CALISTOGA, California., 16 August 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Jayson Woodbridge, founder and owner of Hundred Acre Wine Group, has Napa Valley famous Kelly Fleming Winery, a 286-hectare estate in Simmons Canyon between Calistoga And Saint Helena on the east side of Napa Valley almost exactly facing west.
“When I purchased this property in 1998, I had a vision to create a property worthy of this special volcanic canyon terroir. My dream has come true,” Kelly Fleming said.
“I left this vineyard as beautiful as I found it. It has a tiny footprint but is an unforgettable place to visit and celebrate Cabernet Sauvignon. I look forward to the Woodbridge family continuing the legacy and adding their masterful touch to the wines they make here,” added Kelly.
“Kelly started her vineyard with Jim Barbour“Barbour Vineyards has been the winemaker of Hundred Acre since its inception 25 years ago and in my opinion still one of the best in the world. Barbour Vineyards will farm this land for us again,” said Woodbridge.
“Kelly has cleverly and very tastefully commissioned Taylor Lombardo Architects to design her cave, winery and hilltop residence. Hundred Acre is also busy Taylor Lombardo to redesign our ARK vineyard home, Fortunate Son Winery at the Historic David Fulton Ranch on Fulton Lane, Saint Helenathe redevelopment of the former Madrigal winery and residence into a new Fortunate Son winery on Highway 29, near Larkmead Lane and other projects. It is a perfect fit with Hundred Acre. We are proud and honored to have acquired this property that we have long admired from Kelly,” said Woodbridge.
Fleming Wines includes 12 acres of vineyards, a 5,000 sq ft stone winery, a 7,000 sq ft natural rock cave, a commercial kitchen and a classic stone house on an adjacent hill.
The Fleming property borders Hundred Acre’s “Few and Far Between” vineyard, just 5 acres of vineyard from a 115 acre property, making a total of 17 acres of Hundred Acre vines, grown, managed and harvested to Hundred Acre’s impeccable standards. The two ranches combined will be approximately 400 acres in size.
“We look at every single vine in our vineyards. We pre-prune the vines, then for extremely low tonnage, use specially made organic compost, always making sure to use minimal water. We build the soil over the course of decades. When we harvest, we make multiple passes, sometimes up to seven passes per block, with each pass naturally fermented separately,” Woodbridge added, describing his meticulous attention to the details of caring for the fruit and vines and the naturally careful winemaking for which Hundred Acre is known worldwide.
Fleming Ranch’s winery facilities are carved into the hillside, similar to Hundred Acre’s “The Ring” cave winery. This acquisition allows for more barrel fermentations in the caves, which is a very space-intensive process but is central to Hundred Acre and Fortunate Son’s microfermentations, style and strict harvest regime.
The Fleming estate features a commercial kitchen with outdoor fireplaces and entertaining areas. Guests will be welcomed to the estate by invitation only starting in spring 2025.
Woodbridge said the first harvest from the former Kelly Fleming The vineyards will open this fall so that Hundred Acre can be named as a vineyard in the future.
In July he bought Madrigal Vineyards. The 10-hectare Madrigal estate is located between Calistoga And Saint Helenaconsists of 8 acres of planted vineyards, a production facility, a tasting room accessible by appointment only, a garden and a small private estate.
In 2020, Woodbridge purchased the historic David Fulton Ranchone of the first vineyards and wineries in Napa Valley in 1860 and the seventh house built in Saint HelenaIn 2022 he bought a historic 18-hectare vineyard dating back to the 1870s in Calistoga’s Larkmead Lane and Highway 29, renamed True Romance Vineyard (Romance being an anagram of his son Cameron’s name).
To Kelly Fleming
Kelly Fleming The current releases are 2019 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2021 Big Pour and 2023 Sauvignon Blanc. Their next release consists of a 2014 – 2019 vertical vintage of Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2019 The Bear & The Bee Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2023 Queen Bee, a proprietary Reserve Sauvignon Blanc. The wines are available on the website.
“The property offers breathtaking beauty with rolling hills, oaks, olive trees and distant views. I planted Cabernet Sauvignon in 1999 and released my first Cabernet Sauvignon in 2002. The winery building was completed in 2010.
Fleming’s first winemaker was Celia Welchfollowed by Rebecca Georgewho made all the wines from 2013 to 2020. “Rebecca is an exceptional winemaker and her professionalism and expertise have created our identity as a distinctive producer,” says Fleming. “I am proud that we have always had an all-female winemaking and management team.”
About Hundred Acre Wine Group
As the sole winemaker of Hundred Acre Jayson Woodbridge has created some of the most sought-after wines in the world, achieving 100-point ratings 65 times in the last 19 vintages, more than any other wine. Jayson and his wife Helen Woodbridge are the sole owners of the Hundred Acre Wine Group.
In recent years, Jayson has expanded his vineyards and winemaking with the recently released wines “Fortunate Son” and “Summer Dreams,” the latter marking his return to Burgundian varieties.
Further information:
https://www.kellyflemingwines.com/
https://www.hundredacre.com/
https://summerdreamswines.com/
https://fortunatesonwines.com/
Contacts:
For Jayson Woodbridge: Sam Singer415/336-4949, (email protected)
For Kelly Fleming: Julie Ann Kodmur707/963-9632, (email protected)
Kelly Fleming Downloadable photos: https://www.kellyflemingwines.com/Downloads
Hundred Acre photos available upon request
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