Arista Winery

Arista Winery - Healdsburg, California

About

We are a boutique, family owned winery that prides ourselves on having created a true destination experience for our visitors. A breathtaking setting of Japanese water gardens, mountain and vineyard vistas, combined with an inviting tasting room, offers guests a welcoming environment that encourages picnic lunches and leisurely days spent on the estate.

Location Description

We are just outside of Healdsburg, on Westside Road, in the heart of Sonoma's wine country.

Features

  • We specialize in handcrafted Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, dry Gewurztraminer and Zinfandel.

Additional Information

  • Meeting / Conference Facilities:
  • Caves:
  • Wedding Facilities:
  • Picnic Facilities:
  • Dog Friendly:
  • Winery Tours:
  • Wine Tasting:
  • Art or Architecture:
  • Organic / Biodynamic:
  • Awards:
  • Wine Club:
  • Lodging / Bed & Breakfast:

Average Bottle Price

$ $60

Winemaker

Fascinated by the seemingly infinite complexity of sensation afforded by a bottle of wine, Matt Courtney strives constantly to gain a more complete understanding of the processes involved in winemaking from the vineyard to the bottle. He is passionate about the details and nuances of the entire process, and prides himself in creating wines of both hedonistic enjoyment and intellectual contemplation.

Born in Meridian, Mississippi, Matt originally moved to the Bay Area at the age of 10. While studying for his philosophy degree at UC Berkeley, Matt simultaneously studied under a variety of fine dining gurus and wine experts: a focus that started at Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse restaurant in Berkeley, and would take him as far away as Bologna, Italy. While at UC Berkeley, he also met his future wife on the ski team. After college, they moved Jackson Hole, Wyoming where Matt worked at Restaurant Terroir with Master Sommelier Ken Fredrickson, and also began working toward becoming a Master Sommelier. After passing the certificate level exam, Matt left for France and Italy to begin serious study for the advanced level of the three-tiered Court of Master Sommeliers program. However, upon meeting and discussing wine with the many of the producers that he had come to respect the most, he realized that to attain the level of understanding to which he aspired, he had to make wine.

It was then that Matt's passion for Chardonnay and Pinot Noir was established. He and his wife returned to California to continue their studies, she in nutritional biology and he in viticulture and enology. While working on pre-requisites to enter UC Davis, he cut his teeth in the cellar with winemaker Al Perry at Robert Biale Vineyards.

Matt graduated in 2005 right when wine industry icons Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer were looking for a new Assistant Winemaker for their personal label, Marcassin. Matt got the job, and over the next eight years, he worked closely with Helen and John in both the vineyard and winery. Matt was able to see and experience first hand the focus, approach, and attention to detail necessary to grow and produce wine on the very highest level. During his tenure at Marcassin, Matt played a tremendous role in crafting some of the most highly sought after and highly acclaimed Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays in the new world. After spending eight years honing his craft Matt knew the time was right for him to step out and take full control of the production process.

The perfect opportunity came in 2013 when Matt was offered the position of winemaker at Arista Winery in the Russian River Valley. Excited by the prospect of working with the winery’s two premier estate vineyards as well as their select group of growers, Matt enthusiastically accepted the offer. He will also preside over the design and construction of the new, estate winery from the ground up. Matt looks forward to the opportunity of helping a young brand with huge potential continue its rise to the highest levels of quality.

Matt resides in St. Helena with his wife Angela, daughter Anya, and their golden retriever Murphy.

History

Arista Winery was founded by the McWilliams family in 2002 with a mission to create the most elegant expression of Russian River Valley Pinot Noir.

The Team

Al and Janis McWilliams

Since their first visit to California's wine country, the McWilliams family of Texarkana, Texas, has dreamed of a future here in Sonoma County. In 1996, Al McWilliams - an orthodontist - took the first step in making their dream a reality.

Joining his brother-in-law, John Copeland, the two purchased a family vineyard estate, Pine Mountain Vineyards in Cloverdale. Then in 2004, Al and his wife, Janis Copeland McWilliams, acquired 36 acres of prime agricultural benchland on scenic Westside Road in Healdsburg. The Russian River Valley will be the home of Arista Winery and its estate Pinot Noir Vineyards, as well as a residence for the McWilliams family. The inaugural release of our 2009 Two Birds Estate Vineyard Pinot Noir was released in the Fall of 2011.

Mark and Jennifer McWilliams

Mark McWilliams, born and raised in Texarkana, Texas, is the son of Al and Janis McWilliams. He has been involved in Arista winery and vineyard operations of Sonoma County for the past 10 years.

After graduating from the University of Texas - Austin with a degree in Corporate Communications, Mark took his first job out of college working for Kendall Jackson Wine Estates. What started as a temporary summer job developed into a passion as Mark enrolled in UC Davis Wine and Viticulture courses, tasting groups, and annoyed his winemaker friends with endless questions. During his time with Kendall Jackson, Mark held various positions encompassing vineyard operations, harvest logistics, and cellar work. Following his time at Kendall-Jackson, Mark continued his passion for wine and pursuit of industry knowledge by working as a wine consultant for a wine and spirits distributor based in Dallas, Texas.

