Radio-Coteau

History

Radio-Coteau was founded by Eric Sussman on the far Sonoma Coast, in the wind-scoured hills west of Sebastopol. Sussman came up through the northern California wine trade before turning to production, and the project has always been deliberately small, oriented around specific sites rather than a house style applied across a broad portfolio. The name itself references the hillside (coteau) and the idea of tuning in to a particular frequency of place. The winery has remained independent and focused, without the ownership transitions or brand expansions that have reshaped many of its neighbors.

Vineyards

The wines draw from both estate holdings and established grower relationships. The estate sites sit in the true Sonoma Coast appellation, where marine influence is constant and significant, growing seasons are long, and ripening is slow and uneven by inland California standards. Soils vary by site but tend toward the rocky, low-fertility end of the spectrum. The Heintz and Savoy vineyards extend the range into the Anderson Valley, where the Navarro River corridor pulls in coastal fog and keeps temperatures moderate through the growing season. Savoy is a well-regarded Anderson Valley site with deep gravel loam. Farming across the portfolio leans toward sustainable practices; specific organic or biodynamic certification status is not consistently documented in public sources.

Winemaking

Sussman works in a low-intervention style oriented toward preserving site character rather than building wines around oak or extraction. Native yeast fermentations are used, with whole-cluster inclusion in the Pinot Noirs varying by vintage and vineyard. Oak influence is measured, with a preference for used and neutral wood to keep the fruit and soil character in the foreground. The Chardonnays are typically fermented and aged in barrel without heavy lees stirring or reductive winemaking; they tend toward the taut, mineral end of California Chardonnay. The Syrah from Dusty Lane and the Zinfandel from Lemorel Estate represent a commitment to varieties that can struggle in warmer sites but find genuine savory definition in the coastal climate. Wines are made in small quantities and released primarily through a mailing list.