The Hallecks' hilltop vines took six years to give a commercial crop, and the first fruit was sold to a local winemaker for blending. Then Greg La Follette, who had built the Flowers winery, offered to buy the grapes and make a Halleck Vineyard designate for his own Tandem label, and that 2001 bottling launched the name. The lineup now reaches beyond the estate, with a Hillside Cuvée Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast, Pinot from young vineyards around Sebastopol, a Balletto Vineyard Chardonnay from the Russian River Valley and the Little Sister Sauvignon Blanc from the North Coast. Production stays small and personal, and Ross and Jennifer settle the final blends with winemaker Rick Davis.
The Farm Estate Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast: from the original one-acre estate vineyard planted in 1993, the first in the Sebastopol hills, a layered, elegant single-vineyard Pinot.
Three Sons Cuvée Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: the most approachable of the lineup, named for the Hallecks' three sons; fruit-driven and silky.
Sonoma Mountain Pinot Noir: a 95+ point, Double Gold winning single-vineyard bottling of robust intensity.
Calandrelli Vineyard Dry Gewürztraminer, Russian River Valley: a floral, spice-driven dry white judged Best White Wine in California.
Rosé of Pinot Noir: a crisp, dry rosé from the estate's Pinot fruit.
Each tasting pours six wines, every one paired with a small bite, around a single communal table: often the farmhouse table by the kitchen, or out on the deck. Pinot Noir is the focus, with the Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Gewürztraminer alongside.
Ross and Jennifer Halleck planted their one-acre hilltop vineyard in 1993, the first Pinot Noir vineyard in the hills above Sebastopol, and intended it as a college fund for their three sons. The first vintage from the estate was judged Best Pinot Noir in the United States in 2002, and the recognition has compounded from there: back-to-back Best Pinot awards, a Best of Class in the United States from Sunset Magazine for the Sauvignon Blanc, and a 2019 Best of Class at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. The estate sits above the Russian River watershed, with the Pacific slopes to the west, a site that catches the same coastal fog that shapes the Petaluma Gap farther south, though the estate itself is in the Sebastopol hills. Tastings are hosted at the family's home by appointment only, Thursday through Sunday at 11 AM and 2 PM, for groups of up to 16. A private Wine Lodge on the property, complete with a Finnish sauna and hot and cold plunge, is available for overnight stays tucked into the woods beside the vines.
