As Sonoma County moves away from Sonoma Valley and approaches the Pacific Ocean at its western border, the climate changes dramatically; temperatures can be in the fifties at the coast, when inland, they are sweltering in the nineties. The breezes are almost constant and the fog prevalent and nothing about the conditions is conducive to growing grape vines. But while the conditions don’t make it easy for the vines or the vintners to produce grapes, they actually mimic France’s Burgundy region. Bill Phelps, of Napa Valley’s Joseph Phelps Vineyard fame, believes that the Freestone area about five miles from the Pacific, will become California’s Burgundy and has made a $30 million investment in land here in order to prove it at his Freestone Vineyard.
Though difficult to create under unpredictable conditions, when everything adds up, such as the Pinot Noirs created in Freestone in recent years, the quality of the wines coming out of the area has been hailed as some of the best from Northern California wineries. Phelps’ endeavor is designed by passion more than commercial production intentions; he hopes to make small-lot vintages that will rival the best that Burgundy can produce and he believes that the difficult conditions are what will bring him the needed results. It is a widely held belief that the grapes which struggle the most and fully ripen only occasionally, are the ones that result in the most remarkable wines. Phelps and vintners believe that Freestone possesses the conditions for great wine.
Phelps has big plans for the western Sonoma County region of Freestone and believes that it will more than hold its own one day against other appellations. So much so that he is considering applying for federal appellation designation for the Freestone area. To further prove that the region can stand alone, he has made the effort to avoid all ties to his successful and highly regarded Napa Valley winery, Joseph Phelps Vineyard. Freestone is a reference to a river that grows larger as it is met by tributaries along its path, and if Bill Phelps continues in the direction of his 2006 bottling which pleased so many at a release dinner, there will be many others pouring his wines and pouring into the area to capitalize on California’s Burgundy region known as Freestone.
