Quivira Vineyards & Winery

Holly and Henry Wendt founded Quivira in Dry Creek Valley in 1981. Pete and Terri Kight acquired the estate in 2006, and shortly afterward the organic estate was transformed into a Demeter-certified, fully Biodynamic farm. The Kights preserved the estate's fig tree, developed raised organic garden beds, fruit trees, farm animals and bees, and restored Wine Creek. In 2015 the estate moved away from Demeter Biodynamic certification, citing many required practices that were having no measurable effect on the quality of its farm or wines, and settled on CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers) certification. In 2020 the winery lost between 30 and 40% of its grapes to smoke taint after the Walbridge Fire, including all of its later-ripening Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre and Montepulciano. The Point Fire of June 2024 forced an evacuation, and the winery was unscathed.

• 1981: founded by Holly and Henry Wendt.
• 2006: acquired by Pete and Terri Kight; Demeter-certified Biodynamic farming followed shortly afterward.
• 2015: Demeter certification dropped; the estate settled on CCOF organic certification.
• 2020: 30 to 40% of the grapes lost to smoke taint after the Walbridge Fire.

Pete and Terri Kight have owned Quivira since 2006. Steve Domenichelli is General Manager; he brings over thirty years of experience in vineyard care, wine production and land stewardship, and his family's farming background in Northern California dates back to 1906. As of August 2024, Hugh Chappelle had been head winemaker at Quivira since 2010. Humberto Garcia guides the estate's gardens.

• Owners: Pete and Terri Kight, since 2006.
• General Manager: Steve Domenichelli.
• Head winemaker: Hugh Chappelle, since 2010 (as of August 2024).

The winery sits on a 110-acre estate at 4900 West Dry Creek Road in Healdsburg. The estate is bisected by Wine Creek, which gives the home ranch, Wine Creek Ranch, its name and flows through the estate to merge with Dry Creek. Of the estate, 59 acres are planted to vines. Soils on the valley floor are primarily gravelly and sandy loam, deep, well drained and fertile, while the estate Zinfandel grows on hillside sites that are principally Dibble Clay Loam and Clough Gravelly Loam. The winery's own site cites a representative of the Adcon weather station who called Wine Creek Ranch the coldest site in Dry Creek Valley, a condition it considers optimal for preserving acidity in the Sauvignon Blanc and Rhône varieties planted on the valley floor. The property's Mediterranean climate and well-draining soils suit Rhône varieties, mainly Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, which grow only a couple of hundred yards apart from one another.

• 110-acre estate bisected by Wine Creek; 59 acres planted to vines.
• Valley-floor soils: primarily gravelly and sandy loam. Hillside Zinfandel sites: principally Dibble Clay Loam and Clough Gravelly Loam.
• Rhône varieties, mainly Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre, planted only a couple of hundred yards apart.

Quivira holds CCOF organic certification and practices a hybrid of Biodynamic and organic farming methods, maintaining a custom range of biodynamic practices that includes rigorous composting and cover crop rotation specific to each vineyard block. The winery creates all of its prepared vineyard applications and grows the material for them on the estate. Fertility comes from composting winery pomace and estate livestock manure; a half-acre of vines was removed to make room for a five hundred cubic yard compost pile. The estate keeps nine breeds of chickens and beehives, and its gardens have over 100 raised beds of heirloom produce grown free of toxic chemicals. Garden produce, estate olive oil, jams and spices appear at the estate's farm-to-table dinners, and the winery collaborates with local Sonoma County restaurants and partners with the local food bank. A 55kW solar electric system has supplied over half of the winery's energy needs since 2005.

• CCOF Certified Organic; Demeter Biodynamic certification dropped in 2015, biodynamic practices kept.
• Five hundred cubic yard compost pile; nine breeds of chickens; beehives in the garden.
• Over 100 raised garden beds; farm-to-table dinners; collaborations with local Sonoma County restaurants and the local food bank.
• 55kW solar electric system supplying over half of the winery's energy needs since 2005.

Since 1998 Quivira has worked with the California Department of Fish and Game and other organizations to restore Wine Creek for its native Steelhead trout and Coho salmon. The riparian corridor of Wine Creek meanders through the middle of the property on its way into Dry Creek, which also provides riparian habitat along the estate's entire eastern boundary. The winery identifies itself as the first Dry Creek winery to devote resources to creek restoration; neighbors have followed, and the restoration now extends 14 miles down Dry Creek.

• Restoration since 1998 with the California Department of Fish and Game and other organizations.
• Wine Creek is a Coho salmon and Steelhead trout spawning stream through the center of the estate.
• The restoration extends 14 miles down Dry Creek.

The lineup centers on Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and Rhône varieties. Sauvignon Blancs include a Sonoma County bottling, the Fig Tree Vineyard and Alder Grove Vineyard wines and the Q Collection, and a Dry Creek Valley Semillon is also made. Rhône-variety wines include Wine Creek Ranch Grenache, a Wine Creek Ranch GSM, a Wine Creek Ranch Mourvedre and a Wine Creek Ranch Rosé. Zinfandels include Anderson Ranch, Black Boar, Katz Vineyard, Pillsbury Vineyard and a Sonoma County bottling. The range also includes a Montepulciano Sangiovese, a Petite Sirah, and Cabernet Sauvignon from the Berler and Hafner vineyards.

• Sauvignon Blanc: Sonoma County, Fig Tree Vineyard, Alder Grove Vineyard, Q Collection.
• Rhône varieties: Wine Creek Ranch Grenache, GSM, Mourvedre and Rosé.
• Zinfandel: Anderson Ranch, Black Boar, Katz Vineyard, Pillsbury Vineyard, Sonoma County.
• Also: Dry Creek Valley Semillon, Montepulciano Sangiovese, Petite Sirah, Berler Vineyard and Hafner Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon.

Wine Spectator placed the 2017 Alder Grove Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc at #31 on its Top 100 of 2019, and the 2018 Fig Tree Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc, rated 93 points, at #26 on its Top 100 of 2020.

Hugh Chappelle frames the house style as “one foot Old World and one foot New World in terms of juxtaposing bright New World aromatics and flavors alongside a lower Old World alcohol balance and 100% natural acidity.” For its Sauvignon Blanc the winery uses a mix of stainless steel, Acacia wood puncheons and old, neutral French oak; in Chappelle's words, “Our Sauvignon Blanc needs some wood but, at the same time, we don’t want any hint of oak.” Large oak foudres play a role in aging the wines.

Primary sources (producer's own site and store): https://quivirawine.com/, https://quivirawine.com/about-us/, https://quivirawine.com/farming/, https://quivirawine.com/vines/, https://quivirawine.com/visit/, https://store.quivirawine.com/wines/Quivira, https://store.quivirawine.com/product-details/0304/2023-fig-tree-vineyard-sauvignon-blanc. Secondary sources: Wine Spectator (wine detail page for the 2017 Alder Grove Vineyard Sauvignon Blanc; Top 100 of 2020 list data, top100.winespectator.com) and The Press Democrat (Peg Melnik, published August 20, 2024). Last verified 2026-10-14. Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs.