About us?

Quaking Hills Winery is owned and operated by Joanne, Paden, and Keith Collard.  It is situated near the Russian River on their estate vineyard, Hidden Spring Vineyard.  The 36 acre site is in the heart of the Alexander Valley in northern Sonoma County.  The rolling hills of the property make for perfect hillside growing conditions.  The winery uses only estate fruit for all of its wines.  Quaking Hills comes as close as it can to actually micromanaging every cluster of grapes used for its wines.  It is this loving attachment to the land and to the vines that helps us attain the highest quality of wine for ourselves and for those that we share it with.

“Block 6”, our favorite Cabernet Sauvignon block, looking west towards the hill dividing Alexander Valley from Dry Creek Valley.  The Sunset blocks, blocks 3, 4 and 6, on this side of the hill develop more black pepper, cassis, plum, and allspice flavors.

“Block 2”, the Sunrise Block, looking east towards Geyser Peak.  This Cabernet Sauvignon block develops intense black cherry, dark fruit, and chocolate flavors.  We have such a good time blending the sunrise and sunset blocks when it comes bottling time.

The different seasons in the vineyard all bring wonderful changes and completely different challenges.  We are always working in the vineyard toward that ultimate “harvest day”.  Every year it’s different and every year you learn a lot more about how nature can make it hard to keep what hair you still have.

Spring - Vines begin growing and the cover crop matures.

Summer - A full canopy of green everywhere.

Fall - The grapes are in, the rains begin and the flowers bloom.

Winter - The rains saturate the ground and the fog rolls in.

The People?

Right now, it’s just us.

The brains!

 

Joanne is the taster extraordinaire and the one that holds this business together.  Without her Keith would buy way too many vineyard toys.  Joanne is also the designer, architect, and planner for our winery and our family home.  She is definitely the “class” of this operation.

The brawn?

 

Keith, as usual, is qualified to lift heavy things and run all the fun equipment.  His days are spent in the vineyard and his nights are spent studying up on what needs to be done tomorrow.  We are so extremely lucky to have so many learned resources (our neighbors, fellow viticulturalists, and winemakers) that help us to not screw things up.  We are confident that the land is where the talent is and we’ve got a world class spot on which to grow world class grapes.

The BOSS!

 

Paden is truly the boss of us all.  Let’s face it, when you’ve got a 4 year old around all of your lives revolve around him.  He is starting young in what we hope is a lifelong endeavor.  His favorite pastimes right now are riding the tractor, digging holes, having fun down at the river, and helping daddy get balder every day.