
Geyser Peak Winery was founded in 1880
by one of Sonoma County's pioneer winemakers, Augustus Quitzow. He constructed a winery with a 20,000-gallon capacity on a hillside across from Geyser Peak Mountain in 1882. In 1887, Edward Walden & Company purchased Geyser Peak Winery and 80 acres of vineyards for $10,000. They had been importers of French brandy and were determined to make brandy at Geyser Peak. By 1890, they used 1,800 tons of grapes and made 5,400 gallons of brandy, some of which was exported to Europe.
Edward Walden enjoyed great success in 1890, but by 1908 he suffered financial losses and lost the winery by default to Farmers' and Mechanics' Bank. The bank leased the winery to O.J. LeBaron and W. S. Kelly, who operated it under the name, Geyser Peak Winery. By 1910, a partnership was formed and the Ciocca Lombardi Wine Company of San Francisco took over. They expanded the winery and made it one of the largest and best equipped in the entire state.
In 1937, Italy Industries, founded by the Bagnani family took over and Geyser Peak became Redwood Empire Wines. In 1945, Redwood Empire Wines ceased operation and American Industries continued the production of bulk wines at Geyser Peak until the Bagnanis sold out to the Schlitz Brewery Corporation of Milwaukee in November 1972. The Schlitz era was one of great expansion. Three brands were created: the Geyser Peak label for varietal wines, the Voltaire brand of moderately priced varietals, and Summit for popular priced generic wines. The emphasis was put on the Summit four-liter bag-in-a-box concept, which grew in a few years to sales over one million cases, making Geyser Peak Winery the ninth largest winery in California.
In 1980, Schlitz Brewery sold out to Stroh's Brewery Company, who had no desire to stay in the wine business. They sold the winery and 500 acres of vineyards in the Alexander Valley to the Trione family of Santa Rosa in 1982. The Trione family sold the Summit brand in 1985 in order to concentrate on the older Geyser Peak brand with its superb vineyards. By 1989, Geyser Peak became one of the top producers in California. Also in 1989, winemaker Daryl Groom known for his premium wine making in Australia was hired. Later he brought over winemaker Mick Shroeter to help transform Geyser Peak to one of the most highly awarded wineries in the world.
Henry Trione owns vineyards in Sonoma County's Alexander Valley, Russian River, as well as in the Benmore Valley of Lake County, and Mendocino County. In the summer of 1998, he decided to sell the wine business to Jim Beam Brands Co. and continues to provide us with superb wine grapes.
Geyser Peak Winery is located outside the town of Geyserville in the Alexander Valley, Sonoma County, California. The winery buildings total 150,000 square feet with capacity for storage of 2.5 million gallons and crush capacity of 8,000 tons. The Winery produces about 600,000 cases annually.
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Red Wine
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White Wine
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Sparkling Wine & Champagne
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Kosher
Wine which is produced and bottled under strict supervision and meets all standards to be certified Kosher.
Organic
Wine which is produced using organic practices and is free of all synthetic chemicals, antibiotics, hormones and pesticides.
Biodynamic
Biodynamic designation is regulated by Demeter, an international certification organization. Biodynamic agriculture is based on the view of a farm as a self-contained organism. Certified organic vineyards must meet Demeter"s additional criteria for a period of one year before earning the designation "biodynamic."
Sustainably Grown
Sustainable practices incorporate organic standards and may exceed them and include ecologically and socially sound business practices such as fair pay for farm workers and energy conservation.
Screw Cap
Wines sealed with a screw cap as opposed to a cork, which experts report protects and preserves wine more effectively than does a cork, while also eliminating the possibility of cork taint.
No Sulfites
All wines naturally contain some sulfites, however wines that contain less than 10 parts per million sulfites are not required to include "Contains Sulfites" on their labels.
Futures
Wines that are still in the barrel and have yet to be bottled. Futures offer the opportunity to invest in a wine before it arrives in our store.
Pre-arrivals
Like futures, pre-arrivals are wines that have not yet arrived on our shelves, however they may or may not be a new release. Pre-arrivals may already be bottled and en route to our store.
Wine Advocate
The Wine Advocate is a bimonthly wine publication featuring the consumer advice of wine critic Robert M. Parker, Jr. Initially titled The Baltimore-Washington Wine Advocate the first issue was published in 1978. Accepting no advertising, the newsletter publishes in excess of 7,500 reviews per year, utilizing Parker's rating system that employs a 50-100 point quality scale.
Wine Spectator
Wine Spectator is a lifestyle magazine that focuses on wine and wine culture. It publishes 15 issues per year with content that includes news, articles, profiles, and general entertainment pieces. Each issue also includes from 400 to more than 1,000 wine reviews, which consist of wine ratings and tasting notes.
International Wine Cellar
Since 1997, the 100% subscriber-supported IWC has also been available in French and Japanese editions.
Wine Enthusiast
Wine Enthusiast Magazine is a lifestyle magazine covering wine, food, spirits, travel and entertaining topics. It was founded in 1988 by Adam and Sybil Strum and reaches 686,000 readers. Its wine ratings, conducted by reviewers in major wine-producing areas of the world, are considered an influential gauge for consumers and professionals in the wine industry.
Wine & Spirits
Wine and Spirits is America's practical guide to the straightforward, enlightened enjoyment of fine wine and and premium spirits. We have for 18 years served customers and marketers alike with a lively mix of wine reviews, features, profiles, food and wine pairings, new product introductions, travel pieces, history, opinion and wine business news.
Burghound
Burghound.com was the first of its kind to offer specialized, and more importantly, exhaustive coverage of a specific wine region. The first Issue was released in January of 2001 and there are now subscribers in more than 50 countries and nearly all 50 states. Allen Meadows spends over four months a year in Burgundy and visits more than 300 domaines during that time.
James Halliday
James is one of the world’s leading authorities on Australian wine, matching intelligent, honest reviews with unparalleled knowledge of, and passion for, the wine industry.
Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine
For thirty-five years, Connoisseurs’ Guide has been the authoritative voice of the California wine consumer. With readers in all fifty states and twenty foreign countries, the Guide is valued by wine lovers everywhere for its honesty and for it strong adherence to the principles of transparency, unbiased, hard-hitting opinions.
James Suckling
I rate wines using the 100-points scale. I have used this point system for close to 25 years. I still believe it is the simplest way to rate a wine, with its origins from grade school in the United States. A wine that I rate 90 points or more is outstanding (A), and worth buying. If I rate a wine 95 points or more (A+), it is a must buy.
View from the Cellar
View From the Cellar, an electronic wine newsletter published bi-monthly by John Gilman.
Wine Journal
Homepage for wine writer, Neal Martin's, "Diary of a Wine Writer".
Malt Advocate
Malt Advocate magazine is America's leading whisky magazine. It's the number one source for whisky information, education and entertainment for whisky enthusiasts.
The Rhone Report
Dedicated to the wines and grapes of the Rhone Valley
Wine Review Online
Wine Review Online was originally conceived by Publisher Robert Whitley as an all-encompassing platform for the many talented wine journalists he came across in his travels as wine columnist for the Creators Syndicate.
All sizes are 750mL unless otherwise noted.
Vintages and ratings subject to change at any time.
All pricing and availability subject to change.