An Innovative Approach to Wine Crafting

The Winery

Founded in 1986, the winery is set in the center of our northern Alexander Valley vineyards in the heart of Sonoma County, allowing us to carefully tend each small vineyard lot from bud break through harvest. The winery was constructed with the blending concept in mind, and is equipped for the production and aging of many small and select lots. Every care was taken to enable the winemaker to preserve the quality of the grapes and express his craft.

The Concept

For a wine to be labeled as a varietal, it must contain at least 75% of that particular grape. Often, however, the best wine results from a blend of varietals in which the dominant grape is less than 75% of the blend. American wine producers have long been reliant on varietally labeled wines, while in Europe, wines are designated by their place of origin. In that spirit, it is the quest of deLorimier winery to produce wines known more for the character of the estate than for their varietal content.

Don Frazer became deLorimier's winemaker in 1989 bringing with him an extensive background in viticulture and winemaking. Don grew up on a family farm north of Sacramento and attended UC Davis where he received a degree in Plant Science. In 1978, he joined Charles Krug where he became winemaker in 1980. In 1982 Don accepted a position as winemaker at Belvedere Winery.

Don's winemaking philosophy is that wine is a fruit product and therefore should reflect the varietal character of the grapes as well as the region and vineyard in which they are grown. It is the role of the winemaker to be the guardian of the fruit.

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