Heartfelt Wines

The foundation of Heartfelt Wines is our commitment to using only the choicest fruit to make our select premium wines. We are ecstatic to be partnering with two of Northern California’s most renowned growers to obtain the Zinfandel, Cabernet, Petite Sirah, and Syrah fruit we carefully nurture to handcraft our wines.

Our luscious old-vine Zinfandel grapes come from the Brignole Vineyard, which was planted in 1908 as the southernmost planting of the Italian Swiss Colony. In 1976, Jim Rickards purchased this 60-acre Alexander Valley ranch in Sonoma County, on the east side of what was Chianti Mountain. As with most old style vineyards, this planting is a field-blend, comprised of 80% Zinfandel, 10% Petite Sirah, 5% Carignane, 4% Mataro, plus a 1% sprinkling of Alicante Bouschet, Muscat Canelli, and Golden Chasselas. Since day one, Jim has done all his own grafting and been a pioneer in environmentally sensitive vineyard practices and sustainable viticulture techniques. Jim’s personalized approach and passion is evident in these phenomenal low-yield vines, which produce grapes of top-quality, with intense varietal flavors, year after year. In 1991, Jim added areas of Petite Sirah, and other varietals, and now 45 acres of his hillsides are covered with some of the best award-winning wine grapes in the county. Heartfelt Wines is proud to use Rickards’ old-vine Zinfandel and Petite Sirah grapes to handcraft our premium wines.
Our Cabernet and Syrah fruit come from another well-known Northern California grower with a unique history. Caldwell Vineyards was established in 1981 when John Caldwell bought his property in the Coombsville District of Napa Valley. After traveling to Europe and researching Bordeaux wines, he brought back cuttings to graft to local root stock and propogated fruit similar to the great Bordeaux. The phenomenal success I’ve had with this special fruit inspired me to turn my love and passion for winemaking into Heartfelt Wines, and my flagship Inspiration Red is a proprietary blend of Caldwell Cabernet and Syrah fruit