A path to a better bottle

Between the two of us, we've spent the better part of our lives in the wine world. Joanna got her start in the Rhône-like "rocks" vineyards of Walla Walla, Washington, while Sean schlepped a wine bag for a distributor in Wilmington, DE, until a wine-soaked trip to the Rhône convinced him he'd rather be making wine than selling it.

Eventually, the industry pulled us both to California, working together at the pioneering Pinot Noir house Robert Sinskey Vineyards in Napa. From there, Sean worked under Aaron Pott at Seven Stones before spending over a decade as Assistant Winemaker at Rhys Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Joanna spent that same decade deepening her craft as Associate Winemaker for cult Pinot brand Kutch Wines.

In 2013, frustrated with being perpetually in the cellar rather than out in the vines, we were determined to start our own vigneron-style project, calling it Model Farm. We leased two acres of Syrah and farmed it ourselves, by hand, every night and weekend. It was a ton of work - but we got to experience firsthand the intimate, unglamorous, and deeply satisfying connection between the soil and what eventually ends up in your glass.

We've kept Model Farm going for over thirteen years and counting. But the deeper we went down the rabbit hole of fine wine, the louder a different question got: why does artisan wine have to be so serious, so scarce, and so expensive? Good news - it doesn't. That is Alta Heights.

The name says it all. Every vineyard we work with sits at an elevation of 1,000 feet or more. These are California Alpine Wines from vineyards where cool coastal influence, weathered-in-place soils, and pure mountain sunshine come together with vibrancy and verve. The wines that come off these hillsides have tension, depth, and soul you simply don't find on the valley floor. Alta Heights is our love letter to the rugged mountain frontiers of California and the spirit of exploration that got us here. We make roughly 3,000 cases a year out of our winery in Sonoma. Every bottle is human-powered. Every wine a true reflection of what we love.

Thanks for hiking up these hills with us. The road ahead may be steep and winding but we can’t wait to share the story with you.