Littorai

Littorai is a small, family-owned producer in Sonoma focusing on Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The estate makes a range of single-vineyard wines from these two varieties, sourced from a range of contract growers, leased vineyards and estate vines in the Sonoma Coast and Anderson Valley AVAs.

The estate was founded in 1993 by Heidi and Ted Lemon. Ted Lemon had previously worked with some of Burgundy's top producers, including Romanée-Conti, Dujac and Georges Roumier.

The Lemons bought a 12-hectare (30-acre) farm in western Sonoma County in 2003. Only around 2ha (5 acres) of this is planted to vines, with the remainder devoted to pasture with cows and hay for compost, and to undeveloped streams and woods. The estate vines, which make the Pivot Pinot Noir, are farmed without fertilizers according to biodynamic principles.

Littorai's winery building, completed in 2008, is made from insulating reinforced straw bales, with natural ventilation for temperature control. Juice and wine is transported by gravity to avoid the use of pumps, and all water used is recycled to irrigate the vineyards.