Cline Cellars Winery
| Cline Cellars Winery | |
|---|---|
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| Location | Sonoma, California, USA |
| Appellation | Carneros AVA |
| Other labels | Oakley |
| Founded | 1982 |
| Key people | Nancy and Fred Cline, Proprietors; Charlie Tsegeletos, Head Winemaker; Nasario Salines, Enrique Hurtado, Vineyard Managers |
| Varietals | Zinfandel, Mourvèdre, Carignane, Pinot noir, Syrah, Viognier, Marsanne, Rousanne |
| Distribution | International |
| Tasting | Open to the public |
| Website | www |
Cline Cellars Winery is a family owned and operated winery located in the Carneros wine appellation of Sonoma County, California that specializes in Zinfandels and French Rhône-style wines.
In 1982, after receiving a small inheritance from his maternal grandfather, Valeriano Jacuzzi, one of the seven Jacuzzi brothers credited for inventing the Jacuzzi whirlpool bath, Fred Cline opened Cline Cellars winery in Contra Costa County in the town of Oakley, California. Fred Cline was one of the first vintners to plant French Rhône varietals in California, and is one of the original Rhone Rangers.
In 1991 Fred Cline and his wife Nancy Cline, relocated the winery from Oakley, California to a 350-acre property in the Carneros region of the Sonoma Valley that is the site of a former Miwok village and the original site of Mission San Francisco de Solano. In the 1850s the property was owned by German immigrants Julius & Katherine Adolph Poppe, who operated a dairy and supplied the majority of San Francisco with carp, which they kept in six spring-fed ponds that remain on the property. In the 1970s the property was bought by Haddon Salt of H. Salt Esquire Fish and Chips to raise horses. Cline purchased the property from Salt in 1989. In 2007 Fred and Nancy Cline opened Jacuzzi Family Vineyards across the street from Cline Cellars as a tribute to Fred's maternal grandparents.
Cline Cellars is best known for production of their "ancient vines" wines out of Contra Costa County. The head winemaker is Charlie Tsegeletos, who joined the operation in 2000. The Cline's historic Oakley vineyards are planted with Mourvèdre, Carignane, Grenache, Palomino and Zinfandel. The vines range in age from 80-120 years old. Approximately 42 acres of Carignane and Zinfandel vines were planted in 1906 and 1925, and 14 acres of Mourvèdre vines date back to 1920. The sand soil of Contra Costa County is naturally resistant to phylloxera. The vineyards in Contra Costa County are all on their original rootstock, and the vine-eating aphid never affected newer plantings.
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