Landmark Vineyards may have been founded in the Windsor area of Sonoma County in 1974, but its roots stretch all the way back to 1838 and America’s heartland. It was in Grand Detour, Illinois of that year that John Deere invented the steel plow – an event that virtually revolutionized the business of agriculture. In 1989, John Deere’s great great granddaughter, Damaris Deere Ford, following the family tradition in agriculture, relocated Landmark Vineyards from Windsor, a town that was slowly being smothered by urban sprawl to a spectacular piece of land at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain in the Sonoma Valley. Damaris believed that Landmark could be a small jewel of a winery and built a Spanish mission style winery equipped with state-of-the-art winemaking equipment capable of producing 20,000 cases of wine per year. With the help of renowned Landscape architect, Morgan Wheelock, she developed the 20-acre site into a lush, gorgeously landscaped wine estate.

Damaris convinced her son, Michael Deere Colhoun and his wife Mary to move from the east coast and join her as partners in the winery. Once settled, the Colhouns set in motion a plan that would truly make the winery a landmark. In 1993, they hired world-renowned consulting enologist Helen Turley to work with winemaker, Eric Stern. This collaboration led to some excellent winemaking. Under Eric’s direction, Landmark’s wines have consistently garnered rave reviews from the wine writers.

Landmark’s mission is “to make great wines that enhance the joy of life.” Quality and flavor begin in the vineyards. In addition to the estate vineyard, Landmark sources grapes from a range of different vineyards and those selected are among the finest in the highly diverse microclimates of California’s winegrowing regions. While the variation of the wines from vintage to vintage can be dramatic or subtle, the crafting of each year’s wine is guided by a single overriding philosophy at Landmark: “less is more.” According to Winemaker, Eric Stern, “The less the wine is manipulated, the more flavors and aromas remain to enjoy.”

Learn more at www.landmarkwine.com.