Aldina Vineyards
Get the Dirt from Francisco Lopez
“Our name Aldina Vineyards pays homage to the family patriarch and matriarch, Alberto and Dina López. Our label represents their life motto, to “always use the best quality materials to create the best quality product.””
What was your first vintage year? 2012
How many cases do you make per vintage? 550
Do you have a Tasting Room? No, but patrons can make an appointment to do a private tasting.
If not you, who is your winemaker? Our winemaker is Belén Ceja
What wine made you want to become a winemaker/start your own winery?
Belén: “What intrigued me most in becoming the winemaker for this brand was the owner’s passion and ambition they have as a family to create Aldina Vineyards.”
What varietals do you work with? Which varietal/wine is your favorite to make?
We work mostly with Cabernet Sauvignon from the family estate vineyard, but for the first time ever we produced a 2018 chardonnay and 2018 rosé. We hope to continue adding varietals to our portfolio.
What vineyards do you source from? If Estate, why do you choose your location?
Aldina Vineyards is a family-owned and operated boutique wine producer located in Sonoma County’s Fountaingrove District AVA offering small-lot, family estate-grown vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon. Our limited production 2018 Chardonnay was sourced from a family vineyard in the Los Carneros AVA.
What type of oak treatment do you use? Why?
The oak treatment for Aldina Vineyards is 100% French Oak, which includes 90% new barrels with a combination of Medium plus toast and medium toast along with 10 % used French oak. Our aging program is 36 months in oak. Our winemaking style and use of oak helps elevate the wine, while allowing the fruit to emerge as a star and not be overpowered.
What do you love about your winemaking region? What makes it different special?
Aldina Vineyards estate vineyards sit high on the Mayacamas mountains with beautiful red volcanic soils. The Fountaingrove District is a newer AVA with some fabulous wines being sourced from here, and it is perfect for growing our Cabernet Sauvignon.
What’s the story behind your winery name / label?
Our name Aldina Vineyards pays homage to the family patriarch and matriarch, Alberto and Dina López. Our label represents their life motto, to “always use the best quality materials to create the best quality product.” Inspired by our parents, we chose to include the façade of the Family Estate and vineyard Al planted as a symbolic tribute to our family’s past and future, and now it holds even more meaning, as the home and part of the vineyard were lost in the 2017 Tubbs Fire.
What's the one thing you wish someone had told you about the wine business before you started your own winery?
To enter and start your own wine brand, making the wine is only part of this industry, getting into the market to sell your wine is a big key to your brands success. As a winemaker, your wines are only as great as your sales/marketing team that showcases your passion in the wines you make.
Most importantly, what's so great about being small? What can you do as a small winemaker, that wouldn't be possible for larger wineries?
Our wines are small lots and handcrafted, this allows us to produce ultra-premium wines every year.As a small brand we have 100% control of decision making, from harvesting of grapes at maturity, small batch production in the winery and aging of wine before bottling. Making mother nature our biggest obstacle.
How do you view the future in the wine industry for small-lot winemakers?
Small lots in the wine industry will always have a niche in this industry. Wine consumers that understand this industry love to support small lots/small brands. Hearing the stories and sharing the fruits of the brands labor with friends and loved ones will always keep small lot producers a part of the wine industry’s future.
If you had to choose another wine region to work in what would it be?
We are young company with so much growth underway. Aldina Vineyards is in the process of building its future tasting room at a new facility, Bacchus Landing Cellars, in Healdsburg, Ca. We are hopeful that this will be coming next spring. So, another wine region that I would choose to work in and make wines from would those that are closer to our new home in Healdsburg, such as Russian River AVA or Dry Creek Valley AVA.
To get more information about Aldina Vineyards, please visit their website.