Venge Vineyards Acquires Robert Rue Winery of Russian River Valley

Proprietor and Winemaker, Kirk P. Venge, notes that the purchase of the Rue Winery comes at an ideal crossing point in his pursuit of making Sonoma County Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. States Venge: "My family has been an integral part of the winegrowing community in Napa Valley for several decades now. When I acquired the Venge Vineyards brand from my family in 2008, we often talked about one day crossing county lines to build another winery in Sonoma. It is a dream come true to acquire this gem of a property in the esteemed Russian River Valley."

The Rue Winery was established in 2008 and specialized in crafting small lots of award-winning Zinfandel produced from the estate's century old vines. The sale included a permitted 5,000 case winery and tasting room, hospitality gardens, a Victorian period farmhouse and 8 acres of 105 year old vines, from Russian River Valley farmlands.

The property will be repurposed and reopened as Croix Estate, Kirk Venge's Sonoma wine project, dedicated to producing luxury Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Estate Zinfandel. "Croix Estate is the next step in my journey to establish myself among the best in the business of producing California's Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Our relationships with the Dutton and the Bacigalupi families provide a solid foundation upon which we have been producing wine under the Croix label since 2012. Those early vintages have informed the project to such a degree that purchasing a winery in this community was a natural progression. I am very excited to get underway with reopening the property. It will be a private experience, and a haven for enthusiasts of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and old-vine Zinfandel. It is classic Sonoma County and we are glad to finally have such a beautiful place to call home here too."

THE FOUNDING OF CROIX

Derived from the French term "Croix" meaning "Cross", the name speaks to the situational convergences found throughout the founding of the project. It reflects Kirk Venge's desire to "cross the regional divide" between Napa Valley and Sonoma County to build his Sonoma County legacy, producing California's finest Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs. It also represents the convergence of winegrowing ideals old and new, using the best practices of the craft accordingly.

General Manager of Venge Vineyards and Croix Estate, Jason Williams, elucidated: "It was during the spring of 2009 that Kirk introduced the name 'Croix' and a rough idea for the project and an eventual winery in Sonoma. I remember the moment like it was yesterday. Kirk threw out this name and spoke of crossing the bridge between Napa and Sonoma and founding a 'Sonoma County heritage'. Ideas were all over the board for a solid two years.

"I had worked the Williams Selyem pick-up party a few years prior to joining Venge Vineyards, and recalled being blown away by the quality of the wines and the winemaking operationrustic, pure, focused. That property is such a legendary benchmark for producing noteworthy Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, right on par with Marcassin, Dumol, Rocchioli, and Merry Edwards. From this thought, Croix slowly blossomed and came into focus - farm Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from the best vineyard locations throughout Sonoma County, building a family legacy of producing California's finest Chardonnay and Pinot Noir."

Croix wines are currently being custom-crushed at Venge Vineyards and Winery. Venge's state of the art, gravity fed winery provided the project with an unparalleled level of control with one of the most talented winemaking teams in the industry. With the acquisition of the Robert Rue Winery, Croix will finally have a home of its own to grow and flourish in its founding AVA, Russian River Valley.

However, as Kirk Venge noted, "It all started in the vineyards. We made a purposeful decision to establish our Sonoma County roots with one of the most talented farming operations in the regionDutton Ranch. Their commitment to a pesticide-free and sustainable environment is a mirror image of our vineyard stewardship in Napa Valley. Their knowledge and ownership of the region's finest vineyard sites provides us with unique access to many regional climates and convergences, resulting in superior wines from the onset. We have long-term contracts in place at Morelli Vineyard, Manzana Vineyard, Thomas Road Vineyard, Jewell Vineyard, Freestone Vineyard, and Widdoes Vineyard. We work closely with the Dutton Ranch team to perfect our style accordingly."

NEXT STEPS AND BEYOND

Jason Williams addressed the future of the property accordingly, "First and foremost, we are farmers, so we need to spend time listening to the land. The property is 10 acres, with approximately 8 acres of century-old vine Zinfandel. The vineyard needs attention and care, such as the deep ripping the soil, trellis repair, irrigation repair, and canopy positioning. All of the sustainable, land-first practices we use on our Napa Valley estates will be employed here to establish a healthy and balanced ecosystem. We figure it will take us two to three years to really figure out the strengths and weaknesses of the vineyard. We will then look to replant a small portion of the vineyard to Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, while preserving a good portion of the Zinfandel for our Estate wine production.

"We currently produce 300 cases of wine under Croix Estate: 150 cases each of single-vineyard Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Our plans are to grow to three single-vineyard designates under Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, an appellation blend of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and an Estate old-vine Zinfandel. Total production will grow to approximately 2,300 cases per year. Chardonnay prices will range from $50 to $125 per bottle. Pinot Noir prices will range from $65 to $225 per bottle. Our Estate Zinfandel will be priced at $50 per bottle.

"Visitation for Croix will be a private retreat for clients booking by advance reservation only. We will accommodate a small number of guests each day, as production is extremely limited.

SOURCE Venge Vineyards

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