Few winemakers have been as formative in establishing the modern voice of California wine as David Ramey. He teaches us that a great winemaker is an orchestra conductor - a sedulous student of terroir, a loyal and reverent interpreter of the masterful works of nature. As with many of his peers, David’s trajectory toward a wine of his own included studies near and travels far. He began as an enology student at UC Davis, alongside classmates Cathy Corison, Lee Hudson, and John Kongsgaard, studying aromatic development in aging wine. A stint at Chateau Petrus soon followed, founding a base of French winemaking tradition that continues to inform David’s work today.

In the years that followed, David was formative in building the legacies of iconic California wineries, including Simi, Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, and finally – beside the Moueix family of Petrus – Dominus. White at Dominus, which only released red wine, David began to make his own Chardonnay, first with fruit purchased from Larry Hyde, and custom crushed at Luna Winery, run by John Kongsgaard. David soon left Dominus to build Rudd in Oakville, where Ramey was made until finding a home of its own across the Mayacamas, in Healdsburg, in 2002. These Chardonnays, now made alongside Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon, introduced California to winemaking techniques now commonly associated with great expressions of the variety: the use of oxidized juice, native fermentation, sur lie aging in barrel, and malolactic fermentations. Ever a student of the land, David continues to engage with new varieties and vineyard sites, now in concert with his children, Claire and Allen, under the Sidebar label.

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