Turley Wine Cellars

Turley Wine Cellars (California, USA)

The undisputed titan of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah—renowned for rescuing, restoring, and championing California's oldest heritage vineyards.

Quick Facts for Consumers

  • Style: Bold, voluptuous, and intensely aromatic. Despite their rich concentration and generous body, Turley wines are revered for maintaining remarkable freshness, silky balance, and distinct vineyard-driven character rather than heavy oak.
  • Guardians of Heritage Vines: Founded in 1993 by former ER physician Larry Turley, the winery works with over 50 individual vineyard sites across California—many planted in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—preserving historic dry-farmed head-trained vines that would have otherwise been ripped out.
  • The Organic Commitment: Every single estate vineyard owned by Turley is certified organic, allowing these ancient rootstocks to express pure terroir without chemical intervention.

The Estate at a Glance

Key Regions Single-vineyard holdings across California's top heritage AVAs, including Napa Valley, Sonoma, Paso Robles, Lodi, and Amador County.
Farming Certified Organic farming, focusing on old vine preservation, dry-farming (no irrigation), and manual canopy management.
Winemaking Led by Director of Winemaking Tegan Passalacqua. Uses 100% ambient/native yeasts and gentle extraction. Matured primarily in French oak barriques (with a small percentage of high-quality American oak, around 20% new oak overall) to focus on pure fruit purity.
Iconic Sites Hayne Vineyard (Napa Valley), Ueberroth Vineyard (Paso Robles), Dusi Vineyard (Paso Robles), and Old Vines Zinfandel.
Critical Acclaim A cult favorite that consistently earns 95–98+ point ratings from Robert Parker's Wine Advocate and Vinous (Antonio Galloni), who frequently hail Turley as the gold standard for American heritage varieties.