History
Occidental, the Kistler family's coastal label, bought the 250-acre Bodega Ridge property in 2008 and developed it in stages. Running Fence is the lower-elevation planting on that property; Bodega Ridge Vineyard, the upper block, is a separate named site whose first single-vineyard bottling came in 2019. Study material tends to collapse the two into one entry, but Occidental lists them separately and bottles them separately.
The Site
The same coastal ridge that carries Bodega Headlands, overlooking the Pacific. The vines are grafted to Riparia Gloire, chosen for its devigorating effect and early ripening on a site this marginal. This is the one vineyard in the batch whose wines are labelled West Sonoma Coast rather than Sonoma Coast.
Vines and Blocks
Pinot Noir on Riparia Gloire, part of a Pinot Noir planting across the Bodega Ridge property considerably larger than the fourteen acres usually quoted for Running Fence alone.
The Wines
Occidental bottles the fruit as Cuvee Catherine, named for one of Steve Kistler's daughters, and is the sole producer.