 | ||||
SWITCHBACK RIDGE
In 1914, Eliza and Mads Peterson purchased a 100 acre property on the Silverado Trail between
St. Helena and Calistoga. The property hosted a small Zinfandel vineyard at the time,
but was eventually replanted to plums with the onset of Prohibition. They worked the orchard
for many years and when the time came to pass on the farm, it was the three daughters,
Vera, Carrie and Mae that stepped up the manage things- Vera worked the land, Carrie
managed the books and Mae came back every year to help with the harvest. Vera’s son
John grew up working the farm and passed that work ethic onto his children. Over time, the
plum orchards transitioned back to grapes and by the 1990’s, 21 acres of vines thrived on
the property, including a sixty-plus year old block of Petite Sirah. The idea of a family wine
project was hatched in 1995 by John’s daughter Kelly, and with the help of original winemaker,
Bob Foley, the first vintage of Switchback Ridge, named after the winding trails in
the hills behind vineyard, was produced in 1999. Today, Thomas Brown heads up the
winemaking for this family owned treasure at the mouth of Dutch Henry Canyon.
