CALISTOGA, Calif., Aug. 16,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Jayson Woodbridge, founder
and owner of Hundred Acre Wine Group, has acquired
Napa Valley's famed Kelly Fleming
Winery, a 286-acre estate in Simmons Canyon between Calistoga and St.
Helena on the east side of Napa
Valley facing almost due west.
"When I acquired this property in 1998, I had a vision for
creating an estate that would be worthy of this special volcanic
canyon terroir. I've seen my dream come true," Kelly Fleming said.
"I've left this estate vineyard as beautiful as I found it. It
has a tiny footprint, it's a memorable place to visit and celebrate
Cabernet Sauvignon. I look forward to the Woodbridge family
carrying on the legacy, bringing their masterful touch to the wines
they'll create here," Kelly added.
"Kelly started her vineyard with Jim
Barbour, Hundred Acre's viticulturist from the very
beginning 25 years ago and in my opinion still one of the best in
the world. Barbour Vineyards will be farming this land again for
us," said Woodbridge.
"Kelly smartly and very tastefully used Taylor Lombardo
Architects to design her cave, winery and hilltop residence. So
too, Hundred Acre is also busy using Taylor
Lombardo to redesign our ARK vineyard residence, the
Fortunate Son Winery at the Historic David Fulton Ranch on Fulton
Lane, St. Helena, the redesign of
the former Madrigal winery and residence to a new Fortunate Son
Winery on Highway 29, near Larkmead Lane and other projects. It's a
perfect fit for Hundred Acre. We are proud and privileged to have
acquired this property we have long admired, from Kelly,"
Woodbridge said.
The Fleming Wines estate 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 residence on an adjacent
knoll.
The Fleming property adjoins Hundred Acre's "Few and Far
Between" vineyard, a mere 5 acres of vineyard of a 115-acre total
property, now creating 17 acres of Hundred Acre vines total that
will be cultivated, farmed and picked to Hundred Acre's impeccable
standards. The two ranches combined will be approximately 400
acres.
"We look at every single vine in our vineyards. We pre-prune the
canes, then prune for extremely low tonnage, use specially made
organic composts, with minimal water usage always top of mind. We
build up the soil over the course of decades. When we pick,
we make multiple passes, sometimes up to seven passes of each
block, each pass fermented separately of course," added Woodbridge
in describing his meticulous attention to the details of the care
of the fruit and vines and naturally meticulous wine making Hundred
Acre is known for worldwide.
The winery facilities at the Fleming ranch are carved into the
hillside, much like Hundred Acre's "The Ring" cave winery. This
acquisition will allow for more barrel fermentations in the caves
which is a very space intensive process but central to Hundred
Acre's and Fortunate Son's micro fermentations, style and strict
pick regimen.
The Fleming property features a commercial kitchen with outdoor
fireplaces and entertainment areas. Guests will be welcomed
to the property starting in spring 2025 by invitation only.
Woodbridge said the first harvest from the formerly Kelly Fleming vineyards will be this fall for
Hundred Acre to be named as a vineyard designate in the future.
In July, he purchased Madrigal Vineyards. The 10-acre Madrigal
property, located between Calistoga and St.
Helena, consists of 8 acres of planted vineyards, a
production facility, appointment-only tasting room, a garden, and a
small private estate.
In 2020, Woodbridge purchased the historic David Fulton Ranch, one of the first vineyards
and wineries established in Napa
Valley in 1860 and the seventh house built in St. Helena. In 2022, he bought a historic
1870s era 18-acre vineyard at Calistoga's Larkmead Lane and the corner of
Highway 29, renamed "True Romance" vineyard (romance being an
anagram of his son Cameron's name).
About Kelly
Fleming
Kelly Fleming's current releases
are 2019 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon, 2021 Big Pour and 2023
Sauvignon Blanc. Her next release consists of a vertical 2014 -
2019 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 estate is a dramatically beautiful setting, with sloping
hills, oaks, olive trees and vistas into the distance. In 1999 I
planted Cabernet Sauvignon and in 2002 I released my first Cabernet
Sauvignon. In 2010 the winery building was completed.
Fleming's founding winemaker was Celia
Welch, followed by Rebecca
George, who made all the wines from 2013-2020. "Rebecca is
an exceptional winemaker and her professionalism and expertise
created our identity as a distinctive producer," Fleming says. "I'm
proud to have always had an all-female winemaking and management
team."
About Hundred Acre Wine Group
As the sole winemaker for Hundred Acre, Jayson Woodbridge has created some of the
world's most sought-after wines, producing 65 scores of 100 points
over the last 19 vintages, the most 100-point scores of any
wine. Jayson and his wife Helen Woodbridge are the
sole proprietors of Hundred Acre Wine Group.
In the past few years, Jayson expanded his vineyard holdings and
winemaking to include recently released Fortunate Son and Summer
Dreams, the latter marking his return to Burgundian varieties.
More information:
https://www.kellyflemingwines.com/
https://www.hundredacre.com/
https://summerdreamswines.com/
https://fortunatesonwines.com/
Contacts:
For Jayson Woodbridge: Sam Singer, 415/336-4949,
singer@singersf.com
For Kelly Fleming: Julie Ann Kodmur, 707/963-9632,
corking@julieannkodmur.com
Kelly Fleming downloadable photos:
https://www.kellyflemingwines.com/Downloads
Hundred Acre photos available upon request
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SOURCE Hundred Acre Wine Group