Jordan Vineyard & Winery

Tom and Sally Jordan established Jordan Vineyard & Winery in 1972, inspired by the great wine estates of France. They set out to create a Bordeaux-style California Cabernet Sauvignon that was approachable while young yet would age gracefully. André Tchelistcheff, as consulting enologist, was instrumental in establishing Jordan's Francophile style of winemaking and hired Rob Davis, who guided Jordan winemaking from the inaugural 1976 Cabernet Sauvignon and the inaugural 1979 Chardonnay until his retirement in 2019. The Jordans broke ground on the winery chateau in 1975, and its production wing was finished one week before the first harvest of Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon in 1976. When phylloxera devastated Northern California vineyards in the mid-1990s, it struck the Jordans' grapevines on the Alexander Valley floor below the chateau; they then planted Jordan Estate with a dozen small vineyard blocks, four parcels of olive trees and a chef's garden. Jordan also sold a 109-hectare Alexander Valley floor site, containing 45 hectares of vineyards, to the Lytton Rancheria tribe. Second-generation vintner John Jordan has served as chief executive officer since 2005 and took over full ownership of the winery in 2007, and Jordan is independently owned by him.

• Founded in 1972 by Tom and Sally Jordan
• André Tchelistcheff served as consulting enologist and hired Rob Davis
• Production wing of the chateau finished one week before the first harvest in 1976
• John Jordan: chief executive officer since 2005, full owner since 2007

As of Jordan's June 2026 media fact sheet, John Jordan is chief executive officer, Devonna Smith chief financial officer, Maggie Kruse winemaker, Kari Van Dyk assistant winemaker, Brent Young director of agricultural operations and Jesse Mallgren executive chef. John Jordan acts as general manager, working closely with every department on day-to-day operations. Maggie Kruse graduated from UC Davis in 2005 with a bachelor's degree in viticulture and enology and joined Jordan as enologist in 2006; she was promoted to assistant winemaker in 2009 and associate winemaker in 2016, and was named head winemaker in 2019. Rob Davis joined Jordan just before the first harvest in 1976 and retired at the end of his 43rd growing season in 2019, turning over day-to-day head winemaking to Kruse. Grower Relations Manager Dana Grande works closely with Jordan's grape growers and winemaker.

• John Jordan, chief executive officer (on staff since 2005)
• Maggie Kruse, winemaker (on staff since 2006; head winemaker since 2019)
• Kari Van Dyk, assistant winemaker (on staff since 2017)
• Brent Young, director of agricultural operations (on staff since 2008)
• Jesse Mallgren, executive chef (on staff since 2023)

Jordan Estate covers nearly 1,200 acres in Alexander Valley. The property includes roughly 120 acres of grapevines, olive trees, a two-acre garden, two lakes, several grazing pastures and many woodlands, and roughly 900 acres remain wild. The estate is planted to the Bordeaux varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec, and a replant of all estate vineyards has been in progress since 2017. Both wines were first made on the Bordeaux model of estate-grown grapes; over the decades Jordan shifted to making them from a blend of grower vineyards, and today they come from a blend of grower and estate vineyards rather than a single vineyard. For the Cabernet Sauvignon, a cluster of grower vineyards that Jordan calls the "Côte de Jordan" lies in the center of the Alexander Valley appellation, just east of Geyserville at the base of the Mayacamas Mountains, with 40 vineyard blocks on benchland and hillside slopes. Rob Davis moved Jordan's Chardonnay sourcing from Alexander Valley to the Russian River Valley in 2000; the Chardonnay blend begins with roughly a dozen vineyard blocks from five sites on the east side of the Russian River with gravelly, well-drained soils. In all, Jordan works with roughly 70 certified sustainable vineyard blocks, and its grower vineyards are Sonoma Sustainable certified.

• Nearly 1,200-acre estate; roughly 120 acres of vines and roughly 900 acres left wild
• Replant of all estate vineyards in progress since 2017
• Côte de Jordan: 40 grower vineyard blocks east of Geyserville for the Cabernet Sauvignon
• Chardonnay sourced from the Russian River Valley since 2000

Jordan Chardonnay grapes are hand-harvested in the middle of the night, at around 22 to 23 Brix. Primary fermentation takes place in about 30 percent stainless steel tanks and 70 percent new French oak barrels, and malolactic fermentation is limited to 30 percent or less to preserve freshness. Since the 2019 vintage the Chardonnay has been bottled exclusively with DIAM corks, and it ages in bottle for about six months before release. Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon grapes are picked at around 24 Brix and typically spend about two weeks on skins in stainless steel tanks. The Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot lots then move into oak tanks built onsite in 1976, where natural malolactic fermentation takes place and the barrel blend is assembled before the wine goes into French oak barrels, about 50 percent new, for 12 to 14 months. After John Jordan became chief executive officer, Rob Davis and the winemaking team extended the Cabernet Sauvignon's bottle age to two full years beginning with the 2006 vintage and increased its French oak ageing to 100 percent.

