Harper's Rest

Harper's Rest takes its name from Reuben Harper, who farmed this land on Westside Road in the 1850s, when hops were the area's major crop. He died in 1857 and his family buried him on the property, where his barely legible tombstone still stands beneath a California bay laurel, now surrounded by vines. The estate, mostly wooded, lies in the Middle Reach of the Russian River Valley, a few hundred yards west of the river. The Underwood family, in the wine and spirits business since 1888, bought it in 2025 to join the Moon Dust Vineyard they had acquired in 2021. It is the family's first estate winery, and its fifth generation now carries on Harper's stewardship of the land.

The estate vineyard, planted in 2006, covers just over eight acres: 7.2 acres of Pinot Noir in fourteen clones and 0.9 acre of Chardonnay. Both vineyards are farmed on regenerative organic principles with vineyard manager Matt Stornetta of Stornetta Made, using cover crops, compost and rotational grazing, with no synthetic fertilizers, pesticides or fungicides. Moon Dust is Regenerative Organic Certified, and the estate vineyard is on track to follow. In the cellar nothing is added beyond what the grapes bring: no commercial yeasts, enzymes or fermentation aids. Chardonnay ferments in open-top vessels, and the wines age 14 months in French oak, resting on their lees without racking. The Estate Expressions tasting pours four estate wines against a backdrop of rolling vineyards, mountains and Mount Saint Helena; leashed dogs are welcome in the outdoor tasting areas, and the property is permitted for weddings and private events.