Wellington Winery

The Wellington Team

John Wellington purchased the site of Wellington Vineyards in 1986, and with his son Peter, this father and son team has turned an old winery into a successful estate of vineyards in just three years. When you meet them, it is easy to see why they are such a success- talented, knowledgeable, engaging and passionate about the land and quality of everything.

Sitting Down with Peter Wellington

Old Vines

With 21 acres, and some that are well over a century old, Wellington Vineyards has at least 28 varieties of wine being produced. Over a third of the vines on their property are 81 - 113 years old. Peter Wellington’s vision of having a wide range of wines is ever growing including the less common varieties of Carignane, Alicante Bouschet, and Marsanne.

Winemaking

The primary winemakers are Peter Wellington and Lynda Hanson, and they will make even the smallest adjustments to their harvesting procedure to ensure a better quality of grape, such as only picking their white grapes early in the morning when it’s cooler to avoid degradation of the flavor. They also do as little processing to their wine “in order to maintain all of the natural flavor inherent in the grapes.” Winemaking is custom tailored to each small lot of grapes (typical lot size is less than four tons). There are no standard practices other than utilization of the utmost care in handling grapes and wine.

Sustainable Agriculture

A blend of organic and traditional farming practices promote healthy vines and a healthy environment. New, irrigated vineyard blocks have permanent cover crops in order to help replenish the soil and to provide habitat for beneficial insects and spiders. The result is they never need insecticides.