Napa Planners Approve LMR Rutherford Estate Winery

NEWS RELEASE

July 16, 2014

RUTHERFORD, Calif  – Long Meadow Ranch (LMR) announced today the approval of the LMR Rutherford Estate winery project by the Napa County Planning Commission. Upon completion, the LMR Rutherford Estate will be home to a state-of-the-art 100,000-gallon winemaking facility sized to utilize grapes from the 74 acres of estate vineyard.

“We are very proud of our project as we will continue our diversified farming on the site, and we are introducing new concepts – like green walls that will be made up of trellised rootstock to provide cooling in addition to a consistent vineyard aesthetic, “ said Ted Hall, owner of Long Meadow Ranch with his wife, Laddie, and son, Chris.

“Of course, we are employing our established sustainable farming approach by building a solar energy array and a composting facility and we are continuing our certified (CCOF) organic farming practices. We have also granted conservation easements on our two adjoining parcels, which create a total of 59 acres dedicated solely to agriculture. And, a development zone has been defined to enable another 24 acres to be dedicated solely to agriculture. The site is already enrolled in Napa Green (Fish Friendly Farming) and we plan to certify the winemaking facility as a Napa Green Winery as well.”

The heart of the property was first purchased by the Hall family as LMR Rutherford Gardens in 2002 and expanded in 2008 with the acquisition of an adjacent 48-acre property, formerly known as San Mateo Ranch. The entire 90-acre estate was assembled and consolidated in late 2012, when an additional 34 acres were acquired and combined with the existing parcels, making this property one of the largest contiguous estates in the Rutherford appellation.

The project features clustered development adjacent to existing buildings, while utilizing architecturally consistent “farmscape” designs. Innovative and sustainable design elements of the project include rootstock green walls; rainwater collection; solar power; state-of-the-art water conservation methods; and high-value thermal materials. The 42,000-case winery is sized to estate grape production, with 90 percent of the capacity to be utilized by estate grapes.

LMR will continue diversified agriculture on the site with up to 10 acres of vegetables, more than 200 commercial fruit trees, egg-laying poultry, and an apiary (bees), in addition to its 74 acres of vineyards.

“We are very proud to play an important role in the local food system by producing wine, olive oil, grass-fed beef and lamb, fruits and veggies, eggs, and honey. This project will enable us to continue to deliver our local products to the community through Farmstead restaurant, St. Helena Farmers Market, Napa Farmers Market and our own weekend farmers market stand at 738 Main Street,” said Laddie Hall.

The LMR Rutherford Estate has gained international recognition as a high quality certified-organic vineyard, which produces extraordinary Sauvignon Blanc grapes, as well as Cabernet Sauvignon. Today, the grapes are used to produce Long Meadow Ranch’s estate wines and are also sold to ultra-premium wine producers.

In addition to winemaking, plans for the site include an agriculture-focused hospitality program offering multifaceted educational tours about wine and food in agriculture.

About Long Meadow Ranch

Long Meadow Ranch is a family-owned agricultural enterprise producing grapes and wine, olives and olive oil, grass-fed beef and lamb, fruits, vegetables, and eggs in the Napa Valley. The many faceted operation includes the 650-acre LMR Mayacamas Estate home ranch located in the Mayacamas Mountains above Rutherford and the 90-acre LMR Rutherford Estate, located in Rutherford. In addition, Long Meadow Ranch operates a tasting room at the historic Logan-Ives House and owns the acclaimed farm-to-table restaurant, Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch, both located at 738 Main Street in St. Helena. This destination location includes working gardens, a seasonal farm stand, and a variety of unique event spaces. In addition to the Napa Valley activities, farming and cattle operations also take place on properties in Marin and Humboldt counties. Consistent with its time-honored motto of “Excellence through Responsible Farming,” Long Meadow Ranch is certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers.