Gary Farrell Winery

It’s hard to imagine a better vantage point from which to savor the many splendors of the Russian River Valley than Gary Farrell Winery.  Perched on a hillside providing panoramic views of the forested valley below, its wines epitomize the best of the appellation and the passion and pioneering spirit of its visionary founder, Gary Farrell, a California winemaking icon. Gary Farrell Winery has long specialized in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from some of the top vineyards in the Russian River Valley, and the wines remain as elegant, complex expressions of their vineyard origins.
 
Beginning in the late 1970s, while working with seminal Russian River Valley vintners such as Davis Bynum, Joe Rochioli, Tom Dehlinger and Robert Stemmler, Gary Farrell was instrumental in showcasing the Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays of the nascent Russian River Valley AVA, a picturesque, redwood-studded wine region 55 miles north of San Francisco whose mighty river cuts a scenic swath through the heart of Sonoma County.  He made his first wine under the Gary Farrell label in 1982 and built the winery into one of the most acclaimed producers of small-lot Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays in the Russian River Valley. Although he sold the winery in 2004, Gary Farrell Winery continues its collaborative partnerships with top growers and its commitment to wines that capture the unique character of the vineyard.
 
Today, Gary Farrell Winery is owned by Bill Price, who also owns Kistler and the Durell and Gap’s Crown vineyards; Pete Scott, the former CFO of Beringer Wine Estates; and Walt Klenz; former president and CEO of Beringer Wine Estates. They are carefully nurturing Gary Farrell’s legacy of producing small lots of varietally expressive and regionally distinctive Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays at its beautifully designed winery on Westside Road.