Alexander Valley AVA - History

History

In its early history, the territory commonly referred to as the "Alexander Valley" denoted the benchlands east of the Russian River leading up to the Mayacamas Mountains. The area west of the Russian River was known as “the plaines” or “the ranchos.” Viticulture in the area dates back to 1843, when Cyrus Alexander used vines cuttings collected from Fort Ross on the Pacific coast, to establish vineyards in the area. For most of its history the region was predominately associated with mass produced bulk & jug wines made from indiscriminately planted field blends of red grape varieties. A modern era of quality wine production began in the late 1960s when a new owner of Simi Winery sought to revive the area's long winemaking history. In the 1970s, a new wave of producers, such as Chateau Souverain and Jordan Vineyard & Winery, descended upon the area and started making wines that received critical and consumer acclaim. In 1988, E & J Gallo Winery purchased substantial tracks of land in the Alexander Valley to establish the fine wine brand of the company. Most wineries in this region are part of the Alexander Valley Winegrowers. A collection of twenty-six wineries and over 130 grape growers. In 1963, one of Alexander Valley's most prestigious vineyards, the Robert Young Vineyard, was planted. There were few wineries in the area at the time so the vineyard sourced most of it fruit to wineries outside the valley. One of these wineries, Chateau St. Jean, was so impressed with the quality of fruit that with the 1975 vintage of their Chardonnay they put the name of the vineyard on the wine label. This "vineyard designated wine" would be one of the first premium wines in California wine history to have the name of the vineyard appear on the label.