David Hirsch pioneered Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir, going on a hunch that the unique geology and climate would produce great wine. He was right. The Hirsch Vineyard, just above Fort Ross and a few miles northeast of where the Russian River spills into the Pacific, gained a reputation for producing distinct, high quality Pinot. For the first 20 years David was solely a farmer, selling his fruit to Sonoma's top names, including Kistler and Williams Selyem. But ultimately he decided that the best way to show the true expression of his terroir was to make his own wine, which he started doing in 2002. Since then the team at Hirsch and a few top winemakers have worked together to craft some of the very best Pinot Noir made in Sonoma, or anywhere in the U.S.

What elevates Hirsch Pinot Noir above many of it's regional neighbors is a combination of "tied to the land" farming integrity and true respect for the best ideas and wines both in California and throughout the world. David Hirsch is a grower, and just like the very best vignerons anywhere he is concerned with the vineyard and its complex and interdependent geology, biology and agronomy.

But winemaking matters too, and the Hirsch team has hired some of California’s most talented winemakers over the years to help transfer this terroir into the glass. Now that baton has been handed to none other than Jasmine Hirsch, David’s daughter.

Jasmine grew up in the vineyards. She has spent countless hours with her father and the vineyard management team over the years, learning the ins and outs of farming and gaining first hand knowledge of the relationship between the soil, the plants and the wine. This sort of intergenerational understanding of the vines is a key to success of top estates in Europe, and a rare gift here in California.

Almost everyone who is even tangentially involved in the wine industry knows Jasmine. Since 2008 she has been the director of Sales and Marketing for Hirsch, traveling tirelessly all over the world to promote the wines. In 2015 she took over as GM of Hirsch Vineyards, and in 2019 she assumed the role of head winemaker. Jasmine is one of the smartest and hardest working people in the wine world, and We're blessed to count her as a friend.

What importer Skurnik Wines has to say about this wine...

Lying adjacent to the San Andreas Fault on the extreme western Sonoma Coast, Hirsch Vineyards is comprised of 72 acres, divided into 67 individual farming blocks.This degree of fragmentation is unmatched even by the famously subdivided vineyards of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. Due to the site’s proximity to the Pacific Ocean and the San Andreas Fault, the vineyard has a fearsome diversity of soils, aspects, elevations and microclimates. This complexity defines our farming and winemaking practices: each block was individually developed and is now farmed, harvested and vinified separately.

The West Ridge is a series of hilltop vineyard blocks, spread along the main ridge of Hirsch like vertebrae along a spine. Altogether the West Ridge covers 26 acres, divided into 24 farming blocks. The West Ridge Pinot Noir is a selection of the most exceptional barrels from six of the finest and oldest blocks on West Ridge. These are planted to the heritage pinot noir selections of Swan, Mount Eden and Pommard-Wädenswil. The West Ridge is produced 100% from the single vineyard of Hirsch.