RIDGE Continues to Innovate with Throwback Varietal, Valdiguié
San Francisco Chronicle
September 2024
In her recent article published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Wine Reporter Jess Landers talks about RIDGE’s history as a classic California producer and why she was so surprised to see a trendy, esoteric wine like valdiguie, one of her favorite “pizza night” wines, on a recent visit to our Lytton Springs winery.
“Ridge Vineyards, which has stuck to the same minimal, 19th-century winemaking techniques for over 50 years, is stepping out of its box with Valdiguié.”
What is Valdiguie?
“Valdiguié, which for decades was misidentified in California as Napa Gamay, is undergoing a renaissance, which is exactly why I was surprised to find it at Ridge. Historically, the Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel legend couldn’t care less about being hip or trendy. Valdiguié is especially popular among small, natural wine producers, who often make it in an easy-drinking nouveau style using the carbonic maceration method.”
Landers had the chance to talk with Lytton Springs Winemaker Shauna Rosenblum about the unexpected addition to the RIDGE lineup and learned why producing lesser-known varietals like valdiguié, that are a key part of California’s winemaking history, is perfectly aligned with our winemaking philosophy:
“Ridge is such a classic producer, and very often, you don’t see classic producers stepping outside of their lane of what one might expect,” said Rosenblum. “But the impetus for the Valdiguié is decidedly Ridge,” she explained. As with many of Ridge’s signature wines, it’s made from old vines, planted between 1950 and 1979 on Frediani Ranch in Calistoga. “They are literal cultural antiquity,” she said. “It’s like drinking a history lesson.”
Maintaining Relevance without Sacrificing Legacy
Landers goes on to talk about RIDGE’s history as an industry innovator:
“Writing this now, I may have jumped the gun in calling the Valdiguié off-brand for Ridge. Ridge has always been an innovator, just a subtler and arguably more authentic one than others. The Lytton Springs winery, constructed out of rice straw and clay excavated from the vineyard, looks a bit dated, but it’s also primarily solar-powered. Ridge was a pioneer of California’s natural wine movement — though the winery is rarely credited as such — and one of the first in the state to put ingredients on its labels. Ridge is seemingly always ahead of the game, especially now when sustainability and transparency are reportedly important factors in the purchasing decisions of young consumers.
“The winery’s experimentation with these esoteric, throwback wines is yet another way Ridge is working to maintain its relevance without sacrificing legacy.”
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