Balletto Vineyards

Balletto Vineyards is one of the Russian River Valley's most genuinely agricultural and warmly hosted family estates. The Balletto family spent three generations truck farming vegetables on the same 1,200 Santa Rosa acres — supplying produce to Bay Area restaurants and markets — before John Balletto made the transition to wine grapes in 1995. That agricultural heritage shows in everything about Balletto: the farming is meticulous, the hospitality is genuine, and the wines reflect decades of accumulated knowledge about what this specific piece of Occidental Road Santa Rosa real estate can produce.

The estate produces Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Rosé of Pinot Noir, and Pinot Gris from 1,200 acres of Russian River Valley terrain — one of the largest single family-farmed estates in the entire appellation. The scale gives winemaker Anthony Beckman access to diverse soil types and microclimates that smaller RRV producers cannot exploit, enabling the single-vineyard program alongside the approachable estate tier.

The daily walk-in tasting with picnic grounds and vineyard views reflects the Balletto family's fundamental warmth and agricultural accessibility — a working farm that makes excellent wine and opens its doors to visitors without pretension or appointment barriers.