In the fall of 2003 Mark married Jennifer Habecker, a native of Dallas. Shortly thereafter, Mark and Jennifer returned to Healdsburg, California to be fully involved with Arista. Mark manages the day to day operations at the winery. Mark and Jennifer live in Healdsburg, California with their sons Jake and Pierce and their daughters Macie and Maggie and their Maltese "Lucy".

Ben and Tatiana McWilliams

After graduating from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2003 with a degree in Business Administration, Ben volunteered for the Peace Corps and spent the next two years living and working in rural Honduras. The majority of his time was spent helping local coffee farmers implement sustainable coffee growing techniques as a means to add value to their products. During these two years Ben was able to hone his agricultural skills and see first-hand the power and importance of organic farming techniques which are employed in our estate vineyard.
After spending additional time in South America, Ben and his wife Tatiana chose to return to Sonoma County to establish roots of their own. Ben is responsible for general business operations as well as managing the estate. Tatiana spent several years working at the winery, and continues to be an integral decision maker. She now works full time at Sotheby’s International Realty in Healdsburg.

Lucy & Coco

Without doubt the most well known of the Arista family is Lucy the Maltese and Coco the Lab. Lucy is often seen sunbathing on the front porch, and Coco is notorious for persuading unsuspecting picnickers to hand over the goods. They have been published in several winery dog books that are available for purchase in the tasting room. They will most likely be there to greet you the next time you stop by!

Ulises Valdez

With more than 20 harvests behind him, Ulises has risen to the top of his profession. Widely considered to be one of the most knowledgeable and skilled vineyard managers in the wine country, Ulises has worked with some of the most important wineries in California including Paul Hobbs, Mark Aubert, Kent Rosenblum, and Jeff Cohn. Robert Parker, Jr. said of Ulises that he is “one of the finest viticultural managers in northern California” and that “he is unquestionably at the top of his field.” Ulises oversaw the planting and development of our estate and is responsible for the on going management of the property.

Practices & Techniques

We are committed to sustainable farming practices and sustainable business practices. We work closely with local growers who share our dedication to sustainability in their vineyards. We do not attempt to manipulate our vineyard sites but instead strive to preserve each vineyard's natural qualities.

We believe that wines made in the vineyard are well-behaved in the cellar. We coax them along with minimal intervention and gentle handling. Arista's wines have deep, rich flavors that reflect the unique sites from which they are sourced. Produced in small lots of several barrels, the wines are deliciously balanced with fruit, tannins, acidity and oak in harmonious proportion.

Estate Vineyards / AVA

Our wine production comes from our estate vineyards (vineyards we own) and non-estate vineyards (vineyards we don’t own but purchase fruit from). Our estate vineyards are located on Westside Road in the Russian River Valley and on Martinelli Road in the Green Valley of the Russian River Valley. Both properties are further broken into individual blocks due to soil variance which allows us to maximize each site’s potential and demonstrate the uniqueness of each block’s terroir. In total we own 110 acres in the Russian River Valley of which approximately 30 are planted to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel.

Westside Road Estate | Healdsburg, California

The McWilliams Family purchased the Westside Road property in 2004, opened the tasting room and planted four distinct and separate Pinot Noir vineyards within the 36 acres, two of which have been bottled and released.

Banfield Estate | Forestville, California

In April 2012, the McWilliams Family purchased a historic vineyard on Martinelli Road in Forestville to add estate old-vine Zinfandel, Chardonnay and additional Pinot Noir to our current offerings.

Besides our Estate Vineyards, Arista also sources grapes from several small, responsibly-farmed vineyards, throughout the Russian River Valley and the Sonoma Coast. In addition to our Sonoma County sites we also source grapes from Mendocino County’s two most prestigious Pinot Noir Appellations, the Anderson Valley and Mendocino Ridge, and from the Chehalem Mountains in Orgeon’s famed Willamette Valley. Our commitment is to sustainable farming practices and sustainable business practices and we’ve carefully chosen grower partners that pursue these same principles. We do not attempt to manipulate our vineyard sites but instead strive to preserve each vineyard's natural qualities.

Hawk's View Vineyard - Pinot Noir, Willamette Valley
Ferrington Vineyard - Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer, Anderson Valley
Perli Vineyard - Pinot Noir, Mendocino Ridge
Smokey Ridge Vineyard - Zinfandel, Dry Creek Valley
Bacigalupi Vineyard - Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
Bucher Vineyard - Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
El Diablo Vineyard - Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
Ritchie Vineyard - Chardonnay, Russian River Valley
Lucky Well Vineyard - Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
Mononi Vineyard - Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley
Toboni Vineyard - Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley

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Hours

Daily 11am – 5pm

Address

7015 Westside Road
Healdsburg, California 95448
United States

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