Ironstone Vineyards

Ironstone Vineyards is a family-owned wine producer situated in the Sierra Foothills, in eastern California. It has more than 2000 hectares (5000 acres) of vineyards in the Lodi and Sierra Foothills AVAs, which are planted to an array of classic Californian grape varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, Petite Sirah, Viognier, Zinfandel and Pinot Noir.

In 1948, founder John Kautz acquired 5ha (12 acres) of land that he planted to vineyard. Today, Ironstone Vineyards is still managed by the Kautz family, who named the estate after the limestone and schist rock slopes from which they carved out their wine caverns and laid the foundations for their winery. Indeed, the miners who carried out this enormous project said that it was like "blasting through iron".

The wine caverns have the capacity to hold up to 1500 French and American oak barrels. These caverns provide the ideal temperature and humidity conditions for the storage of wine, remaining at a constant 60℉ (16℃) and 70 percent humidity throughout the year.

Ironstone Vineyards makes a wide portfolio of wines. The Classic, Reserve and Obsession ranges come under the Ironstone  brand name, but the company also produces a range of stand-alone brands including Christine Andrew and Leaping Horse Vineyards.