Jim Ball Vineyards

Jim Ball Vineyards
PO Box 441,9201 Highway 128
Philo, California
USA 95466
Phone: 707.480.0371
http://www.jimballvineyards.com/

Contact: Tanya Wilber
Email: [email protected]

The idea for Jim Ball Vineyards began over 27 years ago. Traveling the West Coast for the first time, I fell in love with Northern California, its juxtaposition of rugged Pacific Coast and orderly vineyard rows. Years later, while in Mendocino, another epiphany occurred – the haunting allure of Pinot noir and the still beauty of the Anderson Valley.

So a search began for the Holy Grail – that sweet spot on the California Coast where Pinot noir could be taken to exalted levels.

I found it. I offer it to you here. Wine may be made in the vineyard, but often it gets compromised in the winery. Jim Ball Vineyards believes that the best fruit deserves the best fruit-handling equipment and the best fruit handling practices. No matter the price.

Our wine evolves from a very precise protocol discovered over time to express distinctive berry character, which is then carefully chosen and blended to exalt the region and the fruit. That berry character is often very different from site to site and clone to clone; fruit from one site will have a unique taste or tannin or acid or bouquet compared to that grown 30 or 20 or even 10 feet away. That reality dictated our winery design. In many ways, we are not one winery, but dozens, each designed to complement the fruit from distinct clone and vineyard sites. Our 100% French oak barrels are selected only after trials with our own fruit, and include the world renowned coopers Seguin Moreau, Siruge, Rousseau, and Francois Freres, as well as a few very secret proprietary French and Northern Italian Coopers. These barrels originate from predominately the Allier and Vosges forests in France and are prized for their subtle character. They have been painstakingly matched to our fruit, clone by clone, site by site.

Winemaker: Phil Baxter Jr.

Update Winery information  Submit new wines to be posted  Wineries of America