Rutherford Ranch Winery

Rutherford Ranch Winery was founded in 1978 (the first vintage of Rutherford Ranch was in 1977) by husband and wife Ernie and Virginia Van Asperen and their business partner Charlie Abela (all since deceased). Ernie was a WWII pilot who flew B-24 bombers from Italy and long enjoyed aviation (at one point he donated a small plane for use at the tiny airport at Pacific Union College in Angwin on Howell Mountain – but this plane has long since been traded away and is no longer used at the airport). He was also a very successful businessman having founded Ernie’s Wine and Liquor in 1938 which eventually grew into more then 80 stores in the San Francisco Bay Area by the 1960s. Ernie and Virginia opened Ernie’s St. Helena (later known as St. Helena Wine Merchants) in 1973, a wine shop that was located just south of St. Helena. They eventually sold this shop in 1983 to Alden Yates (part of the same family that owns vineyard land and Yates Family Winery on Mt. Veeder). The shop continued under Yates family ownership until 2011 when it was sold; later it was the tasting room for Vine Cliff Winery and as of our latest update to this review, now houses the tasting space for Ink Grade Cellars. And old timers will also remember an Ernie’s in Napa at 1220 Trancas Street in the early 1980s.

For many years, Ernie used to bottle wine as a negociant under several labels including as Ernie’s and Round Hill and would sell this wine in his stores. While no longer owned by the Van Asperen family, by our last count there are still seven Ernie’s Wine and Liquor stores in the San Jose Bay Area and 4 stores scattered around the rest of California. Today all are independently owned and sell a variety of convenience store items, cheaper wines and other alcohol. Primarily they are located in single story shopping centers – all in similar looking buildings.

We have visited seven of the seven stores (see our photos below), the one in Palo Alto near Stanford University dates back to the 1950s and the one in East San Jose is known locally as being the store that sold a $543 million dollar winning lottery ticket in 2018. During our visit to this store, we also purchased some lottery tickets hoping to capitalize on the store’s history of big winnings but had no such luck.

The Van Asperen’s also used to own two restaurants in Marin County, the Dock on Main Street in Tiburon (now site of the Water’s Edge Hotel) and Windjammer. Ernie and Virginia moved to the Napa Valley in 1968 from Marin County and purchased 200+ acres of land off of White Sulphur Springs Road in the hills just east of St. Helena. Their primary residence was on top of a knoll they called Round Hill. Incidentally, today this site is owned by Kathryn Green (the Green Vineyard) – Kathryn also owns Napa Valley’s iconic Grace Family Vineyards.

Ernie’s Wine and Liquor, San Jose Bay Area

Ernie’s Wine and Liquor, California

Round Hill wines were initially produced in 1978 at what was originally the York Winery founded in 1880 by Eli McLane York on Lodi Lane (just north of St. Helena). This winery was abandoned at the time Ernie began making wine here – the building has an interesting history – at one time the upper floor was used by York’s grandchildren as a skating rink. At one point the property also was used for housing eggs – picked up and delivered by train. Severely damaged in the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989, it was extensively restored and today is a private residence.

Round Hill winemaker at the time, Tom Rinaldi (died 2026) told us of a lunch he had with Phil Baxter and Ernie in the space that is now Rutherford Grill but was previously another restaurant. Ernie brought a wine concealed in brown paper bag. He wanted Tom to try it. Tom did and recognized it as a 1972 Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon – Silver Oak’s inaugural vintage. Ernie was duly impressed and even wondered if Tom had somehow paid off one of the waiters. But in fact, Tom had tried this wine previously and recognized that it had some Brettanomyces influence and picked that out as he was tasting it. Based on that impressive showing, Ernie hired him on the spot; Tom made the Round Hill wines in 1977 and 1978 before transitioning into becoming the founding winemaker at Duckhorn Vineyards.

Rutherford Ranch was a label within their overall wine portfolio. In 1986 the Van Asperen’s purchased 5 acres on the Silverado Trail and built a winery which opened in 1988 (this is the site of Rutherford Ranch Winery). A huge part of their early production was private-label wines – selling to restaurants, country clubs and others.

Zaninovich family
The Van Asperen’s retired in 2000 and sold their interest in the winery to husband and wife, Marko and Theo Zaninovich who at the time were long time shareholders. The Zaninovich’s are multi-generational farmers with Croatian heritage from California’s Central Valley. Three bothers came to Kern County in 1933 (Anton, Marko, and Vincent) and became involved in the grape business in the 1930s.

