Ben and Kelly vanZutphen, devoted to their four daughters, their Healdsburg community, farming, and, of course, food and wine, have a long history of grape growing in Sonoma County and Napa Valley and are proud that some of the region’s most coveted wine brands have been purchasing their fruit for over 20 years.

It was 2009 when they decided to move their family out of town into the center of Chardonnay vineyards, where the Dry Creek and the Russian River Valleys meet. In the early years, they sold all the fruit and concentrated on settling in and beginning what will eventually be a small working farm. Making wine of their own couldn’t have been further from their minds, but the harvest of 2015 set them on a new course.

With vineyards just a stone’s throw from their front porch, the family decided to join in the harvest ritual by setting off at first light to hand-pick perfect bunches of Chardonnay grapes, piling them gently into buckets – one for each member of the family. The first vintage of van Z Vineyards® Estate Chardonnay was handcrafted from that fruit, from what is now known as the Magnolia Farms vineyard – a nod to the place they call home. A year later, Ben and Kelly took the same approach with their Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard in St. Helena, located in the Napa Valley, and the van Z Vineyards Estate Cabernet Sauvignon was born.

The wines were initially produced to enjoy with family and friends. Ben and Kelly were surprised and humbled when folks wanted to share it with their family and friends. Eventually, the idea of making it available on a (somewhat) larger scale took root. With under 500 cases produced annually, van Z is and will always be an extremely limited-production labor of love – one that they hope brings you as much joy and togetherness as it has brought to them and the ones they love the most.

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