Lancaster Estate

Ted Simpkins founded Lancaster Estate and released his first Lancaster wine in 1995. Foley Family Wines, led by Bill Foley, bought Lancaster Estate in November 2012 in a deal that also included the Roth brand. At the time of the sale Lancaster produced about 12,000 cases a year. Lancaster Estate is a family-owned winery and a member of Foley Family Wines.

• Founder: Ted Simpkins
• First Lancaster wine released in 1995
• Bought by Foley Family Wines in November 2012, together with the Roth brand
• About 12,000 cases a year at the time of the 2012 sale

Bill Foley is Vintner and David Drake is Winemaker. Drake graduated from Sonoma State University with a Fine Arts degree in 1996. He started at Lancaster Estate as a harvest intern in 2000 and was then hired full time, rising from intern to Winemaker. At Lancaster he has worked with winemakers including David Ramey. At the time of the 2012 sale Jesse Katz was winemaker and David Ramey consulting winemaker, and Foley planned to retain the current staff. Viticulturist Brian Malone works with Drake using satellite mapping and climatic analysis from vineyard weather stations.

• Bill Foley: Vintner
• David Drake: Winemaker; harvest intern at Lancaster Estate from 2000
• Jesse Katz, winemaker, and David Ramey, consulting winemaker, at the time of the 2012 sale
• Brian Malone: viticulturist

Lancaster Estate's 53 hillside acres of vineyards lie in the eastern hills of southern Alexander Valley, at the confluence of the Chalk Hill and Knights Valley appellations, just outside Healdsburg. The vineyards grow on volcanic soils and rolling hillsides. The vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon 83% (clones 337, 7, 15, 4, 169, 341 and 338), Malbec 9% (clones 595 and 4), Merlot 5% (clones 3 and 18), Petit Verdot 2% (clones 400 and 1) and Cabernet Franc 1% (clone 327). Daytime temperatures are very similar to Napa Valley's Oakville District, while nights are approximately three degrees warmer than Oakville. With limited access to water, no frost protection has been installed. Vigor and yields are managed with shoot thinning, cluster thinning and deficit irrigation, and all of the estate's wines are estate grown, produced and bottled.

• 53 hillside acres in the eastern hills of southern Alexander Valley, at the confluence of the Chalk Hill and Knights Valley appellations
• Cabernet Sauvignon 83%, Malbec 9%, Merlot 5%, Petit Verdot 2%, Cabernet Franc 1%
• No frost protection installed, given limited access to water
• All wines estate grown, produced and bottled

Grapes are hand-sorted at the upper crushpad just outside the wine caves, and each vineyard block is vinified separately. The must is cold soaked for several days in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, then fermented with native wild yeasts; malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in barrel. Wines age in French oak barrels for 18 to 26 months sur lie in the estate's caves, and barrels are hand stirred every week during malolactic fermentation. Lancaster Estate Cabernet Sauvignon is aged in 70-80% new oak, Nicole's Proprietary Red sees 100% new oak each vintage, and Ermitage crafts a custom barrel for the Sauvignon Blanc called Samantha's Barrel. The red wines are bottled unfiltered.

• Native wild yeast fermentation; malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in barrel
• 18 to 26 months in French oak barrels sur lie; favorite coopers include Darnajou, Taransaud, Demptos, Ermitage, Suary, Bel Air and Sylvain
• Lancaster Estate Cabernet Sauvignon: 70-80% new oak; Nicole's Proprietary Red: 100% new oak each vintage
• Red wines bottled unfiltered

The current lineup has six wines: Cabernet Sauvignon, Lancaster Block 13 Malbec, Nicole's Proprietary Red, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Samantha's Sauvignon Blanc and Sophia's Hillside Cuvée. The Cabernet Sauvignon is a blend of all five of the red Bordeaux varieties planted on the estate; the 2022 is 81% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 6% Malbec, 3% Cabernet Franc and 3% Petit Verdot. Nicole's Proprietary Red is blended from the best barrels of the estate's finest vineyard blocks, and the 2022 is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 18% Merlot. The 2023 Sophia's Hillside Cuvée is primarily composed of young hillside blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, at 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. Samantha's Sauvignon Blanc is grown 100% on the estate.

• Cabernet Sauvignon: blend of all five red Bordeaux varieties planted on the estate
• Nicole's Proprietary Red: the best barrels of the estate's finest vineyard blocks; 2022 is 82% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Merlot
• Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and Lancaster Block 13 Malbec, both listed in the 2022 vintage
• Samantha's Sauvignon Blanc (2025) and Sophia's Hillside Cuvée (2023)

The estate's guiding philosophy includes the line: "Allow our wines to reveal the unique character of our hillside estate." Winemaker David Drake puts his approach this way: "In making a great wine, one needs balance. No one part should overtake the wine." The estate's wine pages describe a commitment to "making wines of authenticity and place," with native yeasts used for primary fermentation.

Wine Spectator's 2017 Top 100 list ranked the Lancaster Cabernet Sauvignon Alexander Valley 2014 at No. 86, with a score of 94 points.

The tasting room and winery are at 15001 Chalk Hill Road, Healdsburg, open Thursday through Monday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., by reservation only. The Reserve Cave Tasting is a 90-minute guided tasting of five reserve cellar-aged red wines in the estate's cave, and the Estate Tasting is a seated flight of four current vintage Lancaster Estate wines. The winery's club is the Lancaster Estate Wine Guild.

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.lancaster-estate.com/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/about/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/about/vineyards/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/about/winemaking/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/meet-the-team/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/visit-us/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/membership/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/our-team/david-drake/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/wine/cabernet-sauvignon/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/wine/nicoles-proprietary-red/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/wine/samanthas-sauvignon-blanc-2025/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/wine/sophias-hillside-cuvee/, https://www.lancaster-estate.com/wines/. Secondary sources: The Press Democrat (November 14, 2012), Wine Spectator (November 9, 2012 sale report), Wine Spectator Top 100 list (2017). Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs. Last verified 2026-10-12.