Rochioli Vineyards & Winery

Rochioli Vineyards has been farming the Russian River Valley since 1938, when Joe Rochioli Sr. planted the first vines on Westside Road. The estate is widely considered the birthplace of world-class Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, Joe Jr. planted the first Pinot Noir on the property in the early 1970s, at a time when almost nobody believed Sonoma County could produce great Pinot. Those original plantings, along with subsequent vineyard blocks like the legendary West Block, Three Corner Vineyard, and Little Hill, have become some of the most sought-after vineyard sources in all of California.

Third-generation winemaker Rachael Rochioli now leads the winemaking program, continuing the family's tradition of producing intensely site-specific Pinot Noir and Chardonnay from estate fruit. The single-vineyard bottlings, West Block, Three Corner, and Little Hill Pinot Noir, are among the most allocated wines in California, with mailing list waitlists stretching years. These are wines of profound elegance and depth, showing the kind of complexity that only comes from old vines in perfectly suited terroir, farmed by people who know every row intimately.

The tasting room on Westside Road is deliberately small and personal, reflecting the family's philosophy that wine should be experienced as an extension of agriculture, not spectacle. Walk-in tastings are available, but the experience is best when you slow down and let the Rochioli team walk you through the vineyard map, understanding how a few hundred yards of difference between blocks can produce dramatically different wines. For serious Pinot Noir lovers, a visit to Rochioli is a pilgrimage to one of California's true first-growth estates.