Quite by happenstance, I discovered Fog Crest Vineyard in September at the height of the 2015 harvest. My curiosity got the better of me, as I was intrigued by such an ethereal name. Winding my way up a narrow road in the middle of the vineyards of freshly picked Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, the vines waved in the wind as if to welcome me to this very special place.
Fog Crest Vineyard was established in 1998 in the Russian River Valley AVA near Sebastopol. The winery sits atop the famous Goldridge-Sebastopol sandy loam soils, which is part of the Wilson Grove formation, a marine sandstone ridge dating back three to four million years when this area was thought to be oceanfront property.
Formerly apple orchards and hop fields, the 30+ acre estate is now are planted to Dijon clones of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. James and Rosalind Manoogian, owners and vintners, have taken Fog Crest to award-winning levels in wine competitions and have earned outstanding accolades from both Wine Enthusiast and Wine Spectator critics.
Winemaker Jérôme Chéry, hails from France’s Loire Valley and has worked in the wine industry in France and Australia before settling in northern California. 
“I think that the motto ‘less is more’ works wonderfully well with the two famous Burgundy varieties”…