CRONIN VINEYARDS - scmwine/Wineries GitHub Wiki
| Owners | Duane and Nancy Cronin |
|---|---|
| Winemaker | |
| Address | 11 Old La Honda Road, Woodside, CA 94062 |
| Phone | |
| Web Site | |
| First Vintage | 1980 |
| Last Vintage | 2000 |
Duane Croninbegan making wine at his Woodside home in 1976. He planted a 1/3 acre vineyard in his garden and began sourcing grapes from around the area - Napa, Sonoma and Monterey as well as the Santa Cruz Mountains. He made highly regarded Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon as well as some other blends. The vineyard was farmed organically, as were many of their fruit sources, though the Cronins never bothered to get official organic certification, considering the cost and paperwork involved to be excessive.
Cronin's white wines were barrel fermented and aged on the lees for about eight months, with occasional stirring. The reds were made in traditional open top fermenters, with hand punch-down, then aged in a combination of French and American oak. Annual production was around 2000 cases; in addition he was one of the winemakers for Orchard Hills.
Duane retired from winemaking after the 2000 vintage due to ill health, though he still poured at passport weekend events. He refused to have a web site or email address, claiming he had enough of that at work.
Chardonnay
Cronin came to prominence in the early 1980s when the Conoisseurs Guide (then the definitive guide to Californian wines) gave the Chardonnays a great write up. They had a reputation for ageing very well; it was quite common for his current release to be 5 years old. He sourced fruit from various vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains and beyond, including the Stuhlmuller Vineyard (Alexander Valley, Sonoma), Ventana Vineyard (Monterey County), Sleepy Hollow Vineyard (Santa Lucia Highlands) and Napa.
Pinot Noir
As with the Chardonnay, Cronin sourced fruit from around the area, notably Ventana Vineyard (Monterey County) and the Peter Martin Ray vineyard, as well as the San Ysidro District.
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cronin made two main Cabernets; one from Santa Cruz Mountains fruit and another called Concerto from the Robinson vineyard in Napa's Stags Leap District
Others
Cronin occasionally made a Merlot from fruit grown in the San Ysidro District, as well as some Zinfandel.