About Us
Certified BioDynamic Vineyard
Planted in 2008, with Middle Block replanted in 2018, this steep hillside Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard produces intense, low yield fruit. We are about 500 feet above the Russian River valley floor in the hills east of Cloverdale at the north end of the Alexander Valley AVA, of which we are a member. Farmed by Four Seasons Vineyard Management. Water management overseen by Mark Greenspan and Advanced Viticulture. BioDynamic consultant: Daphne Amory. Weed management by Victoriano Landscaping. We are members of Alexander Winegrowers Association and Allied Grape Growers. AGG manages sales of our fruit.
Family Owned with a Long View
Purchased by the Pike family in 2009, the site was first developed by Russ Bock in the 1980s or so. To improve root-stock, Russ replanted in 2008, with the Middle Block replanted again in 2018 with more appropriate rootstock (110R) and fewer vines for this steep site. Working through Allied Grape Growers, fruit has been variously purchased by Cinnabar Winery, the Boisset Group, and the Mounts Family. We are "yield agnostic" seeking to grow the highest quality fruit achievable on the site.
Who We Are
Drummond Pike began making wine in his basement in 1979 as a customer of Wine and the People in Berkeley, CA, several years after he founded the Tides Foundation in San Francisco. In 1982, he moved to Mill Valley and planted the tiny Homestead Vineyard in their south-facing front yard. Pinot Noir vines produce some wonderful wines when the racoons don't get the fruit first. In 2009, the Rains Creek Vineyard was purchased from Russ Bock who had first planted in the 1980s and stayed on for several years until Drummond retired from Tides. First rebuilding an aging prefab log cabin, he began the conversion to BioDyamic production in 2016 and have been fully certified for the past several harvests. Current planning is underway to utilize sheep in vegetation management and fire prevention for the property.