RouteStock is an invitation to discover the deep roots of winemaking in Napa and Sonoma, planted firmly at each step of your journey through our vineyard sites. Every glass tells the story of Napa and Sonoma’s remarkable fine wine heritage, from the famous routes that wind between the vineyards, to the roots that produce its world-renowned grapes. An endeavor of enduring Napa-based importer Wilson Daniels, RouteStock is established as a product that consistently over-delivers in quality at a very attractive price point.

At the core of RouteStock is our commitment to sourcing great fruit from high-end vineyards along well-known routes in the Napa Valley. We partner with a select group of dedicated grape-growers in the best viticultural areas for each of our varietals and we work hand-in-hand with all our growers during the cultivation season. We practice minimal intervention in our winemaking to help the grapes show their true character, using native yeasts, natural malolactic fermentation, 100% barrel aging, and no chemical additions. Our intent is to let the grapes and vintage tell us what kind of wine they should be – we never try to force the wine into a specific mold, but rather serve as a guide on its journey.

The 2022 vintage is our second year of producing chardonnay from the Sonoma Coast region, using the same three vineyard sources as last year. Our estate Moon Dust Vineyard is located in the Sebastopol Hills area of the southwest part of Sonoma Coast and has four acres of 25-year-old chardonnay vines with two clones (95 and 17/Robert Young). We blend our estate vineyard fruit with fruit from two dedicated grape growers, one in the southeast part of the Sonoma Coast and the other in the far northwest section.

2022 started with a drought and ended with a record-breaking heatwave. However, it was a beautiful growing season overall. Bud-break and flowering happened a bit early, but veraison was slightly delayed. To prepare for the forecasted heatwave in early September, we decided to harvest our southernmost Sonoma Coast vineyard on August 29th. Our estate Moon Dust Vineyard was then harvested on September 6th, followed by our northernmost vineyard on September 7th.

This wine has a brilliant light straw color and enticing aromas of raw hazelnuts, wild sage, and pear. The flavors are bright and lively with an impressive range of pear, oregano, nuts, and a delightful hint of French oak. These elements come together to create a complex, inviting, and seductive wine with a long and satisfying finish.