Winery Description
In 1977, we set out to revive White Rock Vineyards where a vineyard and winery had been established in 1870 by Dr. J Pettingill. The original stone winery still stands after being converted into a residence in the 1920's. Today our wines are made in an underground cave, dug in 1988 from the same white volcanic rock that characterizes our vineyards.
We first planted our 36 acre vineyard in 1979; 21 hillside acres in 4 Bordeaux varieties and 15 acres of chardonnay in the lowest and coolest sector of our valley. In recent years, under our son Michael's careful eye, we have replanted the vineyard, fine-tuning rootstock and clonal selection and increasing density and sun exposure for more concentrated and riper wines.
Since 1986 we have been crushing our best fruit to produce about 3000 cases of White Rock wines. Douglas Danielak was our winemaker until 1998. Since 1999 our eldest son Christopher (finally back from studying and making wine in France, Spain, and Napa Valley) has taken charge of winemaking.
With Michael's carefully rejuvenated vineyards and Christopher's passion for quality in the winery we look forward to even better wines in the future.