J Vineyards & Winery
Judy Jordan left her father's winery at twenty-five to make sparkling wine here in 1986. Nicole Hitchcock has made it since 2015, and Wine Enthusiast named her Winemaker of the Year in 2022.21
Why go
Jordan had a Stanford earth sciences degree and a father who had founded Jordan Winery in Alexander Valley in 1972.2 She built her own sparkling house, bought more vineyards and held them through the 2008 crash, then sold the winery and more than 300 acres across nine vineyards to E&J Gallo in March 2015.2 Her brother John still runs Jordan.2
Hitchcock is the fourth head winemaker here. She grew up on the central coast, came to wine through restaurants with serious lists, took a viticulture and enology degree at UC Davis in 2001, worked harvests in Napa and Australia, joined Gallo in 2002 and took over at J in 2015.1 She and her team look after six sustainably farmed estate vineyards, five in the Russian River Valley and one on the West Sonoma Coast.1 In 2022 she ran Shifting the Lens, putting three BIPOC chefs into two-week residencies here.1
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Bubble Room, $175 a head or $150 for club members, two hours of a multi-course pairing menu that changes every six to eight weeks.3
- Order: the Legacy Lounge at $50 for five small-lot wines seated, with the choice of a sparkling or a varietal flight.3
- Order: Spritz on the Terrace between July and September, $40 or $25 for members, a Cuvée 20 spritz and two more wines with warm house-made popcorn.3
- Avoid: springing an allergy on the Bubble Room. They ask for 48 hours' notice.3
What locals & experts say
- Nicole Hitchcock, in Wine Enthusiast's Winemaker of the Year citation (20 October 2022):
It's all about finding a balance of the inherent beauty and complexity of wine with the artistry and skill you can bring to enhance it.
1 - Hitchcock on the field she came into:
When I started out in winemaking, this was still a very male-dominated field. I didn't work with many women. I was fortunate to find opportunities, mentors and leaders that guided me in finding my voice.
1 - Judy Jordan, on selling:
Owning J was an entrepreneur's dream and I could not be more proud of and grateful to the people, the wines and the devoted following that made it what it is today.
2
Good to know
- Thursday to Monday, 11am to 4pm, booked on Tock.3
- The $35 Signature Tasting takes walk-ins and is a standing hour indoors with no food.3
- The charcuterie-style board costs $30, or $25 for club members, as an add-on to the Legacy Lounge.3
- The 2022 award is the winemaker's, not the winery's. Wine Enthusiast gave it to Nicole Hitchcock.1
Verdict
should-visit — Judy Jordan was twenty-five when she walked away from her father's Alexander Valley winery to make sparkling wine of her own, held the vineyards through 2008, and sold the lot to Gallo in March 2015. Her successor in the cellar took Wine Enthusiast's top winemaking honour in 2022, which is the person's award and not the building's. The reason to book is the Bubble Room: $175 for a multi-course pairing menu that turns over every six to eight weeks, which is a kitchen actually cooking rather than putting cheese on a board. Her team looks after six sustainably farmed estate vineyards, and one of them sits out on the West Sonoma Coast. Nobody has published a note on a specific bottle.