In a world of thousands of wineries, we’ve discovered something truly unique and special in Kenwood.
When you enter the sanctuary of the La Rochelle Winery in Kenwood you will be transported to a simpler time, when small family wineries shared stories, with guests, over tastes of their small-lot, handcrafted wines in their backyard. Your passion for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay will be reignited, and your relationship with wine will change forever.
We sat and chatted with Chuck Easley, the Proprietor and Winemaker at La Rochelle to uncover why visitors feel the
La Rochelle Winery experience is so unique.

First let me clearly say that we are unique, not better. I am firmly of the belief that one wine, or winery is not better than another. Each winery delivers something unique to their guests. Every wine has its place and can enhance the moment. We are different for many reasons.
Because La Rochelle is the evolution of the old Mirassou winery wine club, which was the first wine club in California, and most of our wines are sold exclusively to members, we have an uncommon connection with our customers.
We also have a passion to make their member experience extraordinary. Our wines are very unique in that they are crafted to age for decades. Since most people don’t age wines, the overwhelming majority of wines today are made to drink within a year or two.
To make wines in our style, they must come from a selection of rare and unique sites. Think of mushrooms and truffles. It requires the perfect climate and skilled vineyard managers to grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that is both complex and age worthy. These sites are as rare and special as the places truffles grow.
We are not just about making 17 different single-vineyard Pinot Noirs, four Chardonnays and five sparkling wines. The collection of our wines is designed to create an experience for our members and guests. Each wine is like a chapter in a book. We are obsessed with showing people what is possible in California, from a variety of AVA’s and making people fall in love with the what wine has to offer.
 So far, that may not sound so very different. Here’s where we take the road less traveled. People don’t fall in love with facts and figures, well, maybe some do. Over the past 40 -50 years, the industry has needed to educate people on what wine is. We’ve talked about what percentages of oak, tons per acre, residual sugar and malolactic fermentation, etc. The visitor experience was full of new information and wine was an exciting new discovery.
We believe that people have been there, done that, literally got the T-shirt. At La Rochelle, we have made the switch from telling visitors what wine is and and are now focused on getting them excited about what wine is capable of … creating experiences.
At La Rochelle, we are in the business of enhancing the quality of people’s lives through their wine experience. We delight in passing on the incredible stories of the people that grow the grapes, make the wines and more than anything, we invite people to create their own experiences that put a great bottle of wine to its ultimate use, creating a lasting memory. This is done with courage, passion and excitement, not facts and figures. What we try to achieve is best described by an experience created by one of our favorite growers.
My grower hero is Ulysses van der Kamp. He is the master of carpe diem and knows how to create an experience. The van der Kamp vineyard holds its place as one of the most beautiful vineyards in California. There are hundreds of little vignettes on the property where you could set up a romantic table for two and have the dining experience of a lifetime.  
And, to top all of that, what did Ulysses do for his sweetheart Choeleen’s birthday? He built a platform that hovered over the vineyard so they could enjoy her special birthday dinner from a different perspective.
We aspire to make wines that will enhance special occasions, such as the one that Ulysses created for this magnificent occasion.    
We hope folks will come visit us, not just to taste our wines, but to find that spark that made them fall in love with wine in the first place.  At La Rochelle, we want to stretch the boundaries of what is possible.  It’s time to take the magic of wine to the next level.
Please come join us in our journey!

Next time you buy a special bottle of wine and want to create a memory, think of what Ulysses created … the possibilities are endless and the memories are forever!