Claire Hill Wines

Claire Hill Wines, a relatively new but already acclaimed project, is the vision of winemaker Claire Hill. With a background in microbiology, art history, and an impressive resume working with icons like Éric Texier in the Rhône Valley and Rhys Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains, Hill brings a unique and thoughtful perspective to her winemaking. Her philosophy is to let the vineyard lead the way, crafting wines that are a pure and unadulterated expression of their site.

Terroir: Curating California's Heritage Vineyards

Claire Hill's approach to terroir is one of curation. Rather than owning a single estate, she partners with a handful of historic, often old-vine, vineyards across California that share her commitment to organic farming and a sense of place. This allows her to work with a diverse and fascinating range of microclimates and soils.

• Diverse California Locations: She sources from a wide array of California's most interesting viticultural areas, including Mendocino, Santa Cruz Mountains, West Sonoma County, Sierra Foothills, and Contra Costa. This allows her to produce a portfolio that is a snapshot of California's viticultural history and diversity.

• Old Vines and Heritage Sites: Claire is drawn to historic vineyards, such as the Lolonis Vineyard in Redwood Valley, which she sources Chardonnay from. This site, planted in the 1940s, is one of the oldest Chardonnay plantings in California and provides a dry-farmed, low-yield fruit that is exceptionally concentrated and complex. Her Mourvèdre comes from the Del Barba Vineyard in Contra Costa, farmed by the same family for six generations, a testament to the cultural and historical importance of these vineyards.

• Organic Farming and Biodiversity: The foundation of her work is the relationships she builds with growers who are dedicated to organic and sustainable farming. For example, the North Ponderosa Vineyard, which provides her Zinfandel, is not only farmed organically, but also utilizes baby doll sheep for mowing and fertilizing, a practice that builds soil health without the compaction caused by tractors.

Winemaking: A Hands-Off, Site-Specific Approach

In the cellar, Claire Hill's winemaking is a "less is more" philosophy. She believes in letting the quality of the fruit and the character of the vineyard shine through, with a deep respect for the natural process.

• Native Yeast Fermentation: All of her wines are fermented using native, indigenous yeasts. This spontaneous fermentation allows the wines to develop a unique character that is a direct reflection of the vineyard's microbial environment.

• Minimal Intervention: Hill's approach is defined by what she doesn't do. She does not use commercial enzymes or other additives. Her goal is to guide the wine, not to force it.

• Subtle Use of Oak: When oak is used, it is almost exclusively neutral, old French oak barrels. This choice allows the wine to mature and develop without being masked by the flavors of new wood. For some wines, like her Chardonnay, she uses a mix of neutral oak and stainless steel to achieve a perfect balance of texture, minerality, and fruit.

• Targeted Whole Cluster and Fermentation Techniques: With an impressive technical background, Hill is not afraid to employ specific techniques to achieve her desired style. For example, with her Syrah from the Casa Vineyard in the Santa Cruz Mountains, she uses a combination of whole clusters and destemmed grapes, and even uses a spritz of "gnolle" (grape spirit) on the whole clusters to prevent spoilage before fermentation kicks off. This shows a precise and thoughtful approach that is a clear benefit of her diverse experience.

• Minimal Sulfur and Filtration: She uses sulfur judiciously, often only adding a minimal amount (around 15 ppm) just before bottling to ensure stability. For some of her wines, like a Zinfandel she made with a very low pH, she filtered the wine for stability to ensure it wouldn't re-ferment in the bottle, a pragmatic decision that is still aligned with her overall ethos of quality and care.

Claire Hill Wines is a powerful example of a new generation of winemakers who are dedicated to a philosophical and technical approach that honors the land, the history of California viticulture, and the raw, unadulterated beauty of a well-farmed grape