Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs is located on Lytton Springs Road in Healdsburg, on a property that has been synonymous with California Zinfandel since Paul Draper first tasted fruit from the site in 1972. Ridge purchased the Lytton Springs winery and surrounding old vine vineyards in 1991, making it a true estate. The winery building itself is a landmark in sustainable construction: built from compacted rice straw bales with walls finished in a mixture of clay sourced from the vineyard, sand, and straw. The Lytton Springs field blend — a mix of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Carignane, and other varieties planted together in the old vineyard tradition — has produced what many consider the quintessential example of Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel for more than 50 consecutive vintages.

Paul Draper and the discovery of Lytton Springs

Paul Draper, who served as head winemaker at Ridge Vineyards from 1969 until his retirement in 2016, first encountered the Lytton Springs vineyard in 1972. He recognized immediately that the old vines on the property — planted in the mixed-variety field blend tradition that Italian immigrants brought to California in the nineteenth century — were producing fruit of unusual intensity and complexity. Ridge purchased grapes from the site that year and produced the first Lytton Springs bottling.

Over the following two decades, as the Lytton Springs wine built a devoted following, the relationship between Ridge and the property deepened. In 1991, Ridge purchased the Lytton Springs winery and the old vine blocks surrounding it, converting what had been a purchased-fruit arrangement into a true estate operation. The combination of the old vines, the Dry Creek Valley site, and Paul Draper’s winemaking philosophy — which emphasized minimal intervention, natural fermentation, and transparency about the source of every wine — made Lytton Springs one of the most documented and debated single-vineyard wines in California.

Fifty years of Lytton Springs Zinfandel from the old-vine field blend that defines what Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel tastes like at its best.

The field blend and the old vine tradition

The Lytton Springs vineyard is planted in the field blend style that was the standard in California before varietal labeling became the norm. Field blend vineyards contain multiple grape varieties planted together in the same rows, harvested simultaneously, and fermented together as a single wine. The proportions vary with each harvest depending on how each variety ripened that year.

At Lytton Springs, Zinfandel dominates, but Petite Sirah, Carignane, Mataro (Mourvedre), and other varieties contribute to the blend in proportions that shift from vintage to vintage. This co-fermentation of varieties is not a winemaking technique applied in the cellar; it is a historical artifact of how the vineyard was planted, and the resulting wines have a complexity and integration that purpose-planted single-variety blocks rarely achieve. The vines themselves are old — in some cases well over a century, with root systems that go deep into the Dry Creek Valley soils and produce very small amounts of intensely concentrated fruit each year.

The rice straw bale winery: sustainable construction in Dry Creek Valley

The Ridge Lytton Springs winery building is one of the more unusual structures in California wine country. It was constructed from compacted rice straw bales — an agricultural byproduct that provides exceptional thermal insulation — with exterior walls finished in a mixture of clay excavated directly from the vineyard, sand, and straw. The result is a winery that maintains stable internal temperatures with minimal energy use, reducing the need for artificial cooling during fermentation and storage.

The rice straw bale construction at Lytton Springs has become a reference point in discussions of sustainable winery design. The choice reflects the broader Ridge commitment to minimal intervention — in the vineyard, in the cellar, and in the physical infrastructure of the operation.

Pairing Ridge Lytton Springs with food

The Lytton Springs field blend produces wine with greater structural complexity than most single-variety Zinfandel because the co-fermented varieties contribute different tannin profiles, acid levels, and aromatic compounds to the finished wine. Petite Sirah adds deep color and firm tannin. Carignane contributes acidity and spice. The result is a Zinfandel-based wine that has more aging potential and more food compatibility than its extraction-first varietal counterparts.

For food pairing, the structure of Lytton Springs opens more options than jammy, high-alcohol Zinfandel styles. Lamb is the natural partner: grilled rack of lamb, slow-braised lamb shoulder with herbs, or a leg of lamb roasted with garlic and rosemary all match the wine’s weight and complement its spice character. Wild boar, venison, and other game meats work equally well. The firm tannin from the Petite Sirah component calls for fat to soften it, which is why a bone-in short rib or a braised duck leg — both fatty preparations — pair so naturally here.

Ridge Vineyards Lytton Springs: common questions