Wine Industry Notables Gather to Commemorate Winery's Achievements

HEALDSBURG, Calif., June 30 /PRNewswire/ -- On Saturday, June 27 at the home of winery owner, Tom Klein, friends, family and wine industry dignitaries gathered to celebrate Rodney Strong Vineyards' golden anniversary. Strong started the business in 1959 by buying and blending wine that he and his wife, Charlotte then sold. Rod, who passed away in 2006, was one of the first to plant pinot noir in Russian River Valley in the late 1960s, the first to vineyard designate a Sonoma County cabernet sauvignon with the 1974 vintage of Alexander's Crown and the first to produce and label a chardonnay from Chalk Hill in 1977. Chalk Hill became an American Viticultural Area in 1983.

Neighboring wineries, long-time Sonoma County grape growers and various industry trade representatives not only joined to toast 50 years of Rodney Strong Vineyards, but 30 years of Rick Sayre at the winemaking helm and 20 years of Klein family ownership. Two of Sonoma County's premiere chef/restaurant owners, Jeff Mall from Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar in Healdsburg and Josh Silvers from Santa Rosa's Syrah Bistro, provided lunch. In a nod to the future of Rodney Strong, the winery chose to serve wines from its small lot winemaking facility, where they work with consulting winemaker, David Ramey.

"As a former Broadway dancer, Rod was a showman," noted Tom Klein. "His talent served Sonoma County very well. A vintner and ambassador, Rod traveled the country preaching the virtues of Sonoma County and Sonoma County wines, similar to what Robert Mondavi did for Napa."

Tom and Rick lead that charge today; Tom with the vision of increasing Sonoma County's presence as a leading quality wine region and by supplying great vineyards and winemaking tools and Rick by crafting the Rodney Strong wines to meet that goal. In a toast to the winery, David Ramey acknowledged that, "Tom has two of Sonoma County's best vineyards in Rockaway and Brother's Ridge. His dedication to quality here is why I enjoy and continue to work with the winery."

In addition, Rodney Strong Vineyards was an early adopter of sustainable farming and Fish Friendly Farming and installed one of the wine industry's largest solar power systems in 2003. Those moves led to the winery's first Green Power Award in 2004 and to their current commitment to become carbon neutral in 2009.

The winery will continue to celebrate throughout the year in their tasting room, at their 19th Annual Summer Concert Series, with the release of their first cookbook in partnership with Zin Restaurant & Wine Bar and Syrah Bistro, in New York City at a James Beard House dinner with those two restaurants, as well as numerous events at the winery and at other winery dinners around the country.

Rodney Strong Vineyards 50 Year Timeline:

    1959 Winery established
    1965 Rod first to plant chardonnay in Chalk Hill
    1968 Rod plants pinot noir in Russian River Valley
    1970 Rod breaks ground on winery
    1974 vintage, first release of Alexander's Crown, Sonoma County's first
    single vineyard cabernet sauvignon
    1977 Winery releases first Chalk Hill chardonnay
    1979 Rick Sayre hired as winemaker
    1983 Chalk Hill appellation established
    1989 Tom Klein and his family buys Rodney Strong Vineyards
    1996 vintage, first release of Symmetry
    2003 Solar panels installed
    2004 Winery receives Green Power Award and Green Winery Award
    2005 Awarded Fish Friendly Farming certification
    2005 Began construction of winery within a winery
    2005 vintage, first release of Rockaway cabernet sauvignon
    2006 vintage, first release of Brothers' Ridge cabernet sauvignon
    2009 Winery becomes carbon neutral

Rodney Strong Vineyards is dedicated to crafting world-class wines that capture the essence of Sonoma County. Rodney Strong grows and produces wines exclusively from four of Sonoma County's finest appellations - Alexander Valley, Russian River Valley, Chalk Hill and Sonoma Coast. The winery was founded in 1959 by Sonoma County wine pioneer Rodney D. Strong as the 13th bonded winery in the county. Today, the winery is privately owned by the Klein family, a fourth generation California agricultural family.

SOURCE Rodney Strong Vineyards

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http://www.rodneystrong.com