Lots of local vintners live on their vineyard estates, but it’s not often they invite you into their homes. At Halleck Vineyard in Sebastopol, co-founder Ross Halleck’s hilltop home doubles as the winery’s tasting room.
The story
Before venturing into the wine business, Ross Halleck founded a marketing and brand agency specializing in technology and wine. With offices in Silicon Valley and Sebastopol, Halleck’s unconventional client roster included tech giants such as HP and Apple, as well as big-name wineries like Kendall-Jackson and Iron Horse Vineyards. Eventually, the lure of Sonoma Wine Country became too much to resist, and Halleck moved to western Sebastopol with his future wife, Jennifer.
Instead of hiring landscapers to install a lawn on their hilltop property, the wine-loving couple planted Pinot Noir. They didn’t actually intend to start a winery — at most, they thought they might sell the grapes as a college fund for their yet-to-be-born children.
It took the vineyard, planted in 1993, six years to produce a commercial crop. They managed to sell the fruit to a local winemaker for blending, and as a courtesy, he gave them a couple of cases of the pre-blended Pinot. Ross and Jennifer’s sons happened to attend the same elementary school as rock star winemaker Greg La Follette’s children, so one night at a school event, they gave him a bottle of their wine and asked for his opinion. La Follette called the next morning and asked if he could buy the grapes for a vineyard-designated wine under his new label, Tandem. They were officially in the wine business.
Now making wine under their own label, the Hallecks supplement their estate Pinot Noir with fruit sourced from Sonoma County growers. The winery makes about 2,000 cases per year — mainly Pinot Noirs, along with a few whites.
Ross and Jennifer are no longer married, but they still run the winery together. She handles everything from fruit sourcing to wine production, while he heads up marketing and hosts visitor tastings. Both consult with Halleck Vineyard winemaker Rick Davis on final wine blends.
The vibe
This is the kind of place you don’t stumble across by accident — unless you happen to be lost in the Sebastopol hills. When you arrive at the estate, walk around the back of the house to the deck, with its views of the forest and rolling hills. Along with serving as a winery tasting room, this is Ross Halleck’s home. Visitors take seats around a farmhouse table just off the kitchen or out on the deck. All tastings are communal — meaning, parties are seated together around a single table. The idea is to encourage conversation and connection between groups. If you feel like reaching out to someone via U.S. mail, they’ll even send a Halleck postcard for you — stamp included.
On the palate
Well-balanced and seamless, Halleck’s wines hail from vineyards in the Russian River Valley, Sonoma Coast and Sonoma Mountain appellations. The 2021 Hillside Cuvee Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir ($59) is a medium-bodied homage to bright red cherries, berries and spice. The 2022 Three Sons Cuvee Pinot Noir ($59) from Russian River Valley has an alluring spiced plum aroma, with some darker fruits and earthy hints on the palate. I was surprised to find a Gewürztraminer in the lineup, and it turned out to be a highlight. The 2024 Calandrelli Vineyard Dry Gewürztraminer from the Russian River Valley ($54) is bone-dry yet juicy — crisp and floral, with green apple and tropical fruit flavors.
Tastings cost $70 per person for a flight of six wines. Each is paired with a small bite.
Beyond the bottle
Have you ever had the feeling while visiting a winery that you just don’t want to go home? At Halleck, you don’t have to. Visitors can book a stay at the winery’s Airbnb — a cozy, outdoor-centric cabin set below Halleck Vineyard. The cedar Wine Lodge includes a wood-burning Finnish sauna — yes, please! — a deck overlooking the forest with a hot and cold plunge pool, and a fire pit with vineyard views. Rates average $415 per night.
Open with tastings at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Reservations required. Halleck Vineyard, 3785 Burnside Road, Sebastopol. 707-892-1234, halleckvineyard.com
Tina Caputo is a wine, food, and travel journalist who contributes to Sonoma magazine, SevenFifty Daily, Visit California, Northern California Public Media, KQED, and more. Follow her on Bluesky at @winebroad.bsky.social, view her website at tinacaputo.com, and email her story ideas at tina@caputocontent.com.