Calluna Vineyards was founded by David Jeffrey in 2001.

About David Jeffrey
Mr. Jeffrey left the NY area and a more typical career in finance to pursue a long held dream of establishing a vineyard in California.  This dream was a by-product of 20 years of wine collecting and study of the wines of France and California.  Mr. Jeffrey spent the next 3 1/2 years in Fresno State’s Enology Program and worked for 3 months in Bordeaux for the 2003 harvest.  During and after that time, he was seeking the property which would meet his goals for the vineyard site.

About Calluna Vineyards
Calluna Vineyards was founded in 2004 as the culmination of the search for that vineyard site.  Calluna is an 80 acre parcel in the Chalk Hill appellation of Sonoma County, near Healdsburg.  12 acres are planted to the traditional varietals of Bordeaux.   

“My goal for Calluna is to make wines which have the strength of great Bordeaux, but with the attributes of our Sonoma terroir.  This means that our wines are meant to have the intensity, balance and longevity inherent in Bordeaux wines, but they should have an additional richness and roundness which is typical of the best Napa and Sonoma wines.  I am specifically trying to avoid the excesses which detract from many California wines.”

Calluna’s vineyards are ideally situated to achieve this goal:  The Chalk Hill appellation is in a moderate, transitional climate between the cool Russian River appellation and the warmer Alexander and Napa valleys.  We have demonstrated that our fruit can reach full phenolic ripeness – all herbaceous, vegetal tones are gone – without excess sugar development.  This allows us to make the wine in a natural way, without manipulation in the winery. Calluna Vineyards is currently producing approximately 1,500 cases of wine annually.

“Calluna” is the botanical name for the plant “heather.”