Patz & Hall Wine Company

Patz & Hall was founded in the spring of 1988 by four partners united by a vision of small-lot, single-vineyard winemaking from California's premier cool-climate sites. James Hall had been assistant winemaker at Flora Springs, where he met national sales manager Donald Patz; the two discovered a shared interest in applying traditional winemaking techniques to fruit from elite small growers. Hall and Patz brought in Anne Moses and Heather Patz to round out the founding partnership, and each of the four contributed $5,000 in starting capital. Over a bottle of Krug Champagne in 1988, they toasted the future of the venture and released their inaugural Napa Valley Chardonnay. Hall crafted the wines, Donald Patz drove sales from California to New York, Moses developed the Southern California market and eventually became the winery's president, and Heather Patz worked as brand ambassador. By the mid-1990s the program had extended into Pinot Noir from sites across California's coastal AVAs.

• Founded spring 1988 by James Hall (winemaker), Donald Patz (sales), Anne Moses, and Heather Patz
• Each founder contributed $5,000 in starting capital; the inaugural release was a Napa Valley Chardonnay
• James Hall and Donald Patz had met at Flora Springs Winery and Vineyards before launching the project
• Pinot Noir program added in the mid-1990s; sourcing extended into Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast, and Santa Lucia Highlands

Ste. Michelle Wine Estates acquired Patz & Hall in 2016, providing capital for continued growth while retaining the single-vineyard philosophy that had defined the brand since 1988. Eight years later, on March 18, 2024, founding winemaker James Hall reacquired Patz & Hall from Ste. Michelle with a small group of investors, becoming the largest shareholder. The transaction was part of Ste. Michelle's broader move to divest its California portfolio and focus on its Washington brands. Hall had already taken steps to set up a leadership succession the previous year: in May 2023 he appointed James McCeney as Senior Winemaker, positioning him as the eventual successor at the cellar. Hall framed the 2024 reacquisition as a return to the brand's Sonoma roots, with renewed focus on the single-vineyard portfolio and the grower relationships built since 1988.

• Ste. Michelle Wine Estates acquired Patz & Hall in 2016
• James Hall reacquired Patz & Hall from Ste. Michelle on March 18, 2024, becoming the largest shareholder
• Ste. Michelle's 2024 divestment was part of a broader move to exit its California portfolio and focus on Washington brands
• James McCeney was appointed Senior Winemaker in May 2023 and positioned as Hall's eventual successor

Patz & Hall does not own estate vineyards; the program is built entirely on multi-decade relationships with California's most respected growers. The flagship Chardonnay bottlings come from Hyde Vineyard in Carneros (Larry Hyde, planted 1979) and Hudson Vineyard in Carneros (Lee Hudson, planted 1981), two of the appellation's defining sites for Chardonnay. Dutton Ranch in the Russian River Valley (Joe and Steve Dutton) provides both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, while Charlie Chenoweth contributes fruit from the Russian River. The Pinot Noir program extends through Gap's Crown Vineyard in the Petaluma Gap and Pisoni Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands (Gary Pisoni). The grower-only sourcing model allows the winemaking team to focus on cellar work while making long-term vineyard requests of partners with whom the relationships span more than three decades in several cases.

• Hyde Vineyard (Carneros, Larry Hyde): flagship Chardonnay source planted 1979
• Hudson Vineyard (Carneros, Lee Hudson): premium Chardonnay source planted 1981
• Dutton Ranch (Russian River Valley, Joe and Steve Dutton): both Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
• Pinot Noir program also draws on Gap's Crown (Petaluma Gap) and Pisoni Vineyard (Santa Lucia Highlands, Gary Pisoni)

The portfolio is anchored by appellation-level Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, the accessible entry tier built from blended fruit. The single-vineyard tier includes Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay, Hudson Vineyard Chardonnay, Dutton Ranch Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Gap's Crown Pinot Noir, and Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir. Chardonnays are typically whole-cluster pressed, barrel-fermented in French oak with a controlled new-oak component, and aged on lees for extended periods to build texture without masking site character. Pinot Noirs use native yeast fermentation, varied whole-cluster inclusion adjusted by site and vintage, and 14 to 18 months in French oak with a portion of new barrels. Annual production runs around 30,000 cases. Wine & Spirits has included Patz & Hall on its Top 100 Wineries of the World list across multiple years, with single-vineyard bottlings consistently scoring in the 92 to 96 range across major American publications.

• Appellation-level: Sonoma Coast Chardonnay and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir as the accessible entry tier
• Single-vineyard tier: Hyde, Hudson, Dutton, Gap's Crown, and Pisoni
• Chardonnay protocol: whole-cluster press, French oak fermentation with controlled new oak, extended lees aging
• Pinot Noir protocol: native yeast fermentation, varied whole-cluster inclusion, 14 to 18 months in French oak

Patz & Hall's working winery and current tasting space sits at 21200 8th Street East in the town of Sonoma, on the eastern edge of the Sonoma Valley between the town and the Carneros line (not in the Carneros AVA itself). The label moved out of its longtime Sonoma House tasting room and announced a new bungalow tasting room just off the Sonoma Plaza, scheduled to open in spring 2026. Until then, members and visitors taste at the working winery on weekends by appointment, with seated comparative flights showing variation between source vineyards within a single variety (Hyde versus Hudson Chardonnay, for example). For students of California fine wine, Patz & Hall illustrates how a small-capitalized 1988 startup built around grower relationships became one of the institutional voices of the California single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir conversation, and how the 2024 reacquisition has placed the brand back in its founding winemaker's hands.

• Working winery and current tasting space at 21200 8th Street East in the town of Sonoma (not in the Carneros AVA)
• New tasting room in a bungalow just off the Sonoma Plaza is scheduled to open in spring 2026
• Tastings poured by appointment with seated comparative flights between source vineyards within a variety
• Built from a $20,000 founder pool in 1988 into one of the institutional voices of California single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir