Monterey

Click on the map above to explore our vineyards in Monterey.

For lovers of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Monterey County’s Arroyo Seco appellation is ideal. Its rare confluence of stony, loam soil and maritime climate work together to yield grapes with tremendous fruit intensity, the hallmark of the region’s natural riches.

J. Lohr oversees over 1,300 acres of estate vineyards here, having planted our first Chardonnay grapes in the early 70s. These original vineyards have supplied fruit for over twenty years for our iconic J. Lohr Estates Riverstone Chardonnay, celebrated for its enticing, stone fruit flavors of peach and nectarine.  Possessing perhaps the longest growing season of any California winegrowing region, Arroyo Seco is the perfect setting for additional cool-climate varietals, including our crisp and beautifully floral J. Lohr Estates Bay Mist White Riesling and J. Lohr Estates Wildflower Valdiguié,  a French varietal produced stylistically to echo the light, berry Gamay of Beaujolais. Cooling afternoon winds contribute to two other lush and nuanced Chardonnays in our portfolio: J. Lohr Arroyo Vista Chardonnay, which marries mineral and citrus fruit flavors with Burgundian winemaking techniques, and J. Lohr October Night Chardonnay, which has an aromatic, floral expression owing much of its unique character to the Dijon clone 809. After years of vineyard trial and experimentation, we also now have two Pinot Noirs grown in the Arroyo Seco: J. Lohr Estates Falcon’s Perch Pinot Noir, with aromas of red fruit, lilac, rose petal, vanilla and notes of sage and thyme, and J. Lohr Fog’s Reach Pinot Noir,

The famed extended growing season of Arroyo Seco occasionally blesses us with the development of Botrytis (the noble mold). In recent years, Botrytis has enhanced our J. Lohr Late Harvest White Riesling, yielding sweet, intense flavors of dried apricot, orange blossom and honey, all balanced by a crisp acidity. 

We also are pleased to introduce our first wines from two exceptional vineyards in Monterey County’s acclaimed Santa Lucia Highlands appellation, with the first fruit harvested in the fall of 2010. Planted on the loamy, rocky, northeast-facing slopes and terraces of the Santa Lucia Mountain range, our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines receive plenty of morning sunlight before benefiting from afternoon breezes that sweep in off of Monterey Bay, cooling the vineyards. Like grapes from the Arroyo Seco, Santa Lucia Highlands fruit is known for its deeply expressive yet nuanced aromas and flavors. But where our Chardonnays and Pinots from Arroyo Seco reflect more classic, Burgundian-style characteristics, our wines from Santa Lucia Highlands are expressed in a distinctly New World style. The J. Lohr Highlands Bench Chardonnay reflects tropical flavors - intense notes of passion fruit, pineapple and juicy ripe peach. Our J. Lohr Highlands Bench Pinot Noir is deeply Californian in character, with pure sour cherry and raspberry flavors.