HOLDREDGE WINES

Food and Beverage > Organic

John was born and raised in Michigan. He left at age 17 and spent the better part of five years traveling all over the world, working many different jobs around the world, during which time he developed a love of wine. He wound up in California by way of a car that broke down, and found Sonoma County by serendipity.

John learned to make wine the old -fashioned way- by making it with friends. In 1995, he bought a property with a small Syrah vineyard on it. At that time, there wasn’t much Syrah planted in the Russian River Valley. Some of the grapes were sold, but he also made some into wine himself.

His friends insisted that his wines were better than those made from the grapes he grew and sold to others, so in 2001 he and Carri took the plunge and jumped in with both feet. The “plan” was to work with the grapes John knew best- Zinfandel and Syrah. But that year renowned winegrower Sara Lee Kunde offered to sell some Pinot Noir to John. Pinot was less readily available then, and while John loved drinking Pinot he had never made one in his life. The Zinfandel and Syrah did well, but the Pinot took off with a boom. John now works with 14 different Pinot vineyards, but makes no Zinfandel or Syrah.

Outside of wine, John is passionate about cooking, music, gardening, film, books, and of course, the SF Giants, 49ers and the Golden State Warriors. He is a past Director and Past President of the Russian River Valley Winegrowers, and a Past Directorand Board Chairman of the Russian River Pinot Noir Forum.

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