Bedrock Wine Co.
Morgan Twain-Peterson pours a field blend off 35 acres planted in 1888, in a house built two years before that. Nearly thirty varieties share the vineyard, and he can tell you why.21
Why go
Phylloxera reached California in 1873 and wiped out the 1854 planting on this site, along with every other vineyard in the state.2 What went back in the ground in 1888 was a mixture, and Twain-Peterson's point is that the mixture was on purpose: growers were following state-backed advice about which grapes complemented each other.2 The vines are head-trained and pruned goblet-style, and they carry zinfandel, alicante bouschet, mourvedre, carignane, tempranillo and petite sirah alongside peloursin, mondeuse, negrette and serine.2 He farms it with his father, Joel Peterson of Ravenswood.2 Bedrock ran on a mailing list for years, and Twain-Peterson only opened a tasting room because the General Joseph Hooker House on the Sonoma square came up for lease.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Bedrock Vineyard bottling if it is pouring. That is the 1888 planting in a glass.2
- Avoid: turning up unannounced. Visits are by appointment and the house is small.1
What locals & experts say
- Esther Mobley, San Francisco Chronicle Senior Wine Critic (17 July 2018):
The chance, now, to taste these wines in a comfortable, guided setting — while getting a fascinating glimpse into Sonoma County's rich history — makes the Hooker House experience the best new place to taste in downtown Sonoma.
On the wines:Across the board, the Bedrock wines are energetic and balanced, showing finesse even when they embrace concentration.
1 - Morgan Twain-Peterson, on why the house is decorated the way it is:
It was important to keep this place like a museum.
1
Good to know
- The visit runs a glass of bubbly, a primer on the house, then five wines seated with light snacks, as Mobley described it in 2018. No current fee is published anywhere I could read.1
- General Joseph Hooker came to Sonoma with William Tecumseh Sherman and tried to farm here. Twain-Peterson's own summary of him is
loud, cantankerous and pretty disrespectful of his fellow generals.
1 - The second estate site is Evangelho Vineyard, in Contra Costa County, not Sonoma.1
Verdict
should-visit — Two things here you can check yourself. The man pouring is a Master of Wine and a former Chronicle Winemaker of the Year, and he farms the 1888 vineyard with his father, Joel Peterson of Ravenswood. Esther Mobley called the Hooker House the best new place to taste in downtown Sonoma. Held below must-visit because Mobley wrote that eight years ago, and I could not find a current format or a fee anywhere.