Stewart’s farming background goes back to growing up in Amador County working with prunes, walnuts, and grapes. In the early 1990s, he planted Sangiovese on his parents’ land, later experimenting with Syrah. Then, in 2001—after “catching the Pinot Noir bug”—he began planting what would become his own Northern Marin vineyard: about 8.5 acres, largely Pinot, positioned between Tomales Bay and the San Francisco Bay. He made his early vintages in other facilities starting in 2004, before building out his own modest production space on Treasure Island and bringing winemaking fully under his own roof beginning with the 2013 vintage. The scale stays small by design, because for Kendric, the point isn’t growth—it’s doing the work, carefully, year after year, and letting the vineyard speak without a lot of fuss.
Sangiovese Reward Ranch 2020, Kendric Vineyards
- Regular
- $27.00
- Sale
- $27.00
- Regular
- Unit Price
- per
The wine offers up a youthful and complex nose of cherries, orange peel, and a lovely base of soil. Rocky minerality, bonfire, a touch of fresh oregano, and a discreet framing of cedar. The use of whole cluster fermentation comes through with a compelling aroma of bark and roots, almost like a wine version of a birch beer. The wine is bright, with incredible age worthy acidity, and the tannins are sharp but well integrated. Drink now, or squirrel away to let the wonderful flavors blossom!
The vineyard sits at around 1,500 feet elevation, where the unique terroir features iron-rich granitic sandy loam soils, which contribute to the wine's distinctive mineral notes. The site's rolling hills, rich in granite, provide excellent drainage, and the semi drought-resistant rootstock used adds to the vine's longevity and adaptability to the area's climate.
About the Winery
Kendric Vineyards is exactly the kind of small, vigneron-run operation Doctorbird loves to champion: humble, hands-on, and rooted in real farming. Led by Stewart Johnson—grower, winemaker, and the opposite of “photo-op” participation—Kendric is built around the idea that great wine starts with dirt-under-the-fingernails stewardship. We’ve met Stewart, and he’s the real deal: thoughtful, unflashy, and as invested in caring for the land as he is in what ends up in the glass.
The lineup is intentionally small and personal, drawn from Stewart’s Northern Marin vineyard (right at the Sonoma border) and family-held sites in Amador County’s Shenandoah Valley. Kendric produces several bottlings of Pinot Noir, still and sparkling Rosé, plus Syrah, Chardonnay, and Viognier from the Marin vineyard, alongside a Sangiovese from Stewart’s mother Kathleen Johnson’s vineyard in Shenandoah Valley—land they manage together. That family thread runs through the whole story: the winery is named for Stewart’s late father, Kendric Johnson, both as a tribute and as a kind of ongoing accountability to high standards; and Stewart is quick to credit his wife, Eileen Burke, for the steady support that made the long road from planting to bottle possible.
