Moniker Mendocino County Vineyard
- Founded:
- 2004
- Owner:
- Tommy & Ann Thornhill
- Location:
- Mendocino County, California
In the late 1990s, our dream was to bring our far-flung family together in one beautiful place we could call home. After years of searching, we decided Mendocino County, California was that special place, and in 2002 we moved to La Ribera, a benchland vineyard in the heart of the Ukiah Valley.
At the head of the family, Tommy Thornhill Jr., a retired businessman, and Ann Thornhill, an educator, moved from Texas to rejoin sons Tom and Tim and their families. Both enjoy time as great-grandparents, and Ann works with our local elementary schools, designing programs to assist academically challenged students.
“We were looking for a community in which we could make a positive impact and bring our family together,” says Tom Thornhill, Moniker Chief Executive Officer, who first came to California in 1975 to attend the graduate school of business at Stanford University and subsequently became a respected financial professional. “We found our home in Ukiah Valley.” His son, Chase, joins him as Moniker’s marketing director.
Moniker Chief Operating Officer Tim Thornhill couldn’t agree more. “Whether supporting local sports teams or teaching school kids about organic farming, we hold the people who live and work alongside us in the highest regard, an extension of our family.”
Tim brings his experience as a noted arborist, horticulturist and landscaper to the day-to-day operations of our vineyards and winery, later purchased in 2004. His daughter, Kate, manages export sales and is married to our winemaker, Mark Beaman. “Moniker truly is a family affair,” says Tim.
Wine grapes have been grown in Mendocino since the 1850s, when fortune-seeking Italian immigrants began planting cultivars and making bold, hearty reds like those from their homeland. Today, Mendocino boasts a dozen distinctive American Viticultural Areas (AVAs), over 100 wineries and 17,000 acres of vines.
“Mendocino’s broad range of microclimates and soil types enable us to cultivate a wide range of varieties,” says Moniker Winemaker Mark Beaman. Warm inland valleys provide ideal growing conditions for varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, while Mendocino’s coastal districts specialize in cool-climate varietals like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.
La Ribera Vineyard
La Ribera is a 1.5-mile long property situated on the eastern banks of the Russian River in the southern Ukiah Valley. One hundred and fifty acres are planted in vines, with the original plantings dating to the early 1950s. The river and its abundant riparian zone exert a cooling influence that tempers summer heat and helps retain acidity and freshness in the grapes.
“La Ribera is a special site and we farm it with a high degree of environmental consciousness,” Tim Thornhill says. The certified Fish-Friendly property includes protected wildlife habitats as well as an innovative drip irrigation system customized to each soil type on the property.
Attention to the needs of each vine results in more concentrated and expressive fruit, and La Ribera’s diversity of soil types allows us to precisely match an array of varietals—Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Syrah—with their ideal soil profile. The result is high-quality wines boasting intense varietal character.