Rodney D. Strong founded Sonoma County's 13th bonded winery in 1959; the Klein family has owned it since 1989. Fifteen estate vineyards across five appellations anchor a serious single-vineyard program — Alexander's Crown, Rockaway, and Brothers Ridge Cabernet lead the Alexander Valley wines. Justin Seidenfeld leads winemaking.
Rodney D. Strong founded the winery that bears his name in 1959, making it Sonoma County's 13th bonded winery at a time when the region was still primarily a jug-wine appellation. Strong was a Sonoma County wine pioneer, and over three decades he built the operation into one of the larger family wineries in the county — a producer that helped define the Russian River Valley and Alexander Valley appellations as serious wine country. Tom Klein and the Klein family, a fourth-generation California farming family, purchased the winery in 1989 and have run it ever since, dramatically expanding the estate vineyard holdings and committing the operation to sustainability long before it became fashionable (environmental protection was written into company values in 1994; Rodney Strong installed the wine world's first large solar panel system in 2003).
Alexander's Crown Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley — A landmark single-vineyard Cabernet, first bottled in 1974.
Rockaway Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley — A bold, structured single-vineyard Cabernet from estate hillside blocks.
Symmetry Meritage, Alexander Valley — The flagship red Bordeaux blend (James Suckling 93, Wine Enthusiast 94).
Russian River Valley Pinot Noir — From a winery that helped pioneer Pinot in the appellation.
Charlotte's Home Sauvignon Blanc, Estate — A crisp, longtime estate white.
Today Rodney Strong farms 15 estate vineyards across Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, Chalk Hill, Dry Creek, and Sonoma Coast — the most geographically diverse estate portfolio in Sonoma County. Justin Seidenfeld serves as Director of Winemaking, with Greg Morthole as Winemaker. The flagship Alexander Valley Cabernet program is anchored by three Single Vineyard bottlings: Alexander's Crown, Rockaway, and Brothers Ridge. The tasting room and winery, just south of Healdsburg on Old Redwood Highway, sits within Russian River Valley vineyards — the same vineyards that produce the celebrated Chalk Hill, Russian River Chardonnay, and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir programs. Open daily; reservations required for groups of 8+. Tastings range from current-release flights on the Terrace to wine-and-food experiences and Concert Green events throughout the year.
Justin Seidenfeld leads winemaking at Rodney Strong Vineyards as Chief Winemaking & Operations Officer — only the fourth head winemaker in the iconic Sonoma winery's 60-plus-year history, following founder Rod Strong, Richard Arrowood, and Winemaker Emeritus Rick Sayre. A UC Davis graduate, he began as an intern at Iron Horse in 2005 and honed his craft as a harvest enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery before joining Rodney Strong in 2010. Today he oversees roughly 1,150 acres across a dozen estate vineyards under the Klein family's ownership, guided by a philosophy that wine is made in the vineyard and defined by balance, and known for innovations from square stainless-steel fermenters to vine-by-vine irrigation monitoring.
Rodney Strong was a Sonoma County wine pioneer with an unlikely first act: trained under George Balanchine and Martha Graham, he danced professionally in Paris and New York before turning to wine. He founded his winery in 1959 — the thirteenth bonded in Sonoma County — and helped establish the Chalk Hill, Russian River Valley, and Alexander Valley appellations. In 1974 he created Alexander’s Crown, Sonoma’s first single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. He sold the winery to the Klein family in 1989 but remained its guiding spirit until his death in 2006, leaving a legacy still carried in every bottle that bears his name.
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Alexander's Crown Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley — A landmark single-vineyard Cabernet, first bottled in 1974.
Rockaway Cabernet Sauvignon, Alexander Valley — A bold, structured single-vineyard Cabernet from estate hillside blocks.
Symmetry Meritage, Alexander Valley — The flagship red Bordeaux blend (James Suckling 93, Wine Enthusiast 94).
Russian River Valley Pinot Noir — From a winery that helped pioneer Pinot in the appellation.
Charlotte's Home Sauvignon Blanc, Estate — A crisp, longtime estate white.
Rodney D. Strong founded the winery that bears his name in 1959, making it Sonoma County's 13th bonded winery at a time when the region was still primarily a jug-wine appellation. Strong was a Sonoma County wine pioneer, and over three decades he built the operation into one of the larger family wineries in the county — a producer that helped define the Russian River Valley and Alexander Valley appellations as serious wine country. Tom Klein and the Klein family, a fourth-generation California farming family, purchased the winery in 1989 and have run it ever since, dramatically expanding the estate vineyard holdings and committing the operation to sustainability long before it became fashionable (environmental protection was written into company values in 1994; Rodney Strong installed the wine world's first large solar panel system in 2003).
Today Rodney Strong farms 15 estate vineyards across Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, Chalk Hill, Dry Creek, and Sonoma Coast — the most geographically diverse estate portfolio in Sonoma County. Justin Seidenfeld serves as Director of Winemaking, with Greg Morthole as Winemaker. The flagship Alexander Valley Cabernet program is anchored by three Single Vineyard bottlings: Alexander's Crown, Rockaway, and Brothers Ridge. The tasting room and winery, just south of Healdsburg on Old Redwood Highway, sits within Russian River Valley vineyards — the same vineyards that produce the celebrated Chalk Hill, Russian River Chardonnay, and Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir programs. Open daily; reservations required for groups of 8+. Tastings range from current-release flights on the Terrace to wine-and-food experiences and Concert Green events throughout the year.
Justin Seidenfeld leads winemaking at Rodney Strong Vineyards as Chief Winemaking & Operations Officer — only the fourth head winemaker in the iconic Sonoma winery's 60-plus-year history, following founder Rod Strong, Richard Arrowood, and Winemaker Emeritus Rick Sayre. A UC Davis graduate, he began as an intern at Iron Horse in 2005 and honed his craft as a harvest enologist at Robert Mondavi Winery before joining Rodney Strong in 2010. Today he oversees roughly 1,150 acres across a dozen estate vineyards under the Klein family's ownership, guided by a philosophy that wine is made in the vineyard and defined by balance, and known for innovations from square stainless-steel fermenters to vine-by-vine irrigation monitoring.
Rodney Strong was a Sonoma County wine pioneer with an unlikely first act: trained under George Balanchine and Martha Graham, he danced professionally in Paris and New York before turning to wine. He founded his winery in 1959 — the thirteenth bonded in Sonoma County — and helped establish the Chalk Hill, Russian River Valley, and Alexander Valley appellations. In 1974 he created Alexander’s Crown, Sonoma’s first single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. He sold the winery to the Klein family in 1989 but remained its guiding spirit until his death in 2006, leaving a legacy still carried in every bottle that bears his name.
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