Wine Soundtrack - USA

We are immigrants, pioneers, farmers and entrepreneurs.
Berryessa Gap’s connection to the land runs deep with farming roots from both Spanish and German ancestry in historic Winters, CA in Yolo County.

Our father Dan Martinez, Sr., a first generation farmer of Spanish immigrants, planted apricots, almonds, prunes and walnuts in Winters. Dan Sr. partnered with San Francisco winemaker and wine historian Ernest Peninou in 1969 to develop a grapevine rootstock nursery business, Yolo Hills Viticulture Society, supplying UC Davis-sourced grapevine rootstock to what would become renowned Napa and Sonoma Valley vineyards and beyond.

For thirty years, Martinez Orchards continued to sell rootstock cultivated in Winters to vineyards in neighboring counties, and in 2000, Dan Martinez Jr. and collaborative business and farming partner Santiago Moreno purchased the Coble Ranch at the crest of rolling hills overlooking Berryessa Gap - a local visual landmark seen for miles around – and planted this never before cultivated land to vineyards. The Coble Ranch is the estate vineyard from which Berryessa Gap’s grapes are sourced. Martinez Orchards continues to grow and sell grapevine rootstock throughout California today.

The site of Berryessa Gap Vineyards commands this view, overlooking literally a gap between the hills, east of Lake Berryessa. Here stands a very large and stately oak tree, thought to be around 300 years old. Surrounding this fine oak tree are the rolling vineyards which produce distinctive wines of the region, planted with rootstock grown only by Martinez Orchards.

Steeped in family agricultural history in Winters, our winery operations began on Main Street in 2002 as we repurposed the old Winters Winery facility, and is now the location of our expanded wine tasting room. Mike Anderson, Ernest Peninou’s great nephew, became our winemaker, continuing the legacy and bringing regional terroir into focus and helping to launch our business.

In 2005, we expanded and relocated our winemaking production to the historic Tufts Ranch fruit packing warehouse, minutes from downtown Winters. We invite guests to visit our second wine tasting room there, as a memorable stop on wine country backroad Highway 128 traveling to or from nearby Napa Valley.

Both wine tasting locations showcase our family farming and viticulture heritage with roots in Northern California wine country brought to each glass - from rootstock to bottle.

In 2013, Berryessa Gap hired winemaker Nicole Salengo to bring her local winemaking expertise to the market with fine new wine offerings. Nicole is passionate about the uniqueness and potential of Winters terroir - her winemaking style has already garnered many accolades in domestic and international wine competitions.

We are making small to Estate grown Pinot Noirs. We are happy to share with you our Estate grown Magna Porcum (Big Pig) Pinot Noir from the Green Valley of Russian River Valley. This is a very limited release each year. We make approximately 400 cases a year.

Craig Strehlow: the former winegrower/winemaker with Keefer Ranch and Keefer Ranch Wines. He managed the vineyard and crafted a single vineyard Pinot Noir that, among the other notable wines from the property, helped gain the vineyard great recognition among Pinot Noir fans near and far.



Alan Campbell a Sonoma County native and local photographer/cinematographer focused for the past 27 years on capturing the beauty and romance of wine country, all the while trying his hand at DIY projects that captured his attention and imagination; gardener, farmer, winemaker and winegrower.

The Winery born in An L.A. Garage.
From our humble beginnings in a South Los Angeles garage, we’ve always had a clear mission: to be California’s first and best rosé winery. But having no family background in Napa, and zero experience as winemakers, there was only one way to approach this; as our punk-rock forebears would have: with three-chords and a dream. So we bought some books, built a cold room in the garage, and put a bunch of wine gear on our credit cards.
After a few years of learning the ropes we decided we were ready to take our rough-around-the-edges wine show on the road and so launched our first commercial vintage in 2016.

In 2011, the Rouzaud family acquired the Dach family property - a beautiful, small ranch in the heart of the Anderson Valley. Over time, pinot noir and chardonnay grapes were planted and the Domaine Anderson winery, designed specifically for small lot production of site-specific pinot noir and chardonnay wines, was built. Vineyard management practices are focused on achieving the highest quality grapes, using sustainable techniques that benefit the health and natural harmony of the vineyard as a whole. The vineyards for Domaine Anderson wines span the Anderson Valley, from the warmer, up-valley town of Boonville to the cooler regions closer to the Mendocino coast. They are planted on gently sloped knolls, and on steep hillsides. Soils range from rocky, river gravels to the finest clay loams. Wines are produced from 100% estate-grown grapes from our Anderson Valley vineyards, allowing complete control over stewardship of the land. The wines are balanced, and elegant. Both the pinot noir and chardonnay wines are marked by an innate purity and curious depth.

Founded by Gretchen Voelcker, Luna Hart Wines is a boutique wine company specializing in small batch, handcrafted wines in the Santa Ynez Valley. Gretchen makes select wines in which she explores the techniques and nuances that continue to stoke her passion for wine.
The project was started making Sauvignon Blanc under the label of Moon Unit Wines but will move forward focusing on Grüner Veltliner and Cabernet Franc.
With careful attention to the fruit in the vineyard and tasting daily throughout fermentation, Gretchen produces high quality, fruit forward wines with bright acidity. Her hope is to highlight the grape's origin, the vintage and variety. She focuses on producing varietal wines from her favorite grapes that spur her to learn more about winemaking and to showcase them more purely and more precisely. Gretchen never turns down the opportunity to experiment and welcomes interesting projects.

