Peter Michael

It was 1976 when Peter Michael and his wife decided to start their own winery. Yet, it took another 6 years to find the perfect place. In 1982, they bought an estate in northern Sonoma in Knights Valley AVA. At the time, Peter had no experience at all as a winemaker. He worked in Silicon Valley and he was also the brain behind the well-known tech company Quantel. After a number of years of running the winery, Peter is taking it a little slower, and the winery is currently run by his son Paul and his wife Emily.

The property has since expanded to include vineyards in the Fort Ross-Seaview and Oakville (Napa Valley) AVAs. The planting consists of Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. The working methods in the vineyard are based on sustainable and biodynamic principles.

The portfolio consists of 16 different wines, of which Au Paradis, Les Pavots and Chardonnay Point Rouge are the absolute showstoppers. The white wines are fermented in wooden barrels using native yeasts. The wine is then sur lie matured with the use of battonage. The red wines, on the other hand, are fermented in stainless steel tanks, also with natural yeasts. The juice is then transferred to oak barrels for maturation. The wines are not filtered or clarified before bottling.

The exceptional quality of Peter Michael’s wines is proven by the facts that the 2012 Au Paradis took first place in the top 100 of Wine Spectator in 2015, and Robert Parker awarded the highest number of points ten times. The wines are not only very popular among connoisseurs, but there are  fans at the White House too. In 1994, a Peter Michael Chardonnay was served during a dinner with Nelson Mandela and in 2003, the 1997 Les Pavots was served during Queen Elizabeth’s visit.

The winery's iconic vintages are: 2010, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018.