Winery History
Mount Eden Vineyards is, without question, one of California’s most important and historic winemaking estates. Originally planted by legendary (not to mention maverick) winemaker Martin Ray back in the 1940s, Mount Eden has been witness to its fair share of joy, disaster and intrigue over the years.
Since 1981 things have settled down on the mountain, after winemaker Jeffrey Patterson and his wife Ellie were left in control following a bitter ownership dispute between the previous shareholders. The last 30+ years of relative calm have enabled the Pattersons to get on with the business of producing some of the most age worthy wines in California, which is unsurprising considering that their clonal material is some of the oldest and most revered in the state – Mount Eden Chardonnay and Pinot Noir vines can be found planted in the best vineyard sites from Sonoma to Santa Barbara.
Viticulture/Winemaking Style
Perched on top of a mountain overlooking Silicon Valley, the spectacular vineyards are situated above the cloud line on shale soils that yield some of the finest Chardonnay, Pinot, and Cabernet in the entire state. On the winemaking side, the approach has always been to let the wine and the vintage speak for itself. A gentle handling of the fruit (no pumping for instance) is the first step, as well as careful monitoring of the fermentations using natural yeast populations. The resulting style is a wine that is elegant and complex yet quintessentially Californian.
Grape Varieties
Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon
Fun Fact 'Vineyards in the Sky' is a book and memoir written about legendary founder Martin Ray and his storied tales at Mount Eden.
