Ridge, Seghesio & The San Lorenzo Vineyard

Blog Post

With the release of our latest small bottling of zinfandel from the San Lorenzo Vineyard, we take a deeper look at this historic vineyard, discussing the wine and our partnership with the Seghesio family.

The San Lorenzo Vineyard

The San Lorenzo Vineyard in the Russian River Valley is owned by Pete Seghesio. The vineyard was purchased in 1896 by Pete’s grandfather, who received 10 gold coins from his work cooking in the California gold fields. The purchase deed makes reference to a young vineyard already producing on the property, suggesting that the vineyard was planted as early as 1892.

The original plantings are named “The Pearl” after Pete’s mother. The Pearl became the cornerstone for subsequent plantings on San Lorenzo, which is today, one of the most iconic vineyards in California. The vineyard consists of nearly 40 acres of zinfandel, primitivo, and petite sirah, all head-trained and planted on a mix of dibble clay loam and haire gravelly loam soils. Idyllically located aside the foggy Russian River and bordering the town of Healdsburg, San Lorenzo spans both Alexander and Russian River Valleys.

2020 Ridge San Lorenzo

This is Ridge’s fifth bottling from the historic San Lorenzo Vineyard. Planted in 1892 just above the Russian River, north of Healdsburg, the block was named “The Pearl” by Pete Seghesio’s mother, who deemed this portion special. Thinning the crop twice brought the vines in balance. The interplanted varieties were picked in early September and fermented together. Given this wine’s formidable weight and structure, it will be long-lived but can be enjoyed over the coming years as well.

Our new release of San Lorenzo has rich aromas of blackberry pie, blueberry, smoked meat and clay, with flavors of black cherry, rosemary, cigar box and espresso on the palate. Deep color, briary fruit and a well-coated tannic structure are hallmarks of this classic field blend that will continue to evolve over the next ten years.