 55 percent legumes, 40 percent cereals, and 5 percent roots, a practice the estate says supports its goal of operating as a carbon sink. President and Director of Winemaking Jason Jardine, who also describes his role as Farmer, oversees the program. Hanzell's inaugural Hanzell Farm series wines were released in 2018.

• CCOF Certified Organic since 2021; Certified Organic, Integrated Holistic Farm across the 200-acre property
• Livestock includes cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, geese, and ducks, alongside vegetable gardens and roughly 150 acres of native forest land
• Maremma guardian dogs Scout and Radley joined the farm in 2017 along with chickens, sheep, and pigs
• No-till, roller-crimped cover crops (about 55% legumes, 40% cereals, 5% roots) and rotational grazing limited to one to three days per paddock

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.hanzell.com/, https://www.hanzell.com/our-story, https://www.hanzell.com/people, https://www.hanzell.com/farming, https://www.hanzell.com/winemaking, https://www.hanzell.com/our-wines, https://www.hanzell.com/visit. Secondary sources: Press Democrat, PinotFile / Prince of Pinot, Sonoma Magazine, FredSwan.wine. Last verified 2026-09-09. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.