Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison founded the project in 1998: small-production Bordeaux varieties from one organically farmed mountain vineyard. Their 338-acre Bell Mountain Ranch holds just 44 vineyard acres; 80% is managed for native oak, grassland, and wildlife. Tasting room in a restored crossroads building at Highway 128.
Medlock Ames is one of Alexander Valley's most thoughtful small producers — farming 56 certified organic estate acres on Bell Mountain Road and producing a tight range of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir that prioritizes precision over power. The Bell Mountain Ranch site, at 1,300-foot elevation with rocky volcanic soils, delivers wines of real site character. The on-site tasting barn and farm — with a kitchen garden, honey production, and olive trees — make it one of the most complete estate experiences in Sonoma wine country.
Bell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley — The estate flagship; a muscular hillside Cabernet (95 points).
Kate's & B's Cabernet Sauvignon — An elegant, balanced Cabernet from blocks named for the founders' wives.
Heritage Merlot — A rich, estate-grown red.
Estate Sauvignon Blanc — A bright, organically farmed white.
Estate Chardonnay — A balanced white from the solar-powered Bell Mountain Ranch.
Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison founded the project in 1998 with a goal that now reads as ahead of its time: small-production Bordeaux varieties from one mountain vineyard, farmed organically and without compromise. Their 338-acre Bell Mountain Ranch holds only 44 vineyard acres; the remaining 80% of the land is managed purely for native oak, grassland, and wildlife. The tasting room sits in a lovingly restored century-old crossroads building at the intersection of Highway 128 and Alexander Valley Road — stone foundations, worn pine, a small garden out back. The flight walks through the Cabernet, Bordeaux blends, Sauvignon Blanc, and small-production Heritage Merlot sourced from vines whose budwood traces back to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello plantings. Guests wanting the full story can book the Bell Mountain Tour and taste in the vineyard itself.
Abby Watt is the winemaker at Medlock Ames, the organic Alexander Valley estate founded in 1998 by college friends Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison around their Bell Mountain Vineyard. Born and raised in New Zealand — her family descends from one of the first Māori-owned wine businesses — Watt made wine across France, Germany, New Zealand, and Australia, and was assistant winemaker at Kosta Browne before joining Medlock Ames in 2020 and being promoted to winemaker in September 2021, succeeding Morison. She works alongside consulting winemaker Jean Hoefliger and oversees the Bell Mountain estate, which in 2022 became the first in Sonoma County to be Regenerative Organic Certified.
The winery’s name combines its two founders: college friends Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison, who dreamed it up over Bordeaux in their shared New York apartment. In the late 1990s they moved west, scouted more than a hundred sites, and found Bell Mountain Ranch at the southern tip of Alexander Valley — a neglected property they nursed back to health. They have farmed it organically since 1998, planting barely a tenth of its 338 acres and leaving the rest wild oak and wildflower. Morison served as founding winemaker and now leads the estate’s regenerative-farming and sustainability work.
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Bell Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley — The estate flagship; a muscular hillside Cabernet (95 points).
Kate's & B's Cabernet Sauvignon — An elegant, balanced Cabernet from blocks named for the founders' wives.
Heritage Merlot — A rich, estate-grown red.
Estate Sauvignon Blanc — A bright, organically farmed white.
Estate Chardonnay — A balanced white from the solar-powered Bell Mountain Ranch.
Medlock Ames is one of Alexander Valley's most thoughtful small producers — farming 56 certified organic estate acres on Bell Mountain Road and producing a tight range of Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir that prioritizes precision over power. The Bell Mountain Ranch site, at 1,300-foot elevation with rocky volcanic soils, delivers wines of real site character. The on-site tasting barn and farm — with a kitchen garden, honey production, and olive trees — make it one of the most complete estate experiences in Sonoma wine country.
Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison founded the project in 1998 with a goal that now reads as ahead of its time: small-production Bordeaux varieties from one mountain vineyard, farmed organically and without compromise. Their 338-acre Bell Mountain Ranch holds only 44 vineyard acres; the remaining 80% of the land is managed purely for native oak, grassland, and wildlife. The tasting room sits in a lovingly restored century-old crossroads building at the intersection of Highway 128 and Alexander Valley Road — stone foundations, worn pine, a small garden out back. The flight walks through the Cabernet, Bordeaux blends, Sauvignon Blanc, and small-production Heritage Merlot sourced from vines whose budwood traces back to Thomas Jefferson's Monticello plantings. Guests wanting the full story can book the Bell Mountain Tour and taste in the vineyard itself.
Abby Watt is the winemaker at Medlock Ames, the organic Alexander Valley estate founded in 1998 by college friends Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison around their Bell Mountain Vineyard. Born and raised in New Zealand — her family descends from one of the first Māori-owned wine businesses — Watt made wine across France, Germany, New Zealand, and Australia, and was assistant winemaker at Kosta Browne before joining Medlock Ames in 2020 and being promoted to winemaker in September 2021, succeeding Morison. She works alongside consulting winemaker Jean Hoefliger and oversees the Bell Mountain estate, which in 2022 became the first in Sonoma County to be Regenerative Organic Certified.
The winery’s name combines its two founders: college friends Chris Medlock James and Ames Morison, who dreamed it up over Bordeaux in their shared New York apartment. In the late 1990s they moved west, scouted more than a hundred sites, and found Bell Mountain Ranch at the southern tip of Alexander Valley — a neglected property they nursed back to health. They have farmed it organically since 1998, planting barely a tenth of its 338 acres and leaving the rest wild oak and wildflower. Morison served as founding winemaker and now leads the estate’s regenerative-farming and sustainability work.
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