Founder Fred Peterson began his winegrowing career 45 years ago with
a vineyard apprenticeship in Mendocino County. After graduating UC
Davis, and managing other vineyards and wineries, Fred moved to Dry
Creek Valley in 1983 to plant his own vineyards, and Peterson Winery was
established in 1987. The Peterson approach is to capture the essence of
vintage and vineyard—a philosophy they call Zero Manipulation—using
the most gentle, traditional winemaking practices possible to maximize
the flavors, aromatics and texture of the wines. The evolution of Peterson
wines and winemaking accelerated when Fred’s son Jamie became
assistant winemaker in the summer of 2002. In 2006, after moving
from the tiny red barn on Lytton Springs to Timber Crest Farms, Jamie
was given the overall responsibilities as winemaker. As a winegrowing
team, Fred and Jamie assess the grapes from each vineyard and vintage
as the season progresses, evaluating how the weather, soil and site
are interacting for the particular vintage. Fred and Jamie celebrate
vintage differences and don’t tweak or homogenize the wine to obtain
consistency of flavors, a common practice in mass-market wineries. For
Fred and Jamie, Peterson Winery is all about the wines. But if you look
a little deeper, you’ll see the heart and soul that goes into every bottle.