It’s one of the hottest days on record in Santa Rosa, a scorching 113 degrees, and winemaker Jason DeLoach is breaking a sweat in the vineyards. At Hook & Ladder Winery on Olivet Road, harvest is in full swing. And as the temperature rises, he and his team are scrambling to gather grapes ripe for the picking before the heat does.
DeLoach is the guy behind the winery’s well known and sought after Chardonnays, Pinot Noirs and their signature Tillerman red blend, just to name a few.
Born into a wine family, his grandfather, Cecil DeLoach and wife Christine, started their wine career in the 1970s. Cecil was a San Francisco firefighter by day, taking viticulture classes at the Santa Rosa Junior College to learn the business of winemaking and wine growing. The DeLoaches planted their first Pinot Noir grapes on Olivet Road in 1973. Soon after, the couple opened the doors to DeLoach Winery, which sold to the Boisset Family of Wines in 2003. The same year, they started Hook & Ladder Winery just down the road–cleverly named in honor of Cecil’s 17-year-career in firefighting. Today, Cecil and Christine maintain a presence at the winery, helping whenever and wherever they can.
We start with their Blanc de Noir sparkling wine–primarily Pinot Noir, with a little Chardonnay and Pinot Meunier. This bright and bubbly wine is created by Rack and Riddle, a Healdsburg-based custom wine production facility, creating the sparkling for Hook & Ladder. Cold, crisp and cleansing, the blush pink bubbly delivers aromatics of tropical fruit along with a delightful presence of peaches and cream on the palate. “This is a wine that is less about the technical aspects of the winemaker,” says Ruddick.
Next, he pours their 2020 Chardonnay from Spiderweb Ranch on Guerneville Road. “This is an estate wine that we source from John Balletto,” says Ruddick. “We wanted another single vineyard designate, and John gave us permission to use it.” This Chardonnay is aged in 30% new French oak, and offers delicate notes of honeysuckle and creme brûlée. “A lot of the fruit from the Russian River valley has acid retention,” explains Jason. “These Chardonnays have it, along with good fruit character.”
To follow, Ruddick pours a taste of their smallest case production, the 2020 Los Amigos Ranch Chardonnay. “We produce four barrels annually,” says Jason of the single vineyard project. “It ended up being a really integrated barrel,” he says. Derived from Clone 45, a clone originally from the Burgundy region of France, this Chardonnay has characteristics of a classic Muscat, with notes of vanilla, honeysuckle and key lime.
For our third tasting, we transition into their Pinots, a varietal Jason prefers to maintain a bold and robust profile. Ruddick pours a splash of their 2018 estate Pinot Noir from Russian River valley. “This wine leans toward about 20 to 25% maximum new French oak, and spends nine months aging,” says Jason. Not much of a fan of light bodied Pinots, he’s proud of this wine’s intensity and higher sugar levels. “We’re looking for ripeness and fruit intensity,” he says, and this Pinot has it, with notes of strawberry, rhubarb, raspberries and vanilla spice. “This harvest’s Pinot is exciting,” he says. “We see awesome color extraction and fruit so far—the Pinot is going to turn out phenomenal.”
We complete our tasting with the 2019 Tillerman red blend from Chalk Hill road, one of their most popular wines offered. In firefighting, a tillerman steers the back end of the truck, a position Cecil proudly held during his career. The blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cab Franc and Merlot, offers a deep purple color with a bold structure. Multi-layered characteristics offer notes of cherry, blackberry cobbler and a dusty cocoa barrel spice. This versatile blend pairs well with food or may stand alone on its own. And under $30 a bottle, the price is right. “The style is fun, approachable and it tastes good,” says Jason, which speaks true of the diverse variety of wines within the winery’s portfolio. “The fact that we have such a diverse portfolio is an advantage to us,” says Ruddick. “We’re a winery of choice, if you will, and our selection has served us well.”
This harvest season, be sure to pay a visit to Hook & Ladder to sip and enjoy the fruits of their labor.
At a Glance:
Address: 2134 Olivet Road, Santa Rosa, Calif., 95401
Phone: 707.526.2255
Website: hookandladderwinery.com
Hours: Open daily, 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tasting fee: Flights starting at $25
Reservations: required for premier flights, walk-ins welcome.
Picnics: Yes.
Pets: Yes.
Did You Know?
In their efforts to give back to the community, Hook & Ladder Winery created scheduled partnerships with different local nonprofits each month of the year. A dollar amount from sales of their selected wines goes directly to that month’s nonprofit. This month, the winery is supporting the California Fire Foundation, a nonprofit organization providing emotional and financial assistance to the communities they protect.
