In 2012, Crew purchased 2,150 acres adjacent to the winery and developed 500 acres of vineyards under the direction of co-owner and vineyard manager Karl Giguiere. Now, with a second opportunity, Lane Giguiere explained, “This time around, we have the knowledge and experience to really home in on increasing the quality of what we’re growing and producing here.” The Giguieres have employed better techniques to get the ground ready for planting, such as soil ripping in three directions, adding the right soil amendments and planting the grape varieties and clones best suited to the area. Phillips, they were learning about grapegrowing and winemaking on the job, and they proved the Dunnigan Hills could support quality, value-priced wines. The Arsonist Red Blend is all from purchased fruit,” Lane Giguiere rold Wines & Vines. “The Arsonist Chardonnay is 98% Chardonnay from our vineyard, 2% from fruit we sourced from the Russian River Valley. to promote its more recognizable flagship wine.Ĭrew’s brands and primary varietals are: Matchbook-Chardonnay, Tempranillo and Syrah from estate vineyards Sawbuck-Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec from Yolo and Mendocino County grapes Mossback-Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and Chalk Hill Cabernet Sauvignon and Chasing Venus-Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand and the Russian River Valley. is the corporate entity, but the company has transitioned to publicly branding itself as Matchbook Wine Co. Ground was broken for the estate winery in 2008, not far from the original R.H. in 2005, initially using a custom-crush facility for wine production. Vincor later became part of Constellation Wines. Phillips grew to annual production of 750,000 cases prior to its sale to Vincor International of Canada in 2000. Phillips Vineyards and Winery, which later introduced the hugely successful Toasted Head brand. In 1983, brothers Karl and John Giguiere and John’s wife, Lane, started R.H. The Giguiere family pioneered wine grapegrowing in what is now the Dunnigan Hills American Viticultural Area, beginning in 1981. A 5,000-square-foot barrel building built in 2013 had reached capacity by September, and plans call for construction of a 20,000-square-foot barrel storage facility with lab and winery staff offices in 2015. Five new stainless steel tanks, fabricated and installed by Westec of Healdsburg, Calif., added 100,000 gallons of processing capacity leading up to the 2014 crush, and a new Diemme AR 150 press was installed. Our tasting room is long overdue.”Ĭederquist told Wines & Vines that Crew’s 2015 crush is expected to total 2,500 tons of grapes (up from 1,800 tons in 2014) as new vineyards come online. Partner and winemaker Dan Cederquist said, “We’re one of the fastest growing young wine brands in the country, and we keep adding facility capacity each year.
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