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Rodney Strong Vineyards

History

Explore Over 60 Years of Winemaking

What started with Rod’s vision over 60 years segued to an almost four-decade long career of Winemaker Emeritus Rick Sayre at Rodney Strong. Rick passed the baton in 2018 to current Director of Winemaking Justin Seidenfeld, who today leads the passionate winemaking team that creates critically acclaimed wines vintage after vintage with an eye towards the future. That future is led by innovative new products like ROWEN Wine Company, the 15-year passion project on our remote and rugged Cooley Ranch Vineyard.

For over 30 years, RSWE has flourished under the leadership of the Klein Family, 4th generation California farmers. The Klein family is committed to protecting and preserving the environment in both the vineyards and at the winery through sustainable farming and winemaking.

The history of Rodney Strong Vineyards has roots that stretch back more than 100 years; a tale of families in pursuit of an abiding passion: wine.

Charlottes Leaves
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Rodney Strong Grapes Sauvignon Blanc 2017-5987_edited
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1904
River West Vineyard Planted

Sonoma County settlers first plant the River West Vineyard, just south of Healdsburg where our winery is located today.

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1906
Klein Family Moves to San Francisco

Proprietor Tom Klein’s great-grandfather relocates from New York City to San Francisco with his three sons. They struggle after the historic 1906 Earthquake, which destroyed their home and all their possessions. The boys are placed in an orphanage. After graduation, the boys enlist in the U.S. Navy to serve in WW1.

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1927
Rod Strong Born

Winery Founder Rodney D. Strong is born in 1927 in Camas, Washington. He is a Renaissance man from an early age. In addition to being a three-sport athlete, musician, and senior class president, Rod is a dancing prodigy.

A young Rod Strong holds a dance pose while wearing dance clothes in front of a white backdrop

1946
Rod Returns from Dancing in Paris

After a brief stint in the Navy at the end of WW2, Rod leaves for New York City, where he has the great fortune of studying at the American School of Ballet under two of the greatest figures in the history of dance: George Balanchine and Martha Graham. Soon, Rod is dancing on Broadway, and, a few years later, producing shows at The Lido in Paris, where he falls in love with fine wine.

The original building and tasting room for Windsor Vineyards - a green building with stairs leading up to the tasting room

1959
Winery Established

Rod retires from dancing, marries his dance partner Charlotte Ann Winson, and begins his new career in winemaking. “I knew I couldn’t be an old dancer,” he would say, “but I could be an old winemaker.”

After searching California and meeting with UC Davis scientists, Rod and Charlotte settle on Sonoma County due to its world class quality and unmatched diversity of the wines grown here.

Rod Strong stands over a bin of recently harvest white wine grapes evaluating them in the middle of a vineyard in the afternoon

1962
Rod buys vineyard that would become First Chardonnay in Chalk Hill

Rod buys vineyards in Windsor with 159 acres of “mixed” grapes. He eventually replants most to Chardonnay−the first Chardonnay vines in what would later become the celebrated Chalk Hill AVA.

Rod Strong smiles while standing in between rows of vineyards with more rolling vineyards behind him

1968
Rod Plants Pinot Noir in Russian River Valley

Using the latest climate data from UC Davis, Rod purchases and plants several of the best Pinot Noir vineyards, as well as some of the first, in the Russian River Valley− vineyards we still farm today.

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1970
Winery Built in Russian River Valley

Rod breaks ground on a new winery near the original River West Vineyard. Based on the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, the winery is innovative and cutting edge in design, in the shape of a cross, with each wing providing a function, from fermentation, to racking, to barrel storage, with the Tasting Room perched above.

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1976
First Release of Alexander’s Crown Cabernet Sauvignon

A watershed year in the history of wine, it was the year of the Judgementof Paris that thrust California vineyards and wines onto the world stage. 

Rodney Strong releases the 1974 Alexander’s Crown, Sonoma County’s first single vineyard designate Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine catches the eye of young wine critic Robert Parker, who rates it above all five Bordeaux First Growths in his very first Wine Advocate newsletter, where he declares it “…one of the finest cabernets ever made in California. If you can find it, consider yourself lucky.”

Winemaking Emeritus Rick Sayre and Rod Strong smile in front of a tall wine cask

1979
Rick Sayre Comes Aboard as Winemaker

Rod takes a step back from the demanding daily activities of winemaking and chooses Rick Sayre as the new winemaker for Rodney Strong Vineyards.

Tom Klein completes his Stanford MBA and begins working for international management consulting firm McKinsey & Company. His team is hired to evaluate the potential of a well-known Sonoma County winery−Rodney Strong Vineyards. During this time Tom Klein meets Rod Strong and Rick Sayre

A man cups his hands in rocky red dirt while some spills out onto the ground

1983-1984
Chalk Hill, Russian River Valley & Alexander Valley Appellations Established

In efforts spearheaded by Rod himself, the Chalk Hill region, Russian River Valley, and Alexander Valley are designated as official American Viticultural Areas (AVAs). 

In 1989 the Klein family stands smiling in a large group on a dark green lawn

1989
The Klein Family Purchases Rodney Strong Vineyards

The Klein Family purchases Rodney Strong Vineyards. Tom realizes that he truly loves the wine business and decides to combine this love with his professional training. 

Over the next decade, the Klein Family makes significant investments in innovation in the cellar, including the purchase of fermentation tanks, state-of-the-art wine presses, custom barrel equipment, and a 100,000 square foot temperature-controlled barrel aging building. 

