Grey Stack Cellars

Rosemary's Block Sauvignon Blanc, Bennett Valley — The signature white from the estate Dry Stack Vineyard; concrete-aged and consistently rated among California's best (Wine Spectator 91, Wine Enthusiast 92–94).

Marie's Block Syrah, Bennett Valley — From the Dry Stack Vineyard; the winery's first red, made since the 2005 vintage.

Estate Pinot Noir, Bennett Valley — Cool-climate Pinot from the Petaluma Gap-influenced estate.

Estate Grenache, Bennett Valley — A small-lot red from owner-winemaker Patrick Sullivan.

Estate Chardonnay, Bennett Valley — Rounding out a boutique, estate-only Bennett Valley program.

The grey stacks for which the winery is named are volcanic blue-shale rock piles scattered across the hills between Santa Rosa and Glen Ellen — some pre-dating the cattle ranchers who used them to mark their fields, others built up by generations of vineyard hands clearing stones from the soil. Patrick Sullivan grew up among them on his family's Bennett Valley ranch. He earned a bachelor's degree in molecular cell biology from UC Berkeley and a master's in enology from CSU Fresno, then spent more than twenty years moving through some of the most respected cellars in Napa and Sonoma — beginning at Peter Michael in Knights Valley and continuing at Lewis Cellars, Paul Hobbs, and Rudd, with consulting work for smaller brands along the way. In 2004 he turned his attention back to the family land and founded Grey Stack; the first vintage was harvested in 2005, the first wines released in 2007 — a 2006 Rosemary's Block Sauvignon Blanc and a 2005 Marie's Block Syrah from Dry Stack Vineyard.

Four Brothers Vineyard is Patrick's home estate — a northeast-facing hillside in Bennett Valley and Sonoma Mountain, where ancient volcanic clay-loam soils and the cool ocean breezes funneling through the Petaluma Gap and over Sonoma Mountain shape wines of unusual freshness for the area. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir lead the program — the Rosemary's Block Sauvignon Blanc has become one of the most acclaimed examples of the variety in the new world — joined by Chardonnay, Syrah, and Grenache from Dry Stack and other family blocks. Patrick and his father Jim manage the ranch alongside Patrick's three brothers, the four for whom the home vineyard is named. Wines are made in limited production and sold largely through the mailing list with select retail and restaurant distribution; tastings are by inquiry. "We leave no stone unturned," as the family puts it, "in the quest for the Grey Stack flavor."

A Santa Rosa native who grew up in Bennett Valley, Patrick Sullivan earned a molecular cell biology degree from UC Berkeley and worked in biotechnology before following his brother Mike — now consulting winemaker at Benovia — into wine, completing a master's in enology at CSU Fresno. He learned the craft at top Napa and Sonoma houses including Peter Michael, Lewis Cellars, Paul Hobbs, and Rudd before founding Grey Stack Cellars, where he makes small-lot wines from his family's Four Brothers Vineyard — a steep volcanic site straddling Bennett Valley and Sonoma Mountain that his father Jim farms with his three brothers. With more than two decades of experience, Sullivan favors a minimal-intervention, native-ferment style; his 2023 Grenache was named Best of the Best at the 2026 North Coast Wine Challenge, a first for the variety.

Behind Grey Stack’s estate wines is the Sullivan family’s Four Brothers Vineyard — owned by Jim and Marlene Sullivan and named for their four sons: Michael, Patrick, David, and Daniel. The eleven-acre site climbs a steep, volcanic hillside straddling the Bennett Valley and Sonoma Mountain AVAs, cooled by ocean air funneling through the Petaluma Gap, and was planted in 2000 to a field blend of Pinot Noir clones. Jim and his brothers manage the vineyard that gives the winery its fruit; their son Patrick, who grew up in Bennett Valley, makes the wine — keeping Grey Stack a true family affair.