Sunshine in a Bottle
From a refrigerated U-Haul crossing the desert from Mendocino to Salt Lake City, Evan Lewandowski built what Wine Enthusiast called "the most unconventional winemaking operation in the US." Named for the Book of Ruth — a story of death, redemption, and the natural cycle of life — these wines are honest, heartfelt, and made with fewer chemicals and all the personality. In this case, less truly is more.
From Binner to the Beehive State
Evan Lewandowski's path to winemaking began in Alsace, where he worked for several years at Domaine Christian Binner — one of France's most respected natural wine producers [^77^]. There he absorbed the philosophy of organic farming and spontaneous fermentation: the building up and dying off of multiple strains of yeast and bacteria, each paving the way for the next, each leaving their unique signatures of flavour, aroma, and texture [^78^].
In 2012, Evan returned to his home state of Utah and started Ruth Lewandowski Wines — initially based in Salt Lake City, where he worked as sommelier at Pago restaurant while building his label after hours [^85^][^86^]. The operation was arguably the most unconventional in American wine: grapes organically grown at Fox Hill Vineyard and Testa Vineyard in Mendocino County were crushed in California, then the fermenting juice was loaded into a refrigerated U-Haul and driven 800 miles across the desert to complete fermentation, aging, and bottling in Utah [^77^][^90^].
The name "Ruth" comes from the Book of Ruth in the Hebrew Bible — a story Evan was deeply moved by. It depicts the natural cycle of death and redemption: Naomi loses her husband and sons, Ruth refuses to abandon her, and through loyalty and faith, life is restored. "Evan believes deeply in the cycle of life," his importer notes, "going so far as to name his winery after the book of Ruth and its compelling depiction of the natural cycle of death and redemption" [^78^].
In 2018, Evan moved the entire operation to Mendocino, California — "solidly entrenched" in wine country after six years of desert commuting [^78^]. A tasting room followed in Healdsburg, then a move to Forestville in 2025 [^89^].
"A winegrower working incessantly in his/her vines, with a mind focused both on the sky above and the soil below, not just the fruit zone, will naturally come to deeply know their vines and their specific place and inevitably seek to eradicate those things that destroy in favor of choosing to support and encourage life. It must start with these connections in the vineyard. Wine made by these people, the ones earnestly and honestly seeking to know their farms, in the end will be organic wine to me."
— Evan Lewandowski
Fox Hill, Testa & Lost Hills
All Ruth Lewandowski fruit comes from three certified organic vineyards in Mendocino County, each with its own distinct personality and geological character. Evan has built deep, long-term relationships with these growers, and his wines are inseparable from the specific sites they express [^77^].
Fox Hill Vineyard, at 650 feet elevation near Ukiah, is the heart of the operation. Planted to a remarkable array of Italian and Portuguese varieties — Arneis, Cortese, Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Montepulciano, Vermentino, Trebbiano, Grignolino, Tinta Roriz, Souzão, Touriga Nacional — on sandy, rocky clay loam derived from sandstone. The 40-year-old, head-trained vines produce fruit of exceptional concentration and character [^77^].
Testa Vineyard, at 700 feet in the foothills near Willits, contributes Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Grenache from vines ranging from 25 to 110 years old. The sandy, fine, pebbly loam and alluvial soils produce structured, age-worthy reds. Lost Hills Ranch, at 1,500 feet in the Yorkville Highlands, provides Riesling, Kerner, and Schiava from deep pebbly, rocky, well-drained soils of chloritic schist and sandstone [^77^].
Ukiah, Mendocino. 650ft elevation. 1.60 hectares. Sandy, rocky clay loam, alluvial soils from sandstone. 30–40 year old vines, head-trained, cane-pruned. Certified organic. Arneis, Cortese, Dolcetto, Barbera, Nebbiolo, Montepulciano, Vermentino, Trebbiano, Grignolino, Tinta Roriz, Souzão, Touriga Nacional.
Near Willits, Mendocino. 700ft elevation. Sandy, fine, pebbly loam, alluvial soils. 25–110 year old vines (25yo Cabernet, 75yo Carignan, 110yo Grenache). Certified organic. Carignan, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grenache. Structured, age-worthy reds from ancient vines.
