History
Lee Hudson, a Texan who trained at UC Davis and in Burgundy, bought the property in 1981 and took the first harvest in 1983. He built it as a mixed agricultural operation rather than a vineyard estate, and the network of winemakers who lease blocks from him dates back to those university years. Hudson Vineyards bottles under its own label as well.
The Site
Around two thousand acres in Carneros off Sonoma Highway, of which close to two hundred are planted to wine grapes. Where neighbouring Hyde lies open to the bay wind, Hudson is a broken landscape of rolling hills, swales and internal valleys. Those folds block the direct wind vectors and hold more afternoon warmth, which is why varieties that have no business ripening in Carneros do so here.
Vines and Blocks
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir across the core, with Syrah, Grenache, Albarino, Ribolla Gialla and Vermentino in the warmer pockets. Blocks are leased to individual winemakers and farmed to their specifications. Mark Aubert takes Old Wente clone fruit off the heavier Haire clay loam sections for the Aubert Hudson Vineyard Chardonnay; Kistler works a dedicated block on the cooler lower swales where night fog pools.
The Wines
Hudson designates run to texture and weight rather than austerity, the Chardonnays in particular: white peach, orange blossom and a creamy density that the clay soils and sheltered exposures both encourage. During harvest the ranch flies a Jolly Roger at the gate in place of the usual flags.