| Region of production: | Sonoma Coast AVA, Russian River Valley AVA, Anderson Valley AVA |
| Winery Location: | Sebastopol |
| Year Established: | 1993 |
Vineyard Holdings
- Pivot Vineyard (12 ha): Three acres under vine with five different clones of Pinot Noir.
- Haven Vineyard (4 ha): Five acres planted in 2001 at 1,200 feet in elevation, northwest of Occidental. Typically the last to ripen. Soils include shale, sandstone, greenstone, and Yorkville series.
Sourced Vineyards
- Platt Vineyard: Located on the 40-acre farm west of the Littorai estate. South-facing vineyard at 500 feet.
- Hirsch Vineyard: Littorai is the longest purchaser of Hirsch fruit, dating back to 1994. Current sourced blocks were planted in 1995 and 2001.
- Roman Vineyards: South-facing vineyard 2.5 miles southeast of Navarro.
- Savoy Vineyard: Planted in the early 1990s and the sole valley floor vineyard Littorai utilizes. Littorai is Savoy’s oldest client, purchasing this fruit since 1995.
- Cerise Vineyard: Sourced from a block planted in 1997 exclusively for Littorai. Steep, south-facing slope in a warmer portion of Anderson Valley but within the fog layer.
- One Acre Vineyard: The longest standing by-the-acre contract in California and used for Littorai’s first Pinot Noir in 1993. Northeast of Boonville at 1,600 feet elevation. Most blocks have been replanted due to phylloxera.
- Mays Canyon Vineyard: Porter Bass vineyard on the western edge of the Russian River Valley AVA. Sourced block planted in 1999 under Ted’s direction.
- A. Thieriot Vineyard: Southwest of Occidental and planted to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Littorai has farmed the site for over 10 years.
- Wendling Vineyard: Under development
Top Wines Produced
- The Haven (Sonoma Coast AVA)
- The Pivot (Sonoma Coast AVA)
- Platt Vineyard (Sonoma Coast AVA)
- A. Thieriot
- Mays Canyon (Russian River Valley AVA)
- Roman Vineyard (Anderson Valley AVA)
- Savoy Vineyard (Anderson Valley AVA)
- Cerise Vineyard (Anderson Valley AVA)
- One Acre Vineyard (Anderson Valley AVA)
Average Total Production
- 48,000 bottles
Summary
Littorai founder Ted Lemon was first exposed to the world of wine as a high school student studying abroad at the University of Dijon. After college, he went back to France to study winemaking and apprenticed with Domaines Dujac, Georges Roumier, and Bruno Clair. After returning to the US to work with Josh Jensen at Calera, he was invited back to Burgundy in 1982 to become the winemaker at Domaine Guy Roulot—becoming the first American to work as a winemaker and vineyard manager in Burgundy. Ted returned to the US in 1985 for a role at Chateau Woltner in Howell Mountain. He and his wife, Heidi, founded Littorai in 1993. In 2001, he began conversion to biodynamic farming on his estate vineyards. Today, all preparations are made by hand from the estate farm, and polyculture farming is incorporated when possible. Ted prefers to balance the vineyard for a homogenous ripening cycle, avoiding multiple harvests on the same site. As of 2015, 35% of the winery’s production was estate. Most vineyard sources are organically and biodynamically farmed. For its farming contracts, Littorai is the originator in California of the by-the-acre system, in which the farmer is paid for quality not quantity. A new winery with a 10,000-case production capacity was completed in 2008.
Style & Vinification Techniques
Estate vineyards are farmed biodynamically, and every step is taken to ensure vineyard expression from grape to bottle. The entire winemaking process is gravity flow, minimal new oak is used, and all wines are bottled without fining or filtration.
Producer Website: Littorai