Jonata was created in 2000 by Charles Banks with his business partners and the first vintage of the wine was in 2004. In 2009, Charles Banks sold his shares to Stanley Kroenke who, in addition to sports teams (like Arsenal, the Los Angeles Rams and the Denver Nuggets), also owns the legendary wineries Screaming Eagle and Domaine Bonneau du Martray.
Located in California's Ballard Canyon, in the Central Coast Santa Ynes geographical area, Jonata is considered by some to be the best wine producer in the region. One of Jonata's most prized wines is the Jonata Todos Proprietary, an elegant and aromatic red wine with notes of flowers and spices.
Jonata's estate consists of 33 hectares of area with Syrah, Sangiovese and Cabernet vines. Jonata produces mainly red wines and also a small percentage of white wine. The vast majority of the landscape is bedded with Careaga Sand, a soil type originating in the Careaga Sandstone era. The blocks of land are rectangular shaped, which helps to irrigate the sandy soil.
This soil type makes it very difficult to grow grapes. For example, founder Charles Banks once asked advice from Fréderic Engerer, the CEO of Chateau Latour. The latter replied that they might be better off growing asparagus instead of grapes. Fortunately, they didn't planted asparagus but vines instead. The vineyards are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, Sangiovese, Sauvignon Blanc, Sémillon, Syrah, Grenache and Vinognier. Merlot also used to be planted but those plants have since been replaced with other grapes.
Jonata is named after the late Spanish "Rancho San Carlos de Jonata", with which the winery proudly propagates its historical origins. Therefore, the wine's name is pronounced in Spanish as Ho-notta. In addition, all the wines produced by Jonata also have Spanish names.
Jonata is currently under the leadership of vineyard manager Ruben Solarzano, winemaker Matt Dees and assistant winemaker Drew Pickering, artisans who know how to make socially responsible sense of their work as wine producers. Indeed, at Jonata they use an integrated farm model, in which farm animals such as pigs, goats and chickens contribute to environmentally conscious maintenance of the vineyards. Beyond that, a vegetable garden is maintained at Jonata where olive oil and honey are produced, using bees bred on the estate!
