The winery "Fetzer Vineyards" is located in Hopland in Mendocino County(North Coast) in California. The origin lies in 1958, when Barney and Kathleen Fetzer bought a ranch in the Redwood Valley. At first, the run-down farm was rebuilt, but the first wine did not come on the market until 1968. Initially, red wines were produced from Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel, but from 1978 onwards, white wines were added, mainly from Chardonnay, as well as Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc. After the death of the founder in 1981, eight of his 11 children continued to expand the business, acquiring Sundial Ranch in 1981 and Valley Oaks Ranch in 1984. An in-house cooperage for the construction of barrique barrels was put into operation in 1993. In 2001, the "Five Rivers" ranch was added in the Paso Robles(Central Coast) AVA area. The company was eventually sold to the Brown-Forman Corporation spirits group in 1992.
Fetzer is considered a Californian pioneer in organic (ecological) viticulture with the renunciation of artificial fertilisers and pesticides. Here, this is usually referred to as "organic viticulture". The closeness to nature is also expressed in many other projects. In a garden complex in Hopland, a paradise modelled on Noah's Ark was created starting in 1986 with the advice of the guru Michael Maltas. On about two hectares, all edible plant species of the world are cultivated with thousands of varieties of fruits, vegetables, salads, herbs, spices and even edible flowers. There is also an extensive programme of environmental protection and recycling, such as generating its own electricity through solar energy and recycled waste water. Together with the University of California (Davis), a filtration system was developed in 1998. The water purified by sand and pebble filters is used for artificial irrigation.
The company's own vineyards cover 800 hectares, and a further 222 hectares are rented. These areas are all cultivated organically. Furthermore, there are long-term contracts with 150 grape suppliers, some of whom manage their vineyards organically with the help of Fetzer consultants. They own a total of around 3,600 hectares of vineyards. This makes Fetzer Vineyards one of the world's largest organic wine producers. In the meantime, the entire company is geared towards sustainable management. Since 1999, all wines have been produced in the newly built North Coast winery in Hopland in eight different lines. These are Pacific Bay (entry-level segment), Stony Brook (excl. for specialised trade), Hopland Ranches (excl. for gastronomy), Dual Varietals (mid-range cuvées), Premium Varietals (varietally pure classic line), Barrel Select (100% aged in barrique) and the top line Private Collection (grapes from selected sites).
Organic wines have been marketed under the Bonterra Vineyards label since 1993. For these, only organically certified grapes are used, which come from 400 hectares of their own vineyards. The "McNab Ranch" is run according to the guidelines of biodynamic viticulture. The flagship farm serves as a living laboratory for scientific studies to demonstrate the influence and methods necessary for biodynamic work.
The vineyards cover 51 hectares of vines in southern Mendocino County, planted with the white wine varieties Chardonnay (50%), Muscat Blanc, Viognier, Roussanne and Marsanne, and the red wine varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec (Cot), Petite Sirah, Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah and Sangiovese. The ranch has been certified biodynamic by the DEMETER association since 1996. The first biodynamically produced wine was the red wine cuvée "McNab" vintage 2002, which was introduced in May 2006. Another 45 hectare vineyard called "Butler Ranch" received DEMETER certification in 2003. Most of the Butler grapes also go into the Bonterra wines. Fetzer produces a total of about four million cases of wine annually, of which about 200,000 cases are under the Bonterra Vineyards label.
