Just over sixty years ago, a mountain top winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains, at up to 2,700 feet high above the future Silicon Valley, on the Monte Bello ridge, was established as Ridge Vineyards. Legendary winemaker Paul Draper joined Ridge in 1969, and not long after, crafted the wine that would seal his and Ridge’s place in wine history. The 1971 Ridge Monte Bello was one of the California wines that upstaged the best of France’s Bordeaux in a tasting that has become known as the 1976 Paris Tasting. The wine came in 5th. In more contemporary retastings, this wine scores number one.
Fast forward to 2023 and Ridge is better than ever. While Paul Draper has “retired” he is still involved on a regular basis. However, he has passed on winemaking duties to a new generation at the two Ridge properties – Monte Bello in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Lytton Springs in Sonoma’s Dry Creek Valley.
We, the Marys, were honored to be invited to celebrate Ridge’s 60th anniversary at a luncheon at the winery with Paul Draper, his team, including head winemaker John Olney and Ridge’s new winemakers Trester Goetting at Monte Bello and Shauna Rosenblum at Lytton Springs.
They are both super talented, hard working, great people and both a lot of fun too, which is a good thing because they big shoes to fill. So how do you take on winemaking duties at a place so renowned for excellence as Ridge Vineyards? We find out today as we sit down with Trester and Shauna. Trester and Shauna are certainly artists in wine, but they’re also artists in other aspects of their lives having to do with music, ceramics and sculpture.
We are excited to introduce you to Trester and Shauna! They are dynamic, and bring amazing backgrounds in wine to Ridge. After listening to our super engaging chat, we think you’ll agree that Ridge is in great hands for the next 60 plus years to come.
Wines tasted in this episode:
2022 Ridge Alder Springs (Vermentino, Falanghina), Mendocino County
2021 Ridge Estate Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
2019 Monte Bello Chardonnay, Santa Cruz Mountains
201 Lytton Springs (Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane, Alicante Bouschet, Cinsault, Counoise
Visit Ridge Vineyards
Monte Bello in Cupertino, CA
Lytton Springs in Healdsburg, CA