Paul Hobbs began his career at Robert Mondavi Winery, where Robert Mondavi handpicked him for the inaugural Opus One winemaking team. He also made wine at Simi Winery and consulted for Peter Michael, Lewis Cellars and Bodegas Catena. A 1988 trip to Argentina made him a leading figure in the rise of Malbec, and in Mendoza he co-founded Viña Cobos. His own label began in 1991, when he bought five tons of grapes from Larry Hyde in Napa and Richard Dinner in Sonoma; those grapes became the first Paul Hobbs releases. Today he owns the winery and still leads its farming and winemaking, guided by one belief: meticulous care in the vineyard and minimal intervention in the cellar. The wines are fermented with native yeasts, aged in French oak and bottled unfined and unfiltered, and the winery is California Certified Sustainable.
Ross Station Estate Chardonnay, Russian River Valley: from 7.5 planted acres in Green Valley around a Victorian home from the late 1850s, a farmhouse Paul Hobbs restored.
Katherine Lindsay Estate Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: grown on 13.3 planted acres around the tasting room, the home estate that gave its first harvest in 2003.
Goldrock Estate Pinot Noir, West Sonoma Coast: from a ridge near Annapolis, about five miles from the Pacific and just above the fog line, acquired in 2016.
Richard Dinner Vineyard Chardonnay, Sonoma Mountain: Richard Dinner was one of the two growers whose grapes made the very first Paul Hobbs wines in 1991.
George Menini Estate Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley: from about 39 planted acres in the Sebastopol Hills, acquired in 2012 and planted to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
Visits take place at the Katherine Lindsay Estate on Gravenstein Highway North, a Russian River Valley site Hobbs found in 1998 and named for his great-grandmother. Architect Howard Backen designed its buildings, and estate chef Tim Kaulfers leads the culinary side of each tasting. The Signature Tasting ($95, 75 minutes) pours four wines with house-made dips, flatbreads and vegetables from the estate garden. The Vineyard Designate Experience ($250, two hours) adds a tour of the estate and a seated tasting of six limited single-vineyard wines with seasonal pairings. Groups are capped at eight, guests must be 21 or older, and pets and infants are not permitted. Reservations are requests: submit the form online, call or text, and wait for an email confirmation within two to three business days. Rideshare service is unreliable here, so ask the concierge about transportation.
