Hirsch Vineyards

David Hirsch purchased the working sheep ranch above Fort Ross in 1978, drawn by his love of Burgundy and a conviction that the rugged Pacific ridges of Sonoma could produce world-class Pinot Noir. He planted his first two acres of Pinot Noir and Riesling in 1980, making the property one of the oldest vineyards on the True Sonoma Coast. For roughly the first two decades, David focused entirely on farming, selling fruit to a who's who of California Pinot specialists. The estate built a reputation as a grower's vineyard well before it became a producer in its own right. In 2002, after more than twenty years of planting and farming, David built the on-site winery and produced his first estate Pinot Noir, motivated by the desire to taste each of his many blocks individually and better understand the vineyard's mosaic of soils and microclimates.

• Land purchased 1978 when it was a working sheep ranch; first vines planted 1980
• By the early 1990s, Hirsch fruit was sought by leading California producers including Littorai, Williams Selyem, Kistler, and Failla, all of whom released Hirsch-designated wines
• First estate Pinot Noir produced in 2002; on-site winery construction completed in 2003; first estate Chardonnay in 2006
• Jasmine Hirsch joined in 2008, became General Manager in 2015, and assumed the winemaker role in 2019; Michael Cruse joined as consulting winemaker in 2019

Hirsch sits within the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA, nested inside the broader West Sonoma Coast AVA, on a series of coastal ridges above Fort Ross. The producer-primary describes elevations across the vineyard ranging from 1,100 to 1,500 feet, placing the vines above the daytime fog belt. The Pacific Ocean lies a few miles to the west, and the San Andreas Fault runs roughly half a mile from the estate. The fault's tectonic activity created an exceptionally complex geology, part of California's Franciscan Complex (also called the Franciscan Assemblage), a heterogeneous mix of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks that originated far offshore and was scrambled together by faulting. That geology, combined with diverse aspects and microclimates across the ridges, drove David Hirsch to subdivide the 72 planted acres into 67 individual farming blocks, a degree of fragmentation that rivals the famously subdivided vineyards of Burgundy's Cote de Nuits. Winters bring heavy rainfall and fierce coastal storms; summers are dry and cool, with nightly fog rolling in from the ocean and clearing by mid-morning to give long, gentle hours of sunlight.

• Producer-primary elevations across the vineyard range from 1,100 to 1,500 feet, above the daytime fog belt; the San Andreas Fault lies roughly half a mile away
• Soils are part of the Franciscan Complex (Franciscan Assemblage), a heterogeneous mix of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary rocks reflecting offshore origins and tectonic scrambling
• 72 planted acres divided into 67 individual farming blocks to reflect sudden changes in soil composition, aspect, and microclimate, with over 40 distinct soil types identified across the estate
• Fort Ross-Seaview AVA established 2012 with Hirsch as a petitioner; West Sonoma Coast AVA officially recognized in 2022

Hirsch began converting to biodynamic viticulture in 2011 and completed the transition across all 72 acres of vines, gardens, and orchards by 2014. The estate is not externally certified, but practices full biodynamic protocols on its own farm-made calendar. All viticultural work is done by hand and no machine ever touches a vine. The estate employs up to 20 vineyard workers at peak season, all direct-hire rather than contract labor. Vineyard Manager Everardo Robledo has been on-site since 1988 and personally planted all 90,000 vines across the 72 acres. The biodynamic approach is tailored block by block, with each parcel farmed according to its specific soil, aspect, microclimate, vine condition, and vintage needs. The majority of the 988-acre ranch is left wild, and the estate produces its own compost and biodynamic preparations on-site.

• Biodynamic conversion began 2011 and was completed by 2014 across all vineyards, gardens, and orchards; not externally certified
• All viticultural work done by hand; no machines touch the vines; up to 20 direct-hire workers employed at harvest
• Vineyard Manager Everardo Robledo has been on-site since 1988 and personally planted all 90,000 vines across the estate
• Compost, biodynamic preparations, and inputs sourced and produced on the ranch; the majority of the 988-acre property is left wild

The Hirsch winemaking philosophy centers on minimal intervention and transparent terroir expression. Each of the 67 blocks is harvested and vinified separately, and wines are assembled from this palette of individual lots. The San Andreas Fault Estate Pinot Noir is the flagship, blending fruit from approximately 30 distinct farming blocks to represent the summation of the whole vineyard. Single-site Pinot Noirs include the East Ridge, West Ridge, Maritime, Block 8, and Reserve Estate bottlings. Block 8 sits on a distinctive Boomer-Mendocino soil formation with reddish iron-oxide tones and 40 to 70 percent rock and gravel content; David Hirsch planted Block 8 in 1993 with cuttings from The Old Vineyard, a field blend of Pommard and Wadenswil clones, and the first Block 8 bottling was produced in 2011. The Estate Chardonnay, made from four acres planted in 1994 with cuttings from Joe Rochioli, is the only white wine produced. The Bohan-Dillon is the sole non-estate Pinot Noir, blending Hirsch fruit with neighboring Hellenthal and Heintz vineyards as a West Sonoma Coast village-style bottling.

• San Andreas Fault Estate Pinot Noir: flagship wine assembled from approximately 30 farming blocks; David Hirsch's reference statement of the whole vineyard
• Single-site Pinot Noirs include East Ridge (chewy, dark-fruited, cellar-worthy), West Ridge (ethereal, hauntingly aromatic), Maritime (savory aromatics), and Block 8 (planted 1993 on Boomer-Mendocino soils, first bottling 2011)
• Estate Chardonnay produced from 4 acres planted in 1994 with Joe Rochioli cuttings; aged in French and Austrian oak with approximately 27 percent new oak
• Bohan-Dillon is the only non-estate wine, blending fruit from Hirsch, Hellenthal, and Heintz vineyards as a West Sonoma Coast village-style Pinot Noir

Hirsch Vineyards is the structural reference point for the True Sonoma Coast: one of California's oldest commercial plantings above 1,000 feet on the coastal ridges, a 67-block farming model unmatched outside Burgundy, and the cornerstone vineyard for the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA. For students of wine, the estate illustrates the practical effects of the San Andreas Fault and the Franciscan Complex on soil mosaic, the difference between fog-belt and above-fog farming, and the value of long-term grower partnerships. The contrast between Hirsch's single-block bottlings, for example East Ridge versus West Ridge, gives a real-world case study in terroir differentiation within a single estate. The naturally moderate alcohol levels (typically around 12.8 to 13.5 percent abv) and the wines' capacity to age also show how a true cool-climate site can develop structure and complexity without reliance on manipulated ripeness. The Hirsch family's continuity through the next generation, with Jasmine Hirsch as winemaker and General Manager and Everardo Robledo still in the field, keeps the estate's day-to-day work grounded in the original vision.

• One of the oldest True Sonoma Coast estates; David Hirsch's land purchase in 1978 and 1980 plantings predate the broader cool-climate California movement
• 67-block farming model on 72 acres rivals Burgundy's most fragmented vineyards; over 40 distinct soil types identified across the estate
• Hirsch helped petition for the Fort Ross-Seaview AVA (2012) and the broader West Sonoma Coast AVA (2022)
• Family continuity: Jasmine Hirsch as winemaker and General Manager since 2015 to 2019, with Everardo Robledo in the vineyard since 1988