Vineyards

 
 

vineyard partners

We do not own any vineyards. We partner with mindful, intentional, and prideful grape growers. Each vineyard we collaborate with is family-owned and farmed by hand without the use of harmful herbicides, pesticides, or insecticides. The vines are cultivated to balance, even in difficult and marginal conditions, and produce highly expressive and honest fruit.

Darling Wines Azaya Vineyard Pinot Noir Sunrise
 

AZAYA VINEYARD - Pinot Noir

Azaya Vineyard is locate in the west Marin hills off the roads leading to Point Reyes. This vineyard is incredibly unique as it is one of the only vineyards in west Marin. It gets very cold at night and very warm during the day here - an extreme diurnal shift that we don’t see at any of our other sites. This yields a wine with striking acidity and full ripeness; it is our purest expression of Pinot Noir that we make. It is also a difficult site to farm and we don’t see a crop every year; in 2021 the entire vintage succumbed to early June frosts. When it is good, it is great, and we are very proud to make wine from this incredible site.

Vineyard Details

  • Petaluma Gap AVA, Marin County

  • 420 feet above sea level

  • 9 miles from Pacific Ocean

  • Blucher Loam

  • Organic (uncertified)

  • Hand-farmed, hand-harvested

 

GRAND VENT VINEYARD - Pinot Noir

Grand Vent Vineyard is located in west Petaluma, 13 miles from the Pacific. In Jon Bonné’s book, The New California Wine, he states this vineyard is “perhaps the most challenging site {in all of California}.. Due to its mid-elevation, this site battles some of the densest marine layer the Pacific can offer. Once the sun breaks through the fog, the afternoon coastal winds rip through causing even more of a delay in ripening. Due to these factors, this site holds a high acidity at a moderate alcohol level; a perfect combination for our winemaking style.

Vineyard Details

  • Petaluma Gap AVA, Sonoma Coast

  • 270 feet above sea level

  • 13 miles from Pacific Ocean

  • Steinbeck Loam

  • Sustainable, organic in practice

 

MARIAH VINEYARD - Pinot Noir, Chardonnay

Mariah Vineyard is located 2,400 feet above sea level on Mendocino Ridge, 6 miles from the Pacific Ocean. Dan and Vicky Dooling planted this site in the late 1980s and have been producing truly exceptional fruit ever since. The site is now Certified Regenerative, the highest level of farming. Additionally, the site is surrounded on four sides by Redwood forest giving the wine a unique aromatic that showcases exactly where it is from along with beautiful texture only mountain fruit can offer.

Vineyard Details

  • Mendocino Ridge AVA, Mendocino County

  • 2,400 feet above sea level

  • 6 miles from the Pacific Ocean

  • Black Loam soils

  • Certified Regenerative farming

 

TURNSTONE VINEYARD - Pinot Noir

Turnstone Vineyard is located in the Sebastopol Hills, a subregion of the west Sonoma Coast. This site is quintessentially cool-climate: coastal fog blankets the vineyard during the cool mornings moderating the growing season and allowing for extended hang time on the vine to achieve full ripeness as low sugars and high natural acidity. It is farmed solely by hand with oils and teas and is family owned and inhabited. We are the sole producers of Pinot Noir from this incredible site.

Vineyard Details

  • Sonoma Coast AVA

  • 240 feet above sea level

  • 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean

  • Goldridge sandy-loam soils

  • Organic (uncertified) and regenerative farming

 

DEODORA VINEYARD - Pinot Noir

Deodora Vineyard is located in west Petaluma in Chileno Valley. Clone 2A/Wadenswil Pinot Noir is farmed organically with naturally very low yields due to the lack of water which produces concentrated fruit at low sugars. Dense marine fog and coastal winds help lengthen hang time for full ripeness while still maintaining high acidity and moderate alcohols.

Vineyard Details

  • Petaluma Gap AVA, Chileno Valley

    1. 200 feet above sea level

    2. 10 miles from Pacific Ocean

    3. Haire Clay Loam soils

    4. Certified Organic

 

Vineyard Details

  • Russian River Valley AVA

  • 150 feet above sea level

  • Goldridge sandy loam soils

  • Dry-farmed

  • Regenerative and organic in practice

SAINT MARKS VINEYARD - Syrah

Saint Marks Vineyard is located in the heart of the Russian River Valley. Owned by Mark and Ginny Weston, this site is dry-farmed and has never seen a chemical spray in its lifetime - a byproduct of Marks military service in Vietnam and contraction of cancer from agent orange. Upon his return and the planting of this site, he vowed it would be chemical free. 20+ year old vines that yield less than 1 ton to the acre produce our most powerful and age-worthy Syrah.

 

FLOCCHINI VINEYARD - Pinot Noir, Syrah

Flocchini Vineyard is located in the southern end of the Petaluma Gap, 3 miles from the San Pablo Bay. This site is most affected by the severe winds the whip off the bay through the Gap. Once these winds get above 8-10mph (which is daily during the summer and fall), the vines begin to shutdown and ripening is delayed. These winds combine with a well-draining sandstone and Adobe clay soil yield a highly aromatic and structured Syrah. We are the sole producers of Syrah from this site.

Vineyard Details

  • Petaluma Gap AVA, Sonoma Coast

    1. 190 feet above sea level

    2. 3 miles from San Pablo Bay

    3. Adobe Clay and Sandstone

    4. Organic in practice

    5. Hand-farmed, hand-harvested

 

LA CRUZ VINEYARD - Pinot Gris

La Cruz Vineyard is located in the southern tip of the Petaluma Gap, 5 miles from the San Pablo Bay. This exposed hillside is certified organic and is battered by the coastal winds from the bay throughout the growing season. The soil is Diablo Clay and Haire Loam, and this hillside shows a rockier, more fickle appearance compare to the lower blocks of the property; this yields a mineral, citrus driven profile.

Vineyard Details

  • Petaluma Gap AVA, Sonoma Coast

    1. 200 feet above sea level

    2. 5 miles from San Pablo Bay

    3. Diablo Clay and Haire Loam

    4. Certified Sustainable, organic in practice

 
 

Vineyard Details:

  • Santa Cruz Mountains AVA

  • 1,200 feet above sea level

  • 11 miles from Monterey Bay

  • Sandstone and Shale soils

  • Organic (uncertified), Dry-farmed

ZAYANTE VINEYARD - Syrah

Zayante Vineyard is located on the west face of the Santa Cruz Mountains. It is a stunning site planted on a steep slope on the west face of the Santa Cruz Mountains, dry-farmed, organic, own-rooted and old vine; there are not many more boxes to check! At 1,200 feet above sea level, it is simply in a perfect spot to receive the coastal winds and fog coming off Monterey Bay, as well as the generous sunshine at elevation. The is the most mineral driven Syrah we produce.

 

Vineyard Details:

  • Sonoma Valley AVA

  • 700 feet above sea level

  • 12 miles from San Pablo Bay

  • Raynor clay and volcanic soils

  • Organic (uncertified)

JAMES CREEK VINEYARD - Gamay

James Creek Vineyard sits at the southern tip of Sonoma Valley at the Los Carneros line, just west of the town of Sonoma. Gamay planted on Raynor clay and mixed volcanic soils combined with the maritime influence of the bay and the warm Sonoma days make for an ideal growing climate.