Hook & Ladder Winery
Encyclopedia
History
Hook & Ladder Winery is family-owned and operated wine producer located at 2134 Olivet Road (Santa Rosa, CA) in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, CACalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, founded by Cecil De Loach
Cecil O. De Loach, Jr.
Cecil O. De Loach, Jr.b. September 14, 1938, Andalusia, ALAs a post-Prohibition grape-grower and winemaker working with traditional vitis vinifera grapes in the Russian River Valley AVA, Cecil De Loach is a modern-day wine industry pioneer who contributed significantly to the reputation and...
, a veteran San Francisco firefighter
San Francisco Fire Department
The San Francisco Fire Department provides fire and emergency services to the City and County of San Francisco, California.The San Francisco Fire Department, along with the San Francisco Police Department and San Francisco Sheriff's Department, serves an estimated population of 1.4 million people...
, and his wife Christine, in 2005. The De Loaches had previously founded De Loach Vineyards
De Loach Vineyards
De Loach Vineyards was started in 1975 by Cecil and Christine De Loach, and was one of the first wineries established in the Russian River Valley, Sonoma County, California....
in 1975. Hook & Ladder is staffed by three generations of the De Loach family, which has been growing grapes and making wines in the region for over four decades.
Winegrowing
As an estate producer, Hook & Ladder sustainably grows all of its own grapes, makes all of its own wines, and bottles the wine on its premises. The winery sources its grapes from Sweetwater Land & Cattle Co., a grape farming operation owned by Cecil De Loach, which comprises 375 acres of vineyard in Russian River Valley.Products
The winery produces two proprietary red blends: The Tillerman, a blend of cabernet sauvignonCabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Canada's Okanagan Valley to Lebanon's Beqaa Valley...
, merlot
Merlot
Merlot is a darkly blue-coloured wine grape, that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name Merlot is thought to derive from the Old French word for young blackbird, merlot, a diminutive of merle, the blackbird , probably from the color of the grape. Merlot-based wines...
, cabernet franc
Cabernet Franc
Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone - as in the Loire's Chinon...
and sangiovese
Sangiovese
Sangiovese is a red Italian wine grape variety whose name derives from the Latin sanguis Jovis, "the blood of Jove"...
; and Station 10, made with a traditional Sonoma County field blend of zinfandel
Zinfandel
Zinfandel is a variety of red grape planted in over 10 percent of California vineyards. DNA fingerprinting revealed that it is genetically equivalent to the Croatian grape Crljenak Kaštelanski, and also the Primitivo variety traditionally grown in Puglia , where it was introduced in the 18th century...
, petite sirah, alicante bouschet
Alicante Bouschet
Alicante Bouschet or Alicante Henri Bouschet is a wine grape variety that has been widely cultivated since 1866. It is a cross of Petit Bouschet and Grenache. Alicante is a teinturier, a grape with red flesh. It is one of the few teinturier grapes that belong to the Vitis vinifera species...
and carignane
Carignane
Carignan is a red wine grape that may have originated in Cariñena, Aragon and was later transplanted to Sardinia, elsewhere in Italy, France, Algeria, and much of the New World. Along with Aramon, it was once considered one of the main grapes responsible for France's wine lake. In California, the...
. These two wines are named, respectively, after Cecil De Loach's position in the fire department, and the fire house at which he served.
The winery also produces a full range of varietal wines including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay
Chardonnay
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
, Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
, Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon blanc
Sauvignon Blanc is a green-skinned grape variety which originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French word sauvage and blanc due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in South West France., a possible descendant of savagnin...
, Zinfandel and Gewurztraminer
Gewürztraminer
Gewürztraminer is an aromatic wine grape variety that performs best in cooler climates. It is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz, and in French it is written '...
. The total annual case production is approximately 25,000 cases. In addition Hook & Ladder produces an extra virgin olive oil from their Los Amigos Ranch in Healdsburg, CA. Hook & Ladder owns three other wine brands: Hartman Lane Vineyards & Winery, Tuscan Ridge, and Sweetwater Sustainable Land Co.