From Knights Valley to the Sta. Rita Hills

Melville started in 1989 in Sonoma County’s Knights Valley, where Ron Melville grew fruit that other winemakers wanted badly. That was a good business, but it was not the one he wanted. He wanted to grow cold climate Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah, and Knights Valley is not the place for it.

In 1996 he moved the operation to the Sta. Rita Hills, in the western end of the Santa Ynez Valley, where the transverse ranges funnel ocean air inland and the growing season stretches out long and cool. Ron and his son Chad run it today, and the estate is now one of the most highly regarded in California.

What estate actually means here

Plenty of wineries use the word estate loosely. Melville does not buy fruit. It works exclusively with vineyards it owns and farms itself, and it controls making and selling the wine as well. That vertical control is the whole strategy, because it means every decision that shapes a bottle happens in house.

The farming is deliberately hard on the vines. Aggressive but careful canopy management, shoot thinning and leafing, controlled pounds per vine, cover cropping and restrained irrigation all push the plants toward small quantities of concentrated fruit. The philosophy at the other end is the opposite of interventionist. As the winery puts it, by harvest they consider the wines already made, and the job is to avoid interfering with their natural path.

120 acres, 33 clones, and Lompoc dune sand

The estate sits on mostly Lompoc dune sand shot through with clay loam and shallow hard pans of Monterey shale. Rows run predominantly north to south at eight feet by three, which works out to 1,812 vines per acre, a tight spacing that makes vines compete. Everything is vertically shoot positioned.

Underneath that there are seventeen clones of Pinot Noir, eight of Syrah and eight of Chardonnay, all on low vigor rootstocks. Every block is fermented in small lots and kept isolated through its entire elevage, which gives the team a running experiment in how each patch of ground responds to what they do to it. That is the reason the same varietal appears more than once in the lineup below under different block names. For more on the appellation, see our guide to the Sta. Rita Hills.

The wines

Every bottle below links straight to Melville’s own store. Prices and vintages come from the winery and change as releases sell through.

2023 Estate SyrahSta. Rita Hills$44.002023 Estate SyrahDonna’s Block$62.002024 Estate Pinot NoirSandy’s Block$76.002024 Estate Pinot NoirTerraces$78.002024 Estate Pinot NoirSta. Rita Hills$46.002024 Estate RieslingSta. Rita Hills$40.002025 Estate ChardonnaySta. Rita Hills$46.002025 Estate ChardonnayInox, Clone 76$52.002023 Estate ChardonnayBlanc de Blancs (sparkling)$60.002022 Estate ChardonnayDeep Cuts$95.002024 Estate Pinot NoirLa Chapelle$80.002024 Estate Pinot NoirPommardView2023 Estate Pinot NoirSandy’s Block$74.002023 Estate Pinot NoirAnna’s Block$74.002023 Estate Pinot NoirTerraces$78.002023 Estate Pinot NoirBlock M$78.002023 Estate Pinot NoirIndigène$70.002023 Estate GrenacheCaden’s Block$62.002022 Estate GrenacheCaden’s Block$62.002018 Estate SyrahHigh Density$66.00

Looking for more producers nearby? Start with our Sta. Rita Hills guide or the wider Santa Ynez Valley, and use the wine pairing tool to match a bottle to dinner.

Visiting Melville

There are two rooms. The estate winery sits out on Highway 246 among the vines, and the Santa Barbara lounge is on State Street downtown with much later hours.

Common questions about Melville Winery

Explore more Santa Barbara County wine

• Sta. Rita Hills AVA guide
• Santa Ynez Valley wineries
• Santa Barbara County wine guide
• California Pinot Noir explained

Wine listings, images and pricing are pulled from the winery and link to its own store. Details change with each release. Confirm hours and reservations with the winery before visiting.