Peter Haywood grew up in Chicago, earned a political science degree from Stanford University in 1958, served in the Marine Corps and following discharge started a construction and development company. Any history of Haywood Estate Wines begins with its vineyards, and his purchase in 1973 of 280 acres of rugged hillside just above the town of Sonoma. The next five years would be spent in clearing and planting 90 acres of grapes. Noting that early survey maps of the region identified much of the flora as “Chamizal,” meaning in Spanish “thickets of hardwood,” the name Los Chamizal Vineyards was chosen to represent the finished effort.
In 1980 Haywood purchased a small winery on lands adjacent to the vineyards, crushed his first grapes and began the process of producing wines under the eponymous Haywood label. Over the years the winery grew in size and different varietals were produced from sections of the vineyard that provided the best growing conditions for the particular grape. Soils ranging from well-drained sandy clay loams at the lower elevations to shallow, fractured, basalt soils at the highest elevations called for a number of varietal changes as did the effect of the sun coursing across the different facings of the hillsides. Today the Los Chamizal Vineyards are planted to mostly red varietals except for Chardonnay that is planted high on a north-facing slope.
Known as one of California’s most highly regarded Zinfandel vineyards, Los Chamizal’s beautifully terraced vines are carved into steeply sloping hillsides reaching 800 feet in elevation. “We know that the vineyard is the first source of all wine quality. In steep, rocky soil only the strong vines survive to produce fruit for the finest wines.”- Peter Haywood
In addition to its elegant Zinfandels, Haywood Estate Winery produces, a classic Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, a Chardonnay, a Primitivo, a Rose and its latest addition an Italian style red wine appropriately named TERRA blended from grapes grown in different sections of the vineyard. The wines are approachable and pair with many styles of food. Their fruit flavors are forward to balance their moderate level of alcohol and the wines are aged in a combination of one to five year old American and French oak barrels intended to add structure without dominating the wines’ varietal character.
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25 E Napa St
Ste C
Sonoma, CA 95476
United States
- Regions
Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County - Red Varieties
Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc - White Varieties Chardonnay
- Established Date :
1980
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25 E Napa St
Ste C
Sonoma, CA 95476
United States
- Regions
Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County - Red Varieties
Zinfandel, Cabernet Franc - White Varieties Chardonnay