Kistler's DARKER SIDE

Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ups the ante at the house that Chardonnay built

- James Molesworth

There's no signage for Kistler Vineyards at the gate on Vine Hill Road. The low-key flex is emblematic of the approach here. Jason Kesner has been Kistler Vineyards' head winemaker since 2014, and it's a title he proudly shares.

"We have 56 winemakers here," says Kesner. "We have 56 full-time employees and they all play a role. We farm. That is what we do. We do somersaults all through the growing season so that we can do nothing when the fruit comes in. Once the fruit is in the winery, then it's just a don't-mess-it-up approach. It's almost an affront to say 'make' the wine."

Born in Boston, Kesner, now 56, was brought west by his mother when he was 8 years old and then grew up in St. Helena. He says he learned to drive a tractor and truck by the time he was 10, as his stepfather, viticulturist Phil Freese, gave him some on-the-job training. Kesner's mother, Pamela Stevens, went on to become the head biologist in the lab at Robert Mondavi Winery.

"I inoculated many a petri dish and plated samples into the evenings myself after school," Kesner says of growing up with his biologist mom. "We were living out in Chiles Valley and after collecting me in St. Helena, she'd often go back to the winery. I'd help, sleep in the car, run around the winery at night, in particular during harvest... not to mention running through the tanks and across the catwalks and pretending like I was a rebel and the stormtroopers were after me."

In line with the lack of bling at Kistler's front gate is the winery itself, a bare-bones facility built in the late 1980s. Outside are a few rows of small, 4.5-ton open-top fermentors (there are plans to expand the winery footprint and get those under a roof). Inside are a few barrel rooms, replete with precisely lined up barrels and even a little touch of funk growing on the walls. If it were below ground, you might feel as if you were in Burgundy or the Rhône Valley.