Nan McEvoy, heiress to the Chronicle's de Young family, bought 550 acres west of Petaluma in 1990 to make America's best Tuscan-style olive oil. The wine program, layered in later, is the lesser-known half: small-lot Pinot, Syrah, Montepulciano, Refosco, and Rosé from an organic farm. Visits through the Bunny Gate.
Founded by Nan Tucker McEvoy, heir to the San Francisco Chronicle, McEvoy Ranch is a 550-acre certified organic working farm producing both world-class olive oil and small-lot wines from 30 acres of estate vineyards. Tuscan olive trees and Petaluma Gap vines grow side by side on the rolling hills near the Marin-Sonoma border. Winemaker Byron Kosuge works with Maurizio Castelli — one of Italy's foremost enologists — as a consulting partner. The wines are produced in genuinely small quantities, reflecting the ranch's farming-first philosophy. Now in its third generation under CEO Nion McEvoy.
Evening Standard Pinot Noir, Petaluma Gap — A cool-climate estate Pinot, supple and floral from the wind-swept ranch.
Red Piano Syrah, Petaluma Gap — A peppery, dark-fruited estate Syrah reflecting the Sonoma/Marin borderlands.
Montepulciano, Petaluma Gap — A rare California bottling of the Italian variety, planted with Tuscan consultant Maurizio Castelli.
Refosco, Petaluma Gap — Another unusual Italian estate red, savory and bright.
Rosebud Rosé of Pinot Noir, Petaluma Gap — A vibrant, direct-press dry rosé from estate Pinot Noir.
Nan Tucker McEvoy bought the 550-acre ranch in 1989, building it into a renowned organic Tuscan olive-oil estate and, later, a small-lot winery. In the Petaluma Gap, McEvoy farms classic Pinot Noir and Syrah alongside Italian varieties plus Grenache and Viognier.
Nan McEvoy — heiress to the San Francisco Chronicle's de Young family and a force of nature in Bay Area civic life — bought 550 acres in the hills west of Petaluma in 1990 with the original goal of producing the best Tuscan-style olive oil in America, and the ranch has delivered on that ambition for three decades. The wine program, layered in over time, is the lesser-known half of the story: small-lot Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Montepulciano, Refosco, Vermentino, and a seasonally shifting Rosé, all grown organically on a working farm where only ten to fifteen percent of the acreage is planted. The property is a private residence and visits are by reservation only through the Bunny Gate entrance, with seated wine flights on the patio, olive oil tastings, culinary lunches, and guided Ranch tours through the olive mill and gardens. Dogs are welcome. The Petaluma outlet store downtown carries overstock and discontinued items for those who don't make the reservation.
Byron Kosuge is the winemaker at McEvoy Ranch, the organic estate in the Petaluma hills near the Sonoma-Marin border best known first for its extra-virgin olive oil and now equally for its wine. A second-generation Japanese American who grew up in California's Central Valley — his father a UC Davis plant pathologist — Kosuge discovered wine in college and became one of the state's respected Pinot Noir hands. At the CCOF-certified-organic ranch he sources French and Italian varieties from the Petaluma Gap and beyond, crafting friendly, food-driven wines: Pinot Noir, Vermentino, Syrah, and a popular dry rosé, poured on a stone patio overlooking the ranch's pond and olive groves.
Nan Tucker McEvoy founded McEvoy Ranch in 1990. Granddaughter of M.H. de Young, founder of the San Francisco Chronicle, she had pushed her way into the family paper as a reporter and risen to chairman of the board before buying a 550-acre former dairy near the Sonoma-Marin border. Inspired by Tuscan olive oil, she imported roughly a thousand Italian olive seedlings and became a pioneer of California olive oil; later plantings of Pinot Noir and Syrah in the Petaluma Gap added acclaimed estate wines. She remained the ranch’s guiding spirit until her death in 2015.
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Evening Standard Pinot Noir, Petaluma Gap — A cool-climate estate Pinot, supple and floral from the wind-swept ranch.
Red Piano Syrah, Petaluma Gap — A peppery, dark-fruited estate Syrah reflecting the Sonoma/Marin borderlands.
Montepulciano, Petaluma Gap — A rare California bottling of the Italian variety, planted with Tuscan consultant Maurizio Castelli.
Refosco, Petaluma Gap — Another unusual Italian estate red, savory and bright.
Rosebud Rosé of Pinot Noir, Petaluma Gap — A vibrant, direct-press dry rosé from estate Pinot Noir.
Nan Tucker McEvoy bought the 550-acre ranch in 1989, building it into a renowned organic Tuscan olive-oil estate and, later, a small-lot winery. In the Petaluma Gap, McEvoy farms classic Pinot Noir and Syrah alongside Italian varieties plus Grenache and Viognier.
Founded by Nan Tucker McEvoy, heir to the San Francisco Chronicle, McEvoy Ranch is a 550-acre certified organic working farm producing both world-class olive oil and small-lot wines from 30 acres of estate vineyards. Tuscan olive trees and Petaluma Gap vines grow side by side on the rolling hills near the Marin-Sonoma border. Winemaker Byron Kosuge works with Maurizio Castelli — one of Italy's foremost enologists — as a consulting partner. The wines are produced in genuinely small quantities, reflecting the ranch's farming-first philosophy. Now in its third generation under CEO Nion McEvoy.
Nan McEvoy — heiress to the San Francisco Chronicle's de Young family and a force of nature in Bay Area civic life — bought 550 acres in the hills west of Petaluma in 1990 with the original goal of producing the best Tuscan-style olive oil in America, and the ranch has delivered on that ambition for three decades. The wine program, layered in over time, is the lesser-known half of the story: small-lot Pinot Noir, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Montepulciano, Refosco, Vermentino, and a seasonally shifting Rosé, all grown organically on a working farm where only ten to fifteen percent of the acreage is planted. The property is a private residence and visits are by reservation only through the Bunny Gate entrance, with seated wine flights on the patio, olive oil tastings, culinary lunches, and guided Ranch tours through the olive mill and gardens. Dogs are welcome. The Petaluma outlet store downtown carries overstock and discontinued items for those who don't make the reservation.
Byron Kosuge is the winemaker at McEvoy Ranch, the organic estate in the Petaluma hills near the Sonoma-Marin border best known first for its extra-virgin olive oil and now equally for its wine. A second-generation Japanese American who grew up in California's Central Valley — his father a UC Davis plant pathologist — Kosuge discovered wine in college and became one of the state's respected Pinot Noir hands. At the CCOF-certified-organic ranch he sources French and Italian varieties from the Petaluma Gap and beyond, crafting friendly, food-driven wines: Pinot Noir, Vermentino, Syrah, and a popular dry rosé, poured on a stone patio overlooking the ranch's pond and olive groves.
Nan Tucker McEvoy founded McEvoy Ranch in 1990. Granddaughter of M.H. de Young, founder of the San Francisco Chronicle, she had pushed her way into the family paper as a reporter and risen to chairman of the board before buying a 550-acre former dairy near the Sonoma-Marin border. Inspired by Tuscan olive oil, she imported roughly a thousand Italian olive seedlings and became a pioneer of California olive oil; later plantings of Pinot Noir and Syrah in the Petaluma Gap added acclaimed estate wines. She remained the ranch’s guiding spirit until her death in 2015.
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