A visionary wonder built ahead of its time by namesake Mr. Jay Arthur Fritz in the late 1970's, Fritz Underground Winery, a Gaudi-style masterpiece, represents a viticultural passion for sustainability, quality, and tradition.  Jay Fritz's vision for a winery grounded in responsible      stewardship is what has allowed the quality of the natural bounty of our 120+ Estate to thrive over the past thirty years

 

Built into the side of a picturesque hill atop the northernmost region of the famed Dry Creek Valley, the Fritz Winery operates with a modern sensibility for efficiency and awareness by utilizing the unique         attributes of its subterranean design. Naturally cool temperatures, ideal for wine making and cellaring, are maintained without any use of expensive or carbon-heavy devices common to most modern wine production. 

 

With a natural spring to supply simple irrigation, redwood groves to provide unique micro-climates, and a soil ideal for prized planting year after year, the Fritz terroir provides the ideal growing condition for exceptional wines.

 

Today, Jay's son Clayton and his family run the winery with the same dedication and enthusiasm to these core values.  As a  three-tiered structure, we're able to further cut down on energy usage by capitalizing on the presence of gravity. By harnessing gravity to move our juice from the crush pad down to the tanks and barrels, we're not only saving energy by forgoing pumps, we're also saving our  precious juice from the detrimental effects of excessive pulsation and buffeting. In this way, our winemaking is able to  preserve the  delicate nuances present in our Pinot Noir and other prized Estate fruit .