Climbing up from the northern border of Dry Creek Valley, Rockpile Appellation's dramatic nature unfolds. Pritchett Peaks loom in the distance, hinting at their role in Rockpile's geologic evolution; the paved road drops away to gravel, revealing much about the tenacity of early homesteaders and current-day Rockpile Grape Growers. Stories of outlaw hide-outs, wild boar hunting and those killer Rockpile wines abound. They are all true...
Welcome to ROCKPILE, Sonoma County's most rugged and spectacular AVA.
While Rockpile is one of the newest in California, receiving AVA status April 29th, 2002, the area has been referred to as Rockpile since the 1850's. Located in Northern Sonoma County, at the northwest corner of Dry Creek Valley, the Rockpile AVA encompasses nearly 15,000 acres, of which less than 160 are planted to vineyard. This makes Rockpile one of the smallest AVAs in the United States in terms of acreage planted. Approximately 2,500 of the acres of the Rockpile AVA overlap the Dry Creek Valley viticultural area to the Southeast. Vineyards range in elevation from 800' to nearly 2100'.
There are many geographic and geologic features that separate Rockpile from its neighboring appellations. The combination of an elevation requirement, extreme terrain, and a unique climate make the vineyards and resulting wines unlike anything from Sonoma County, California'or the world for that matter.
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