Kanzler Family Vineyards is pleased to announce a change in the appellation affiliation of all our wines to the Russian River Valley AVA. Russian River Valley more accurately reflects the location and terroir of the vineyard sources for the Kanzler portfolio of premium Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.
Since the expansion of Russian River Valley in October 2005, Kanzler Estate vineyard was within both Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley American Viticulture Areas. As the vineyard matured and the wines found a consistent character and persona the Kanzlers felt the Russian River Valley more authentically expressed the nature of the wines they produced.
Referring to the Kanzler estate vineyard where he lives, winemaker Alex Kanzler said, “It’s cool out here and we’re so close to the ocean it was natural to initially choose the Sonoma Coast AVA”. “Since joining the Russian River Valley Winegrowers Association, talking to my neighboring growers and getting to know the vineyard sites we use in our wines, I believe Sebastopol Hills, one of five unique “neighborhood terroirs” in the RRV, known for growing excellent and differentiated Pinot Noir, most accurately expresses the character of the wine in the bottle. 60% of our total Pinot production comes from the family Estate in Sebastopol Hills and in 2017 we will be introducing a new line of Walker Station vineyard designate wines from the Green Valley, another “neighborhood terroir” within the Russian River Valley. So, moving to the Russian River Valley AVA is a natural progression for us.
Watch Alex Kanzler explain this transition on the video below: