Lafond Winery & Vineyards

Lafond is Pierre Lafond’s second winery, with its first crush in 2000. The winery is surrounded by 100 acres of vineyards. The natural environment and the marvelous vistas enhance the experience. The winery and vineyards are located in the western end of the Santa Ynez Valley in the Sta. Rita Hills. Proximity to the ocean favors this area with cool breezes and a climate marked by warm days, cool nights and a long growing season.

Lafond is dedicated to producing limited quantities of Sta. Rita Hills Vineyard and Appellation designated Pinot Noir, Syrah, and Chardonnay. The purpose of these single designations is to highlight the distinctions of soil and climate and create continuity in these slight but significant differences. In 2001, the BATF recognizes Sta. Rita Hills as a separate and distinct viticulture area. Distinct in climate and geography, the wines grown in this cool and unique growing area are permitted to be identified as Sta. Rita Hills. Within the last few decades, this unique area has been recognized viticulturally and enologically for producing world-class cool-climate varietals.

Lafond Winery first released its SRH wines made exclusively from grapes grown in their 100 acre vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills appellation in spring of 2002. Since then, Lafond has been practicing the Sustainable Agriculture Model as set out by the California Association of Wine Growers. This includes: composting and compost teas, running machinery on bio diesel, micro management of pest control (this prevents the “blanket” application of any treatment materials), micro management of irrigation (this conserves water and enhances wine quality) and using predators in pest control (such as owl boxes, leaving some “weed” mass to promote spider and predacious insects populations). Once again, Lafond SRH are single varietal bottling of Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah. Grown and crafted exclusively in the Sta. Rita Hills (SRH) AVA, these cool climate gems hit the mark in depth and finesse and stand alone as one of the best buys in the region.