Right in our own backyard, Ricci Vineyards is one of High Camp’s go-to wineries in Sonoma, California. We love it for its unusual varietals and unique approach—and for being a family-run business that never took “no” for an answer.
Some of the best stories start with people being told something can’t be done. Ricci Vineyards is one of those stories—beginning with one man who refused to believe that the Carneros region was too cold to grow grapes for still wine.
Located just a short drive from High Camp’s San Rafael headquarters in Sonoma County, Ricci Vineyards is a soulful oasis in California’s commercial wine scene. It boasts an authentic family legacy, unconventional thinking, and wines that taste like the place they come from.
“The Scavenger”
The story begins in the 1970s when Dale Ricci, a photography professor who grew up working for his uncle on his grandfather’s dairy farm, saw potential where others saw problems.
The Carneros region at that time was an up-and-coming hotspot for growing grapes used in sparkling wine, which don’t need to ripen as much, because its climate is much colder than other parts of Sonoma and Napa due to fog and wind from San Francisco Bay. Ricci, who knew early on he didn’t want to be a dairy farmer, famously saying, “Cows talk back and grapevines don’t,” decided to try something on an adjacent family property that no one thought was possible—plant grapevines for still wine.
“When he tried to get financing,” said his son, Tyler Kohfeld-Ricci, Ricci Vineyard’s director of brand strategy, “they just said, ‘You're trying to do something that's not feasible.’ He ended up saying, ‘Screw it, I'm just going to do this myself.’”
That initial vineyard eventually grew to 60 acres. Then, in the early 1990s, when Ricci’s uncle’s dairy became available, he had the chance to expand. Today, Ricci Vineyards spans 220 acres across two properties—one of the 50 largest vineyard plantings in Sonoma County. It remains family-run.
Five Generations and Counting
“They’ve been in Sonoma for well over 100 years,” Kohfeld-Ricci says about the Ricci family. “My dad’s grandfather started a dairy in 1913. My daughter, Violet, is now generation number five—she’s 2 years old.”
What makes Ricci special isn’t just its longevity, but how each generation has added their own chapter. Kohfeld-Ricci’s mother handles all the shipping, and her artwork graces the Block 87 wine label. His sister, Gianna Ricci, is the director of operations. Kohfeld-Ricci himself brought the vision of creating their own wine brand in 2018, after years of growing grapes exclusively for other wineries.
“My dad was skeptical, but then he finally relented and said, ‘Let's give it a shot,’” Kohfeld-Ricci recalls. They started with three wines, releasing them in early 2020—right before COVID shut everything down. With restaurants shuttered, they suddenly had a lot of wine and had nowhere to sell it. So they decided to pivot to a direct-to-consumer model.
“The early days were very rustic and rudimentary,” Kohfeld-Ricci says. “But people loved it, saying, ‘This is how wine country used to be—authentic and real and raw. Don't change anything.’”
The Carneros Advantage
While Carneros was initially dismissed by many as too cold for quality still wines, Ricci Vineyards has found it to be ideal conditions for varietals that thrive in moderate climates. This unique terroir gives them the opportunity to grow lesser-known grapes such as St. Laurent, which is their signature wine.
“To our knowledge, we’re the only ones who grow that particular grape in the country,” Kohfeld-Ricci says. “You really can’t find that grape anywhere outside of Austria and the Czech Republic. It’s a very rare varietal. The cool thing about it is that 98 percent of people have never heard of it, and they try it and they’re, like, ‘Oh my god, that’s amazing.’ They’re blown away. It’s our secret, and we’re slowly sharing it with people.”
But it’s not just about being different for the sake of it. Kohfeld-Ricci’s vision is to create wine that’s more approachable for younger generations, to create new varietals for people to discover and enjoy. It’s something he feels passionate about because as a young man growing up in Sonoma, he thought wine was stuffy and stodgy. And then as he learned more about it, he realized how much goes into it, and became determined to break down some of the barriers that keep some people from enjoying it.
“We are trying to make wines fun and different and interesting,” Kohfeld-Ricci says. “We want a drink that’s meant to be for any opportunity and any occasion. We don’t want people to let the wine age and sit around. We want them to buy it and drink it, because life is short.”
The Ricci Experience
Ricci Vineyards hosts guests in its remodeled farmhouse, and they see one to three groups per day by appointment. “We want to be attentive to people who appreciate the wine,” Kohfeld-Ricci explains.
The vibe is exactly what you’d hope for: authentic, unpretentious, and led by people who genuinely love what they do. Dale Ricci, soon to be 79, still works the vineyard daily and often pops his head in during guest visits—sometimes for five minutes, sometimes for two hours.
“I am very much the band roadie—I'll set up the equipment and do the sound checks, and my dad is Mick Jagger,” Kohfeld-Ricci laughs. “I’m there until he shows up, and people say, ‘Oh my god, that guy is a legend.’”
Why We Love Ricci Vineyards
In a wine world increasingly dominated by corporate operations, Ricci Vineyards represents something essential: family legacy, craftsmanship, authenticity, and the willingness to do things differently. They took land others deemed unsuitable and turned it into something extraordinary. They grow grapes most people have never heard of and make them accessible. They’ve stayed family-owned and true to their roots.
The gracious hosts of our spring 2025 photoshoot, Ricci Vineyards is exactly the kind of place we love to highlight and work with—a family operation doing exceptional work in our own backyard, proving that the best adventures often start closest to home.
Planning a Sonoma visit? Reach out to Ricci Vineyards directly for inquiries, and be sure to check out their wine club (multiple employees at High Camp Flasks are member). Most importantly, don't forget your Parkside Flask for the perfect post-visit celebration.
