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You could call Jonive/aka Harper’s Rest, a new vineyard from a “old wine” family” since Chris Underwood’s family has been in the wine business as distributors since 1888, until they sold in 2022 to RNDC. (They have renamed Jonive now to Harper’s Rest).
They are still involved in distribution in Wilson Daniels, an importer that among other things represents a number of my favorite organic and biodynamic wineries (visited), a list that includes, in the Rhone alone, the organically certified Chene Bleu (in the Vaucluse region of Provence, in the south of France, close to Mont Ventoux) and the biodynamic certified Domaine de Beaurenard, an eighth-generation family-owned winery on 80 acres of Châteauneuf-du-Pape vineyards.
Wilson Daniels has also, under the Underwoods, produced its own 55,000 case brand Routestock, a Napa and Sonoma wine, primarily for on premise distribution in the U.S.
The Back Story | 2023 Press Release | “Wilson Daniels Introduces Jonive, the First Winery Founded by the Underwood Family”
November 1, 2023 (New York, NY) — Wilson Daniels is pleased to announce the addition of Jonive, an exciting new project in the Sebastopol Hills of the Russian River Valley, to its national portfolio. With the launch of Jonive, taking its name from the original 1845 California land grant titled Rancho Cañada de Jonive, the Underwood family is writing the next chapter in its 135-year history in the wine and spirits business.
The Underwoods are the owners of Young’s Holdings, one of America’s oldest continuously operated family-owned businesses (founded 1888) and the parent company of Wilson Daniels. Today, the fifth generation of the family take a bold step forward with the founding of Jonive. Inspired to create terroir-driven expressions of Burgundian varieties in northern California, the family has produced an elegant 2021 Estate Pinot Noir and Estate Chardonnay sourced from their Moon Dust Vineyard, planted to 19- to 27-year-old vines in the Sebastopol Hills.
“I’ve immensely enjoyed my career on the wholesale side of the wine business, but I’ve always had this untapped passion and drive to produce fine wine in my home state of California,” said Chris Underwood, proprietor of Jonive and CEO of Young’s Holdings. “When the opportunity presented itself to purchase the 18-acre Moon Dust Vineyard in 2021, my family and I sensed its potential to produce world-class pinot noir and chardonnay, and decided this would be our avenue into making wine. Partnering with acclaimed winemaker Vance Rose, both wines are deeply reflective of the terroir with its rare Goldridge soils. We couldn’t be more thrilled to present the 2021 vintage to the market.”
Jonive’s Moon Dust Vineyard is nested within the Sebastopol Hills in the coolest area of the Russian River Valley, home to rare and desirable Goldridge soils, from which it takes its name ‘Moon Dust’. First planted to vines in 1996, the vineyard consists of four pristine acres of chardonnay, comprising two individual clones across two blocks. In 2007, the vineyard was expanded to comprise an additional eleven acres of pinot noir, planted to six distinct pinot noir clones. Jonive is a true reflection of vine maturity, organic and regenerative farming, high-quality soil, a world-class microclimate, and clonal diversity.
“Working closely with the Underwood family for the past eight years at Wilson Daniels, I’ve had the opportunity to witness firsthand their admiration for the wine business and their commitment to their home state of California,” said Rocco Lombardo, President of Wilson Daniels. “Having the experience of visiting this property from the outset and tasting through the 2021 vintage, these wines reflect their terroir given the maturity of the vineyards, and exhibit great balance, fresh acidity, and length on the palate. I speak on behalf of our entire team, we are honored to launch Jonive and excited to watch these wines enter the marketplace and be made accessible to our devoted clients.”
Both the 2021 Estate Pinot Noir and Estate Chardonnay were fermented naturally without any additions before moving to barrel, where secondary fermentation was also allowed to occur naturally. The 2021 wines were aged for fourteen months in new and used French oak barrels and bottled last December.
Fast Forward to 2026 | Harper’s Rest’s Moon Dust Vineyard is Newly Certified Regenerative Organic
I had a chance to catch up with Jonive/Harper’s Rest winemaker Vance Rose yesterday on the phone.
That exclusive interview is live now and you can read it here.
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