Today their family wine business is extensive; they operate Sunview Marketing International based near tiny McFarland about 30 minutes north of Bakersfield and Sunview Vineyards based near Delano. Their business focuses on growing numerous varieties of table grapes, grapes for making raisins, persimmons, pomegranates and olives for olive oil as well as offering cold storage facilities. At the same property in McFarland, they also operate Casa Cristal Nursery (founded 1990) – propagating and selling a variety of rootstock and scions to the wine and table grape industries. Part of the nursery’s services include soil mapping, custom planting vineyard sites and follow up vineyard assistance.

ASV Wines (founded 1981) is a major wine producer with physical locations in McFarland (San Joaquin Valley) and San Martin (central coast) – sourcing grapes from select parts of California including Arroyo Seco, Monterey County, Paso Robles, Lodi and California’s Central Valley. ASV Wines produces a number of mostly California appellation wines bottled under various labels and does a significant amount of private label product for retailers and wholesalers both domestically and internationally.

And other members of the extended Zaninovich family are involved in additional grape growing business in the central valley including Jasmine Vineyards founded in 1947 (a producer of table grapes) and VBZ Grapes. In addition, Tlo Wines operates a tasting room in downtown Bakersfield (the first ever winery tasting room in downtown).

Sunview Marketing/ASV Wines/Cold Storage/Cristal Nursery, McFarland

Sunview Vineyards, Delano

Tlo Wines, Bakersfield

ASV Wines, San Martin

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Rutherford Ranch uses grapes sourced exclusively from the Napa Valley – both from their two estate vineyards and from non-owned premium vineyards. They produce a number of other labels – featuring wines made from grapes grown in select parts of California. Scott Family Estate wines are Chardonnay and Pinot Noir from family vineyards in the Arroyo Seco appellation in Monterey County. Note that wines from their other labels may not be available at the tasting room.

Rutherford Ranch produces some of the more affordable priced wines in all of Napa Valley, especially from their Round Hill label. Well-known wine writer, Robert Parker has highlighted their wines as being one of the best values coming from a California Cabernet Sauvignon producer.

And Torcia is a premium wine brand made at Rutherford Ranch Winery, focusing on Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon sourced from premiere vineyards sites in the Napa Valley. These wines can be tasted by appointment only in the Torcia lounge.

In 2023 Rutherford Wine Company launched California Sessions, another wine brand but this one focuses on low alcohol bottlings. The release included two wines a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon, both at 10.5% alcohol.

Some Cabernet Sauvignon is planted on site just behind the winery at the base of the hills and they source the rest of the grapes for their Rutherford Ranch wines from select Napa vineyards. Rutherford Ranch is located on the east side of Silverado Trail among old oak and 100+ year old olive trees. With tables and chairs in front of the tasting room, weather permitting, this is a fine place to relax while sipping their very food friendly wines.

While the hospitality center is fairly small with the winery ‘hidden’ towards the back of the property – their production is anything but tiny. A number of their wines are well distributed nationally and people who know of Rutherford Ranch often try their wines at restaurants for the first time.

For many years the winery has partnered with a chocolatier based in the city of Napa and chocolate pairings can be enjoyed with the wines on site. A portable sign advertising their wine + chocolate pairings is often placed next to their driveway, easily visible from the Silverado Trail.

As of the time of our latest update to this review, they offer a variety of tasting flights including a Reserve Tasting, a Cabernet Sauvignon only tasting, a white wine only tasting and a wine and charcuterie experience. Private tastings can also be arranged.

For more in depth visits, the winery offers some fun experiences including a vineyard tour paired with a box lunch, a sensory analysis seminar and a blending seminar. And behind the winery next to their vineyard are a number of cute goats and alpacas; dried grass may sometimes be available here for guests to feed the animals.

Select Wines
Whites
Sauvignon Blanc
The 2024 Rutherford Ranch Reserve Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley is pale straw in color; the bouquet smells as bright as freshly cut citrus including grapefruit, kumquat, Kaffir lime and Meyer lemon. Lifted and energetic, additional scents are of citrus blossom, green apple, not completely ripe pineapple, underripe guava, passion fruit, a hint of vanilla and lemongrass. The palate is ripe than the bouquet leads one to believe here; still there is lots of movement here, representative of the typicity of the variety when it it not bled out by long hang times in the vineyard. This wine tastes like passionfruit, Key Lime pie, Meyer lemon, pineapple, kiwi, not fully ripe pineapple guava, honeydew melon and finishing notes of fennel and tarragon. It offers herbal notes but not a green or grassy character often associated with cooler weather Sauvignon Blanc. Highly balanced, not one aspect of this wine dominates. The mouth feel is silky and supple; this soft texture is carried by a bright acidity. Free run juice was fermented in stainless steel tanks and then transferred to French oak barrels. The lees were stirred weekly. This wine would hold up well, paired with spicy seafood – something with two shells preferably.

