Kistler Vineyards

Kistler Vineyards was established in 1978 by Steve Kistler and Mark Bixler, two partners convinced that California terroir could yield Chardonnays of Burgundian complexity and site specificity. They built their original winery in the Mayacamas Mountains of Sonoma County and began planting vines on the mountain site in 1979. Mark Bixler, born in 1941 in southern Ohio, brought a chemistry background to the partnership: he studied at MIT, earned a PhD at UC Berkeley, and taught chemistry at Fresno State University, where he met Steve Kistler. At Kistler, Bixler ran the lab, oversaw sales and marketing, and managed the business side; Steve Kistler served as winemaker and vineyard director. The two roles meshed for nearly three decades and shaped the precise, restrained house style that built the winery's reputation.

• Steve Kistler and Mark Bixler founded the winery in 1978 in the Mayacamas Mountains of Sonoma County
• Vineyard development on the mountain site began in 1979; original winery built around the same period
• Mark Bixler: MIT, PhD UC Berkeley, taught chemistry at Fresno State before founding Kistler; ran lab and business operations
• Partnership shaped the house style of precision and restraint that defined Kistler's first three decades

In 2008, Steve Kistler sold his majority stake in the winery to Bill Price, the owner of Durell Vineyard and the head of what became Price Family Vineyards & Estates. The transaction brought Kistler under the umbrella of a Sonoma ownership group that also includes interests in Gap's Crown and other vineyard and winery holdings. The transition was structured to be gradual: Steve Kistler remained as winemaker through the changeover, and Jason Kesner came on board the same year to shadow him. The 2008 deal is the material ownership event in the winery's history and the moment that put the long-term continuity plan in motion, ultimately leading to Steve's full retirement at the end of 2017 and Kesner's assumption of the winemaking role.

• 2008: Steve Kistler sold majority stake to Bill Price (owner of Durell Vineyard and Price Family Vineyards & Estates)
• Bill Price's portfolio grew to include interests in Gap's Crown and other Sonoma holdings
• Steve Kistler stayed on as winemaker through the transition; Jason Kesner joined the same year to shadow him
• The 2008 deal anchored the eventual handover that completed when Steve formally retired at the end of 2017

Kistler draws fruit from a portfolio of sites stretching from Carneros to the Sonoma Coast, capturing the diverse soils and microclimates of Sonoma County. Each vineyard is farmed to Kistler's specifications, with the goal of transparent site expression. Dutton Ranch, near the intersection of the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast appellations, sits on Gold Ridge sandy soils and has been a source since the program's early years. McCrea Vineyard, at roughly 800 feet on the east-facing slopes of Sonoma Mountain, is composed of Sonoma volcanics and limestone. The original Kistler Vineyard, planted by Steve Kistler and bottled since the 1986 vintage, sits in the Mayacamas above the Sonoma Valley. Laguna Ridge, on sandstone and granular sediments, has been the source of a vineyard-designated Pinot Noir since 2006. Silver Belt Vineyard, with iron oxide soils mixed with gravel, provides the fruit for the Cuvée Natalie Pinot Noir. Hyde and Hudson Vineyards in Carneros contribute to the Chardonnay program.

• Dutton Ranch: Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast intersection; Gold Ridge sandy soils
• McCrea Vineyard: 800 feet on Sonoma Mountain; volcanic and limestone soils
• Kistler Vineyard: Steve Kistler's original planting in the Mayacamas above Sonoma Valley; bottled since 1986
• Laguna Ridge: sandstone and granular sediments; Pinot Noir vineyard-designate since 2006
• Silver Belt Vineyard: iron oxide and gravel soils; source of Cuvée Natalie Pinot Noir
• Hyde and Hudson Vineyards in Carneros contribute to the Chardonnay portfolio

Kistler's winemaking follows what the winery describes as the French model: a simple system designed for the clearest expression of each vineyard. Whole-cluster pressing, native yeast fermentation, and careful use of French oak cooperage define the Chardonnay program. Fermentations take place in subterranean barrel cellars where native yeast populations and biological patinas govern the fermentation ecology. The Pinot Noir program uses two heritage clones, originating from a Burgundian Grand Cru vineyard, that the winery has propagated in-house for more than 25 years. Oak is used to support structure without dominating fruit or terroir expression. The approach prizes restraint and consistency over winemaker signature, and it has changed remarkably little across the handover from Steve Kistler to Jason Kesner.

• Whole-cluster pressing and native yeast fermentation for all Chardonnays
• Subterranean barrel cellars with hand-stacked French cooperage
• Two heritage Pinot Noir clones from a Burgundian Grand Cru vineyard, propagated in-house for 25-plus years
• Restrained oak handling preserves fruit and site expression across both varieties

Jason Kesner joined Kistler Vineyards in 2008, the same year the ownership transition began, and worked alongside Steve Kistler for nearly a decade before assuming full winemaking responsibility when Steve formally retired at the end of 2017. Mark Bixler died on November 16, 2017, closing the founding chapter within weeks of Steve's retirement. Kesner's approach maintains the founders' commitment to minimal intervention and single-site expression while continuing to refine viticultural practices. He oversees vineyard management, clone selection, and winemaking across the full portfolio, which now extends to roughly a dozen vineyard-designated bottlings. Under Bill Price's ownership and Kesner's winemaking, Kistler has continued to operate as a mailing-list-driven, single-vineyard house with the same precision-and-restraint house style that defined the founding era.

• Jason Kesner joined Kistler in 2008 and assumed full winemaking responsibility when Steve Kistler retired at end of 2017
• Mark Bixler died on November 16, 2017, closing the founding partnership
• Kesner maintains the founders' philosophy of minimal intervention and transparent site expression
• Kistler continues to operate as a mailing-list-driven, single-vineyard producer under Bill Price's ownership