Petersen

The Petersen family began farming this area in 1908. Owner Will Petersen's grandfather immigrated from Denmark and Germany and fell in love with the land. Originally they planted Zinfandel and a variety called "Burger." The family also planted apples, created a dairy and raised chickens -- all the essentials of a working farm.

Will Petersen was told by some "experts" that it was too cool to grow grapes on his property. Fortunately, he didn't listen. He has a 7.5-acre Pinot Noir vineyard, and a smaller 1.5-acre Pinot Noir vineyard near his home.

The outlying area is in the Petaluma wind gap that is 10 to 15 degrees cooler than at the winery. We first used grapes from the Petersen Vineyard in our 2006 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir which produced a wine with good acidity and bright fruit flavors.