Rows of tall stainless steel fermentation tanks amidst various winemaking equipment and wine barrels

1998-2000
New Winemaking Equipment & Barrel House Established

Rodney Strong Vineyards continues to stay at the forefront of winemaking innovation, adding whole-cluster presses and rotary fermenters in 1998. The following year, the Barrel House is completed. 

The investment in the winery dramatically improves quality, consumer popularity, and media attention. 

In his relentless pursuit of crafting world-class wines, Tom conceives the iconic Symmetry, a Bordeaux-style red blend that garners wide acclaim. 

Winegrower Doug McIlroy smiles while standing in a vineyard in spring with bare vines and thick grass and mustard growing between the rows

2001
Director of Winegrowing Doug McIlroy Hired

​The Klein Family acquires seven new vineyards throughout the Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, and Sonoma Coast appellations. 

Requiring careful viticulture stewardship, the winery hires veteran winegrower Doug McIlroy as Director of Winegrowing. 

A wide view of the solar panels on the roof of the cellar at Rodney Strong while the sun sets in the sky in the distance

2003
Solar Panels Installed

The Klein Family implements a number of practices that define the winery in the 21st century, beginning with the largest solar array of any winery in the world. 

To protect and preserve the environment, the winery formalizes its commitment to Sustainability, becoming a Fish Friendly Farming grape-grower and earning many Green Business Awards. 

A row of tall stainless steel fermentation tanks next to winemaking equipment

2005
Small Lot Artisan Cellar Created

Tom guides the winery to craft small-lot wines from isolated blocks of their very best vineyards in the newly created Artisan Cellar. Tom hires winemaking consultant David Ramey to join in the pursuit of crafting world-class wines. 

A single bottle of single vineyard Cabernet against a shadowed red background

2008
First Release of Rockaway Cabernet Sauvignon

The first vintage release of Rockaway Cabernet Sauvignon sets a new standard for hillside single vineyards in the Alexander Valley. 

Winemaking Emeritus Rick Sayre holds up a glass of wine to evaluate while standing amidst wine barrels

2009
A Year of Milestones

A year of milestones with the winery celebrating it’s 50th anniversary, Rick Sayre’s 30th year as winemaker, and the Klein Family’s 20th year as proprietors of Rodney Strong Vineyards. 

That same year, Rodney Strong becomes the first carbon neutral winery in Sonoma County. 

Rodney Strong Winemaking & Winegrowing team smile with Proprietor, Tom Klein, while standing in a lush green vineyard with hills and mountains in the shadows in the background

2010
Winemaking Team Grows

The team expands to include winemakers Greg Morthole and Justin Seidenfeld, and viticulturalist Ryan Decker. Rodney Strong adds another stand-out release to its list of hillside single vineyard Cabernets, the Brother’s Ridge. 

American Winery of the Year

2014
Rodney Strong Vineyards Named Wine Enthusiast Winery of the Year

Rodney Strong Vineyards is named Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s “American Winery of the Year”, recognizing almost a half century of leadership, innovation, and commitment to quality Sonoma County wines. 

Read the full write up from the Wine Enthusiast.

Winemaking Emeritus, Rick Sayre, smiles while looking to the distance with a glass of red wine and green vineyards and brown hills in the background

2019
Rick Sayre - Winemaker Emeritus

Rick Sayre is honored as Winemaker Emeritus, and Justin Seidenfeld is named Director of Winemaking. Justin becomes only the 3rd head winemaker in the 60-year history of Rodney Strong Vineyards. 

The back of a man in a hat walking down a row of vines during harvest holding a bin of grapes

Going Forward
Continuing Our Legacy

COMMITTED TO COMMUNITY SINCE 1959 Rodney Strong is a family of passionate people committed to crafting premium wines, great experiences and delivering a vision for sustainability in Sonoma County. We are united by our passion for wine and the belief that nothing brings people together better than sharing a great bottle of Rodney Strong wine.

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Historical photograph of Klein Family
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A young Rod Strong holds a dance pose while wearing dance clothes in front of a white backdrop
The original building and tasting room for Windsor Vineyards - a green building with stairs leading up to the tasting room
Rod Strong stands over a bin of recently harvest white wine grapes evaluating them in the middle of a vineyard in the afternoon
Rod Strong smiles while standing in between rows of vineyards with more rolling vineyards behind him
sqhistory-1970
sqhistory-1974
Winemaking Emeritus Rick Sayre and Rod Strong smile in front of a tall wine cask
A man cups his hands in rocky red dirt while some spills out onto the ground
In 1989 the Klein family stands smiling in a large group on a dark green lawn
New winemaking equipment
Winegrower Doug McIlroy smiles while standing in a vineyard in spring with bare vines and thick grass and mustard growing between the rows
A wide view of the solar panels on the roof of the cellar at Rodney Strong while the sun sets in the sky in the distance
New Fermentation Tanks
A single bottle of single vineyard Cabernet against a shadowed red background
sqhistory-2009
Rodney Strong Winemaking & Winegrowing team smile with Proprietor, Tom Klein, while standing in a lush green vineyard with hills and mountains in the shadows in the background
American Winery of the Year
Winemaking Emeritus, Rick Sayre, smiles while looking to the distance with green vineyards and brown hills in the background
The back of a man in a hat walking down a row of vines during harvest holding a bin of grapes

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