Site to expand Wentworth wine production capacity to 3,000 cases per year
August 24th – Today, Wentworth Vineyards, announced the acquisition of Abel Vineyard in the Anderson Valley American Viticultural Area (AVA). With the acquisition, Wentworth Vineyards Estate Holdings now total 80 acres with 25+ planted acres across three sites in the Anderson Valley and Mendocino Ridge AVAs. The business plans to expand production to 3,000 cases of Estate Grown Pinot Noir and Chardonnay within the next three years to meet increased domestic distribution demand and enter new export markets.
Wentworth Vineyards produces terroir-driven, organically farmed and Estate Grown wines. The business began in 2014 when Mark X. Wentworth bought raw land in the Mendocino Ridge AVA to plant Wentworth Vineyard and has expanded since with new planted blocks in the Mendocino Ridge as well as at Nash Mill Vineyard in the Deep End (Western portion) of the Anderson Valley.
“Abel is an excellent late-ripening Deep End Anderson Valley site which, perfectly compliments our other coastally-influenced, cool-climate vineyards and significantly expands our production capacity” said Owner-Winemaker, Mark X. Wentworth. “We will maintain our business’s commitment to Estate Grown wines made from grapes grown near the Mendocino Coast and scale-up to meet increasing demand for the wines we produce.”
Originally planted in 1997, Abel is located just 11 miles from the Pacific Ocean and is home to diverse Pinot Noir massal selections spread across 11 planted acres, many of which trace their biological origins to world-renowned historic vineyards in Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. Abel has been a vineyard designate source for well-known California producers including Copain, Dupuis, and Lioco.
Wentworth Vineyards is looking forward to adding Abel Pinot Noir to the range of Estate vineyard designate WENTWORTH wines as well as expanding production of the declassified (though Estate Grown) Anderson Valley Pinot Noir bottling.
Wentworth plans to plant 3 acres of Chardonnay and an acre of Aligote at Abel over the next two years and will begin to farm the site organically following completion of the 2023 harvest. The business will sell a portion of the grapes from Abel in 2024, and 2025 to select producers for production of vineyard designate bottlings.
