Turley Wine Cellars
Turley Wine Cellars makes twenty-eight wines from 35 different vineyards, some with vines that date back to the late 1800’s. The vast majority of which are single vineyard designate Zinfandels and Petite Syrahs. By focusing on old vine vineyards in particular, Turley aims to both create and preserve California’s unique winemaking culture. All of the vineyards are either certified organic by California Certified Organic Farmers or somewhere in the process, and all natural yeasts are used in the fermentations.
Born in Tennessee and raised in Georgia, Larry Turley moved to California in the mid-seventies. He met John Williams, the soon-to-be winemaker at Spring Mountain, and after sharing a glass of wine, they became friends; a few bottles later, they became business partners. Frog’s Leap Winery was founded in 1981. The winery enjoyed quick success; however, Larry was motivated to start a smaller, more focused project. Eventually, Larry sold his half of Frog’s Leap to John and started Turley Wine Cellars in 1993.
Christina Turley spent summers growing up working beside her father in the winery. She moved to New York to attend Barnard College at Columbia University, and graduated in 2006 with a BA in Art History. After a brief stint at Matthew Marks Gallery, she buckled down and finally got serious about wine, becoming a Certified Sommelier with the Court of Master Sommeliers and passing the WSET Advanced program with Honors. After eight years in New York, she returned to her roots and joined Turley full time in 2010.