Diamond Mountain District
Robert Craig Winery owns 125 acres on Howell Mountain with 34 acres planted to vines and 22 acres on Mount Veeder with just 7 under vine. Vineyard neighbors include the Vineyardist, Checkerboard, and Reverie. The vineyard where grapes were sourced for the wine recently sent to 672 club members is named the Andrew Geoffrey Vineyard. Owned by Peter Thompson, the name is a combination of his children’s middle names. The vineyard is pure white volcanic ash which is unusual in this area as most local soils are sedimentary and contain fossilized marine material from an ancient seabed that was pushed up from the ocean floor over five million years ago.
CEO Elton Stone got his start in the world of fine wine by waiting tables and bartending in Bloomington, Indiana while he was a student at Indiana University. It was his first exposure to luxury wine, and after graduation in 1989 he worked with a wine distributor in Indianapolis and studied wine as a member of their “Fine Wine Specialist” team. He then worked with Robert Mondavi in Napa and Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma before buying into Robert Craig Winery in 2004. He is assisted by a team including cellar master Mack Gentry and direct-to-consumer team Scott Johnson, KC Denham, and Lisa Crean. Carlos Mendez manages the farming and estate grounds while Kiersten Bjorkman handles human resources and accounting. Chuck Spelman manages distribution, and the winemaker is Jason Price who graduated from University of California at Davis with a degree in fermentation science. Jason worked at a small winery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania before working at Checkerboard on Diamond Mountain; he joined Robert Craig Winery in 2015 and became director of winemaking in 2018.
Besides Robert Craig Winery 2019 Andrew Geoffrey Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon from Diamond Mountain District, the winery produces Mount Veeder Cabernet Sauvignon, Affinity Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Zinfandel, and Merlot. All wines can be purchased at the winery or from the winery website. https://robertcraigwine.com