The 2021 Rutherford Ranch Proprietor’s Selection Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley is medium straw in color. The attractive and elegant bouquet is sweetly fruited and simultaneously floral, including a delicate note of jasmine. There is absolutely no green nor grassiness here. Instead, the aromatics lean toward riper expressions of the variety, offering a variety of stone-fruited scents including apricot, yellow nectarine and peach in light syrup, along with pineapple and a subtle hint of citrus blossom that adds lift to the bouquet. The mouth feel is rounded and slightly creamy. While the bouquet suggests riper fruit, the palate shows the inherent varietal characteristics more clearly. It reveals flavors of pomelo, grapefruit, honeydew melon and green apple, with a light touch of tropical fruit echoing the aromatics. Medium acidity provides balance and freshness, carrying the fruit through a clean, gently lingering finish.

Chardonnay
The 2024 Rutherford Ranch Torcia, Chardonnay Napa Valley is medium gold in color; the bouquet is distinctive enough, that we hope we could pick this out of a lineup of other Napa Valley Chardonnay of the same vintage. It scents are sweetly fruited with initial aromas of jasmine and honeysuckle along with ripe stone fruits including nectarine and white peaches, papaya, ripe Asian pear, golden delicious apples, comise pear and a subtle note of toasted oak. From the bouquet alone, we might guess the palate is off dry, and perhaps there is some residual sugar here or at least a perception of ripe fruit sweetness. Its flavors include comise pear, pineapple guava, golden apples, white nectarine, Babcock peaches, papaya and Alphonse mango. Its non fruited notes finish with vanilla, crème Brulé, caramel, lightly buttered popcorn, and finishing and persistent layers of light toasted oak and toasted nuts. Despite the ripeness and light perception of sweetness, there is a layer of vibrant acidity helping maintain an overall freshness. The mouth feel is rounded and lightly creamy. We like the sexy looking bottle. We would envision pairing this with a creamy saffron-infused yellow pasta.

The 2020 Rutherford Ranch Reserve, Napa Valley Chardonnay is medium gold in color. The bouquet offers aromas of crème Brulé, vanilla, melon, toasted oak, honeycomb and honeysuckle, along with a pronounced note of popcorn butter that becomes increasingly noticeable as the wine evolves in the glass. Subtle hints of baked apple and light caramel emerge with additional aeration, adding further depth to the aromatic profile. Its texture is lightly rounded and supple, complemented nicely by both its fruit and its balanced acidity, which provides freshness and lift across the palate. It offers flavors of pineapple, pear, red apple, honeydew melon and warm butter, accompanied by a touch of citrus zest and a faint suggestion of baking spice. The finish lingers with notes of toasted oak and creamy butter, gradually fading with a soft impression of ripe orchard fruit.

Reds
Petite Syrah
The 2022 Rutherford Ranch Petite Sirah Reserve, Napa Valley is deep purple/amaranthine in color and completely opaque. A ripe expression of the variety, as is often the case with Petite Sirah from Napa Valley, still the typicity here is pretty well preserved. Its aromatics are floral including of violets and lavender with loads of ripe dark fruit layering including blackberry, boysenberry, Satsuma plum, blueberry and dark licorice. The fruit dominates in a front and center position at 4 years post vintage, with oak seated far in the back seat. And the same is true on the palate, flavors of blackberry, boysenberry, blueberry and Santa Rosa plum dominate. The fruit and its riper expression is held together nicely by a lively vein of acidity keeping this big boy in balance. The tannins are not not as grippy as the textural perception of this variety indicates, rather they are well tumbled and already surprisingly integrated at this age, persisting with a light gravelly texture. Finishes with a lightly meaty character, perhaps of bacon fat, but this never displaces its core of fruit. More people would start seeking out Petite Sirah if they had a chance to try this beauty.

Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2019 Rutherford Ranch ABELA, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby with purplish tinges on the rim of the glass. The bouquet offers aromas of licorice, violets, dark cherry, cassis, blackberry and dark plum. There is also a savory component at work here including a light woodsy spice along with roasted meats. With additional time in the glass, hints of cocoa powder and dried herbs begin to emerge, adding further aromatic complexity. The palate sports flavors of plum and dark cherry along with subtle notes of blackberry and cassis that mirror the bouquet. This wine is balanced across the palate with tannins which are broadly distributed and well integrated, offering a rounded and comfortable texture profile. The structure supports the fruit without overwhelming it, creating a harmonious interplay between richness and freshness. The finish lingers with notes of dark pepper and toasted oak spices, accompanied by a persistent savory character that adds depth and length. Savory.

The 2017 Rutherford Ranch Proprietor’s Selection, Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby in color. Initially darker baking spices dominate the aromatics including of cardamom and cloves. There is also a note of dried sage and grilled meats present. As the wine opens, the scents transition into a dark fruited sweetness including of plum, prune and chocolate. The bouquet does not immediately hint of the savory character on the palate. This wine reveals flavors of dark cherry, plum, blackberry, chocolate, toasted oak, pepper, dried tobacco leaf and dried herbs. The tannins feel chalky and are balanced with the rest of the wine’s characteristics. A light dustiness creeps into the finish and lingers with both a woodsy spice and dried tobacco leaf.

The 2012 Rutherford Ranch Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is not distributed; rather, it is available only to wine club members and visitors at the winery. On the bouquet it shows notes of baking spice, red cherry and blackberry along with a noticeable dustiness, a characteristic often associated with Rutherford-grown Cabernet Sauvignon. With additional time in the glass, subtle hints of cedar, cocoa powder and dried herbs begin to emerge, adding further complexity to the aromatics. The fruit is focused and very balanced on the palate, with red cherry and red currant providing a lively tartness that lingers. Additional layers of blackberry and a touch of dark plum contribute depth without overwhelming the wine’s structure. The tannins are slightly dusty and finely textured, framing the fruit on the finish very well while providing structure and length. The finish is persistent, marked by lingering red fruit and a light impression of spice.

The 1977 Rutherford Ranch Brand Cabernet Sauvignon is medium tawny in color; the bouquet is fully tertiary, speaking in tones of dried fruits including blackberry, fig and cherries. Other aromatics include old cedar wood, tobacco leaf, orange peel zest, dried tea leaves, dried mushrooms, prune, assorted stewed fruits, toasted coconut and toasted walnuts. At 49 years post vintage, the acidity is one of the strongest remaining characteristics on the palate; stripped of most of its fruit and tannins this sharp vibrancy is the lasting character. On the palate, this wine tastes of dried cherries, currants, plum and a finishing note of dried tobacco leaf. Additional savory notes are of dried herbs, smoked sage and tea. The tannins are softened and finely polished at this age; their feel is lost on the finish due to the nervous acidity. The finish persists with a light bitter character. This bottling is well beyond its peak period. This wine is listed as 12.5% ABV.

Merlot
The 2013 Rutherford Ranch Merlot shows pink and purple hues in the glass with floral notes on the bouquet, including dried rose petal, along with aromas of raspberry and freshly squeezed red cherries. These are tender and inviting aromatics that lean toward lighter red fruits rather than darker fruit expressions. With a bit of air, additional notes of red plum and a faint hint of sweet baking spice begin to emerge, adding a touch of complexity while maintaining the wine’s overall elegance. Texturally the wine is soft in the mouth and medium bodied, supported by a thread of balanced acidity that keeps the palate lively and fresh. The fruit character continues to emphasize red-toned flavors, including red cherry and raspberry, with a subtle suggestion of cranberry adding brightness. Fine grained and slightly chalky tannins linger delicately on the finish, providing gentle structure without overwhelming the wine’s softer profile. This is a versatile wine that should pair well with a number of lighter styled meat dishes such as pork or lamb.

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NOTE: this review has been identified as needing a major update.

Rutherford Ranch has long been associated with producing private label wines for numerous clients including restaurants. In fact, their closest client can be seen from Rutherford Ranch’s driveway – the storybook looking Auberge du Soleil Resort located in the nearby foothills.

For additional information about the winery or to sign up for their Circle of Friends wine club, visit: www.rutherfordranch.com

Rutherford Ranch Winery

The Animals of Rutherford Ranch Winery

RIP Josh Farrell 2023, he will be sorely missed.