Fox Hill Vineyard
We’ve sourced from Fox Hill since 2013, with the harvest of the Nero d’Avola for our Badger wine. It was our first time working with Italian grape varieties and we immediately fell in love with the results. A decade later, we continue to expand the number of delicious, everyday wines we make from Fox Hill to include the Amore Rosso, Amore Blendo, Amore Bianco. More to come!
Fox Hill is the Italian oasis it is today because of long-time owner Lowell Stone. In the 1980s, Lowell ripped up Chardonnay and Riesling vines to plant suitcase vine cuttings brought back from Italy. His vision defied conventions of the time to plant varieties he passionately loved – and loved to drink.
Chris Brockway has helped farm Fox Hill since 2020, supporting the early work of Sam Bilbro, who was joined by Evan Lewandowski, to help Lowell farm for more than a decade. The vineyard is organically farmed and uses cover crop as an important tool in our farming practices. Cover crop helps us farm in many ways from enriching soil health with necessary nutrients, boosting water retention, weed control, and support overall vine growth. In Spring, sheep graze among the vines, managing the crop cover and fertilizing the soil. The soil is predominantly mineral-driven redvine, river rock, and pebbly sandstone, with large quartz pieces that are easy to trip over when weaving between the vines. Fox Hill is nestled on the Talmage Bench, an uplifted former riverbed from the Russian River. Bunches of pennyroyal are found scattered among the 20+ year-old vines.