Yorkville Highlands, Mendocino. 1,500ft elevation. Deep pebbly, rocky, well-drained soils. Chloritic schist and sandstone. 20 year old vines. Certified organic. Riesling, Kerner, Schiava. High-altitude aromatics and acidity.
Cole Ranch (Riesling, 50 years, dry-farmed, limestone/shale, 1,500ft). Gibson Ranch (Grenache Gris, 105+ years, dry-farmed, gravelly sandy loam, 1,000ft). Rancho Coda (Grüner Veltliner, 15 years, rocky gravelly loam, 450ft). Las Cimas (Cabernet/Merlot, 25 years, colluvial rocky loam, 800ft).
Farm the Wine, Make the Wine
"When grapes are grown not for tonnage but with a healthy, truly whole, finished wine in mind... when one farms in tune with our natural cycles, never fighting against them... when one thinks of soil health as much as fruit quality. Then and only then are we on the path to truly living one of the most cliché phrases in wine today: 'wine is made in the vineyard'" [^83^].
Evan's cellar philosophy is radical in its simplicity. No acid. No sugar. No water. No tannin. No filtration. No cultured yeast. Low or no sulfur, according to the cuvée's needs. Fermentation is spontaneous — the building up and dying off of multiple microbial strains, each contributing unique flavour, aroma, and textural compounds before paving the way for the next [^78^].
The wines are fermented in polyethylene tanks — neutral, inert vessels that let the fruit speak without oak influence. Extended lees aging is standard: five months for lighter cuvées, ten to twenty months for structured reds. Some wines see neutral barrel time; others never touch wood. Carbonic maceration, whole-cluster fermentation, foot-treading, and extended skin contact are all employed according to what each vineyard and vintage demands [^77^].
The Cycle of Life in Liquid
Evan's wines are named after figures from the Book of Ruth — Boaz, Obed, Naomi, Elimelech, Mahlon — each representing a chapter in the cycle of death and redemption. The "Feints" cuvée, a field blend of eight varieties from Fox Hill, is named for the leftover spirit in whisky distillation — the almost-waste that becomes something extraordinary. Every bottle carries this philosophy: what is discarded, what dies, what seems lost, can be transformed into something alive and beautiful [^77^][^83^].
Refrigerated U-Haul, & the Desert Crossing
From 2012 to 2018, Evan Lewandowski ran what was arguably the most unconventional winemaking operation in the United States. Grapes were harvested by hand in Mendocino, crushed and begun in California, then loaded into a refrigerated U-Haul truck for the 800-mile journey across Nevada and Utah to Salt Lake City [^90^].
In Utah, the fermenting juice completed its transformation in a non-traditional cellar — far from wine country, surrounded by mountains and desert. The wines were bottled there, labelled there, and initially sold through Pago restaurant where Evan worked as sommelier [^85^][^86^]. It was a logistical feat of faith: trusting that the fermentation would survive the journey, that the wine would find its way, that drinkers in Utah would embrace natural wine from a state not known for viticulture.
Those years forged Evan's identity as "Utah's Wine Missionary" — a title he earned by proving that great natural wine could come from anywhere, made by anyone willing to farm honestly and ferment spontaneously [^86^]. In 2018, the operation moved fully to Mendocino, but the desert years remain central to the Ruth Lewandowski story — a testament to determination, faith in process, and the belief that wine is about people and place, not postcode.
"A full line of consistently soulful, incredibly unique bottlings, using often overlooked varietals to make wines that defy categorization yet feel composed."
— Chambers Street Wines
The Ruth Lewandowski Range
All wines are made from certified organic fruit, hand-harvested, spontaneously fermented with indigenous yeasts, and bottled without fining or filtration. No acid, sugar, water, tannin, or cultured yeast is added. Sulfur is minimal or absent. The range spans Italian and Portuguese varieties from Fox Hill, ancient-vine field blends from Testa, high-altitude aromatics from Lost Hills, and experimental cuvées that push the boundaries of what Mendocino can express [^77^][^83^].