• Chardonnay: night-harvested at around 22 to 23 Brix; malolactic fermentation limited to 30 percent or less
• Cabernet Sauvignon: picked at around 24 Brix; barrel blend assembled in oak tanks built in 1976
• Cabernet Sauvignon aged 12 to 14 months in French oak (about 50 percent new) and two full years in bottle

Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is always blended with Merlot, Petit Verdot and Malbec, with the percentages of each grape adapted slightly to each vintage. Jordan Russian River Valley Chardonnay has been made since the 1979 vintage. There is only one bottling of Jordan every vintage. As of June 2026, Jordan's listed products included the 2021 Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at $60 and the 2023 Jordan Russian River Valley Chardonnay at $42. Jordan also produces an estate extra virgin olive oil, first made in 1998.

• Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: first vintage 1976
• Jordan Russian River Valley Chardonnay: first vintage 1979
• Jordan Estate Extra Virgin Olive Oil: first made in 1998

Jordan frames its winemaking philosophy as an attempt "to achieve a balance among all components of a wine," between fruit, acidity, tannin and alcohol. In Jordan's own words, its winemaking "emphasizes the wine’s fruit and acidity rather than its alcohol and tannin," and its wines "are intended to complement the meal, not overpower it." Jordan names the great white wines of Burgundy's Côte de Beaune as the inspiration for its Chardonnay's crisp stone fruit, bright acidity and lingering minerality, and grows its Bordeaux varieties primarily in Alexander Valley for silky red wines that honor the First Growth Bordeaux of France that inspired the Jordans to become vintners.

More than three-quarters of Jordan Estate has been left wild. All Jordan Estate vineyards are certified sustainable under the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA), and all of Jordan's grower vineyards use sustainable or organic practices and undergo third-party auditing. Jordan is also Fish Friendly Farming, Ranch Friendly Farming and Bee Friendly Farming certified, and has been a member of the Sonoma and Bay Area Green Business programs for two decades. Roughly 75 percent of the winery's electricity comes from its hillside solar arrays, with the balance from renewable resources through the Sonoma Clean Power program. Jordan applies compost made onsite to its vineyard soil twice a year, uses wind machines instead of water for frost protection, and created pollinator sanctuaries across the property in 2021.

• More than three-quarters of the estate left wild
• Estate vineyards certified sustainable under the CSWA; grower vineyards undergo third-party auditing
• Roughly 75 percent of the winery's electricity from hillside solar arrays
• Pollinator sanctuaries created in 2021

Working with San Francisco architect Bob Arrigoni, the Jordans drew up a blueprint for a 58,000-square-foot French-inspired chateau, which houses the winemaking facilities, kitchen, dining room, guest suites, tasting library, wine cellars and offices under one roof. Its production wing, including 12 oak tanks of 6,000 gallons, was finished one week before the first harvest in 1976, and the hospitality wing was completed in 1979, in time for the release of the inaugural 1976 Cabernet Sauvignon. Jordan welcomes guests by appointment for wine tours and tastings, all of which include food pairings. Overnight lodging, in three one-bedroom suites above the chateau's culinary wing and a two-bedroom guest house, is available to members of the Jordan Estate Rewards loyalty program, trade and press. Jordan is at 1474 Alexander Valley Road, Healdsburg.

• 58,000-square-foot chateau planned with architect Bob Arrigoni
• Hospitality wing completed in 1979
• Tours and tastings by appointment, all with food pairings

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.jordanwinery.com/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/about-us/our-history/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/about-us/vineyards/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/about-us/people/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/about-us/people/john-jordan/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/about-us/people/maggie-kruse/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/about-us/people/rob-davis/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/about-us/winemaking-process/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/values/sustainability-stewardship/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/about-us/jordan-estate/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/values/winemaking-philosophy/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/about-us/winery-chateau/, https://www.jordanwinery.com/values/who-we-are/, and the winery's Media Fact Sheet (June 2026, PDF): https://www.jordanwinery.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Jordan-Winery-Media-Fact-Sheet-2026.pdf. Secondary source: Decanter (David Furer, last updated 27 May 2015): https://www.decanter.com/wine-news/jordan-vineyard-winery-sells-to-native-american-tribe-31492. Last verified 2026-10-20. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.