Source: Drew Family Cellars
DREW WINES
Mendocino, California
Jason along with wife Molly started Drew sixteen years ago with a simple goal in mind: to craft small lot coastal wines that express site specificity and traditional varietal character. In keeping with this goal, they searched up and down the northern California coast for a suitable plot of land to plant their first estate Pinot Noir and to build a small boutique winery.
In 2004 they stumbled upon an old 26 acre apple orchard for sale within the Mendocino Ridge Appellation. The Mendocino Ridge is the far coast of Mendocino County, located directly west and south west of Anderson Valley and directly north of the true Sonoma Coast. While others saw a daunting project in this old orchard property, Jason and Molly saw ancient oceanic soils, south facing slopes and a true coastal climate, with the ocean a mere 3.3 miles away. It didn't take long for them to decide to leap and leap they did.
They spent the following year drawing, planning and building their boutique winery. They spent that year living in a 19 ft Airstream trailer along with their two young boys, to ensure construction moved as planned. They eventually planted their 7 acre organically farmed estate Pinot Noir vineyard , which produced its first crop in 2014. A milestone that was hard earned after 25 years in the wine industry. Jason is a true craftsman of his trade, he didn't come to the wine industry with buckets of cash, but rather spent many years honing his craft and continues this pursuit of making wines of soul and transparency.
Drew continues to focus on small lot coastal Pinot Noir and Syrah from both Anderson Valley and the Mendocino Ridge. They continue their long standing partnerships with several local vineyard growers who share their passion for sustainable and meticulous farming practices. Single vineyard sources are chosen for their climate, clonal selection and complexity of soil type. Winemaking practices remain focused on traditional methods that include whole cluster and native yeast fermentations, hand punchdowns and in most instances, no fining or filtering.