Truett-Hurst Vineyards & Winery

Truett Hurst is nestled in the heart of Dry Creek Valley, creating world class wines from the special 26 acre haven. Visit Truett Hurst and enjoy our tasting room made of eco-friendly materials, Coho salmon swimming in the creek, sheep grazing in the vineyards, beneficial insect habitat, and our big and bold Zinfandels.

While the formation of the Truett Hurst partnership began in November of 2007, the founding partners worked together at Fetzer Winery years before. At that time, Paul Dolan was Director of Winemaking and hired Phil Hurst, fresh from UC Davis, to work as one of the winemakers. Years later, Phil would hire Paul’s son, Heath, right out of college to work for him. Thirty years after that first meeting, Paul, Heath, Phil and Sylvia Hurst formed a partnership in the Dry Creek Valley. Their vision: create world class wines using biodynamic farming principles. To complete that vision, Mark De Meulanaere and winemaker, Virginia Lambrix were brought in.

The story really begins in the vineyard, where we source fruit from the best hillside, old vine vineyards in Dry Creek. The style of wine, be it spicy and bold, or fruit driven and elegant, is dictated by the vineyard. Understanding this and allowing for the authentic translation of its terroir is paramount for making unforgettable wines. Small, open top fermentations, mixing the cap gently with punch downs and selection of only the best French and American oak are only part of the care that go into handcrafting our wines.

Winemaker Virginia Marie Lambrix

While on vacation in South Africa, Virginia Lambrix tasted her first “serious wine.” Captured always by a love of nature and the out-of-doors, she determined it was time to learn about the art of the vineyard – viticulture. Within a year, Virginia was studying horticulture and agronomy in the master’s program at the University of California, Davis, with an emphasis on viticulture and enology. Upon graduation, she worked at the Hendry Ranch in Napa, and for Concha y Toro in Chile.

In 2004, Virginia visited a biodynamic farm in Chile. It was immediately clear to her that the biodynamic principles of respecting nature and nurturing ecology within the vineyard made sense in both a scientific framework and on an intuitive level. She embraced the philosophy and made a point to study and implement its principles at every opportunity. With this knowledge, she returned to work in California for Lynmar and De Loach Vineyards, both of which are in the Russian River Valley.

During her three years at De Loach Vineyards, Virginia worked closely with her growers, moving their vineyards to more sustainable farming methodologies and, in the process, improving quality and moderating farming costs. Her mentor at De Loach, Greg La Follette, taught her to understand both vineyards and winemaking at an intuitive level.

Working side-by-side with winemakers Hugh Chappelle at Lynmar Estate and Greg La Follette, Virginia couldn’t help but follow their winemaking with interest and in 2008 she began making wine for Truett Hurst Winery. Bringing her former background in the Russian River Valley to the attention of the Truett Hurst team, she added Russian River Valley wines to the winery’s portfolio.

Today, she oversees winemaking for Truett Hurst wines in Dry Creek Valley, VML Winery in Russian River Valley, as well as the Bradford Mountain and Healdsburg Ranches brands.

Virginia is a strong advocate for alternative agriculture. She is currently on the Demeter Board for education on biodynamic farming, with the goal of developing educational resources for farmers who are pursuing this approach to farming.