![]() The property encompasses nearly 50 acres of which 27 are planted to vine. Pine trees grow above the vineyard extending to the ridge line to the west – and were the reason why Gary and Nancy chose the name Pine Ridge, honoring their location. Pine Ridge’s little slice of the Stags Leap District is tucked between two hillsides surrounded by their estate vineyards. ![]() The appellation is not large by Napa Valley standards – slightly over a mile in width and about 6 miles long. There are two main soils that dominate here including volcanic found along the hillsides, and river sediments found at the lower elevations which over the years have formed consistent loams that are somewhat clay-like in nature. Stags Leap District was the first viticultural area in the United States to be approved based on the distinctiveness of its soils. The vineyards in this appellation are also fairly well established. Furthermore, it’s not an appellation that has seen an influx of new producers in the last 10-15 years like many of Napa Valley’s sub appellations. Compared to some of Napa Valley’s other appellations, there are very few producers and wineries in the region. Several historical vineyards are located here, one of which, the nearby Fay Vineyard provided fruit for one of their neighboring wineries (Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars) whose 1973 Cabernet Sauvignon took the top honor in the historic Paris Tasting of 1976. Stags Leap District was founded as an appellation in 1989 and is one of Napa’s most prominent appellations. The winery is located in the Stags Leap District, one of Napa’s gorgeous regions featuring rolling hills, valley floor vineyards and steep rugged rocky hillsides on its eastern flanks. The original tank room will eventually be converted to a reserve cellar, housing some of their top wines. As of 2023, he is overseeing a number of improvements to their cave and winery infrastructure. Current winemaker, Josh Widaman previously was winemaker at Lewis Cellars where he crafted a number of high scoring wines including the Wine Spectator’s #1 Wine of the Year in 2016. Pine Ridge has only employed a handful of winemakers since its founding. Former winemaker Stacy Clark was with the winery from 1983 to 2008, certainly one of the longer tenures of a winemaker in the valley. Unlike other wineries who change varieties, vineyard sources and wines, Pine Ridge strives for consistency, including sourcing from the same vineyards and blocks and producing wines from the same varieties year after year. Pine Ridge is well-known based on quality wines & a national distribution their tasting room can be busy even on slower winter weekend days. Rather than outsource the management of the vines to a vineyard management company, Pine Ridge employees their own team. We are assisting with the logistics of obtaining a variety that is not yet grown anywhere in the United States. A 2-acre block in their Oakville vineyard has been set aside for growing a diversity of varieties which are not or are rarely grown in Napa Valley. ![]() Pine Ridge owns 160 acres of vineyards in five Napa Valley appellations including Carneros (3 sites), Howell Mountain (1 site), Oakville (1 site), Rutherford (1 site) and Stags Leap District (4 sites). Pine Ridge is their only Napa Valley based winery and is where the Crimson Wine Group headquarters are located. Pine Ridge is now owned by publicly traded Napa Valley based Crimson Wine Group (CWGL), a company who owns a select portfolio of wineries in California, Oregon and Washington. Gary sold his shares in both Pine Ridge Vineyards and Archery Summit Winery in 2001. In 2002 Gary began Oregon based Gypsy Dancer Wines with his third wife Christine (who still continues to operate this Pinot Noir focused winery). Gary also left his mark on the world of Oregon wine in 1993 he founded Archery Summit Winery (a prominent Pinot Noir producer in the Dundee Hills appellation of the Willamette Valley sourcing from approximately 120 acres of vineyards). Incidentally another Napa winery owner, Gary Erickson (co-founder of Clif Family Winery) worked at this store for several years in the late 1970s. He sold this store in 1975, the new owners changed names then to The Mountain Air and eventually moved the store to a small shopping center on Marsh Street where it continues to operate (and is often frequented by Cal Poly students and the local community). Continuing his love of sports, in the late 1960s/early 1970s Gary founded a sports store on Higuera Street in San Luis Obispo called Mountain Sports. ski team for downhill skiing and from 1976 through 1979 was vice president of Copper Mountain Ski Resort in Colorado. ![]() Gary was born and raised in the Los Angeles area and became an avid skier. Pine Ridge Vineyards was founded in 1978 by the late Gary Andrus (died in 2009), his ex-wife Nancy (she since retired and re-married) and a group of investment partners. ![]()
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