The new Spring Mountain Vineyard was once three separate properties each with its own vineyard and winery: Spring Mountain Vineyards (Miravalle) 257 acres, Chateau Chevalier (Chevalier) 120 acres, and Draper Vineyards (La Perla) 435 acres.
The upper most property on the estate, La Perla, was founded in 1873 by Charles Lemme and expanded by the Schilling Spice family. Originally 285 acres it had the first Cabernet Sauvignon planted on Spring Mountain. The old winery remains today along with much of its original equipment and horse drawn carriages and wagons. Immediately below La Perla, and eventually added to it was the first vineyard planted by Fredrick and Jacob Beringer in 1882. These terraced hillsides were planted in a wide assortment of grape varieties to support the Beringer brothers fledgling winery.
Adjoining to the north of the Beringer vineyard was a Frenchman, Fortune Chevalier, whose stone winery, Chateau Chevalier, was making wine in 1891. And finally, next door to Chevalier was Tiburcio Parrott who grew olives, citrus and grapes. Parrott built a grand home on the estate which he named Miravalle.

Founded by the noble family behind Champagne Taittinger, Claude Taittinger's search for a worthy U.S. counterpart began in the late 1970s. In 1987 he selected a 138-acre parcel in the heart of Carneros, Napa Valley. Wisely selecting Eileen Crane to oversee the development of the winery and vineyards, the team created the quintessential California expression of the Taittinger style in Carneros.
The heart of Domaine Carneros has always been sparkling wines, with distinctive styles ranging from the classic vintage-dated Brut cuvée to our luxury Le Rêve Blanc de Blancs. In 1992 we added rich, complex Pinot Noir to our portfolio and our passion for sparkling and still wines continues to grow. Learn about sparkling winemaking and Eileen Crane, Pinot Noir winemaking and TJ Evans, and our portfolio of wines.
All of our wines proudly hail from the Carneros appellation, and 95% of our fruit comes from our estate vineyards. More on our vineyards.
As anyone who has driven between Napa and Sonoma can tell you, the Domaine Carneros château is a stunning regional landmark. Join us for tableside service on the terrace or in the salon and savor the spirit of the Northern California wine country

Established in 1980, Rombauer Vineyards produces distinctive wines crafted to bring joy to the table. Our winery was founded by Koerner and Joan Rombauer, whose appreciation for wine and the pleasure it brings stems from Koerner's great aunt, Irma Rombauer, author of the internationally renowned Joy of Cooking. We embrace traditional and cutting-edge practices in the winery and in our sustainably farmed vineyards.
Visit our St. Helena winery to enjoy critically acclaimed Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc. Our winery features a porch with stunning views, a beautiful garden with picnic tables and caves available for exploring by tour.

Eli Parker and his sister, Ashley, remain involved as stewards of their father’s vision. Ashley’s husband, Tim Snider, serves as winery President and oversees the sales, marketing and day to day operations of the winery. Blair Fox assumed the role of head winemaker in 2005.

The home ranch vineyard, named for Fess’s late son-in-law, Rodney, has earned a great reputation for the quality of its Rhône varietals, while long term contracts with some of the finest vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA are the fruit sources for the winery’s Burgundian offerings.

In recent years the winery has sharpened its focus toward production of more small lot, vineyard designated and clonal selection Rhône and Burgundian varietals.

In 1997, Charlie Crocker and Pam Starr established Crocker & Starr on the Crocker Estate in St. Helena, resurrecting a world-class vineyard with roots dating back to the 1870s. Charlie is co-owner with Pam, the winery manager and winemaker. Between Charlie’s historic estate that has grown grapes for over 140 years and Pam’s winemaking expertise, vision, and business acumen, the partners proved to be a spectacular match.
The winery handcrafts a small production of exquisite wines from select blocks within the 100-acre vineyard. The vines are cultivated following organic principles, and the clusters are hand harvested, transformed into wine through cutting edge winemaking techniques, blending the best of Old World philosophy and New World fruit. Starr presides over the estate’s wines to capture the essence of the vineyard’s extraordinary terroir. The result is complex and balanced, elegant wines that express the aromatic profile of the Crocker Vineyard.
The estate Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard, named “Stone Place” yields a wine of distinction with a slight mineralogy and a deep brooding quality of black chocolate that Charlie and Pam consider their crowning achievement. The winery also makes a Cabernet Franc, a Sauvignon Blanc, a Malbec blend named “Casali,” and two wines – a Napa appellation Cabernet blend and a Sauvignon Blanc blend – under the label “Bridesmaid.” Crocker & Starr’s Sauvignon Blanc was rated the “12th Best Wine in the World” in Wine Spectator’s 2006 “Top 100 List.” In 2014, Crocker & Starr began work on their new production facility on the historic Crocker Estate. The building was completed in the summer of 2016, just in time for the 20th anniversary of Charlie and Pam’s collaboration.