Field Trip Vineyards Peay Page
Peay Vineyards
Located on a 53-acre hilltop property, Peay Vineyard sits above a river in the far northwestern corner of the West Sonoma Coast, four miles from the Pacific Ocean. While the majority of the vineyard is devoted to Pinot Noir, Peay also proudly also grows Syrah, Chardonnay, Vionier, Rousanne and Marsanne. Peay also makes a Pinot Noir from the famed Savoy Vineyard in the Anderson Valley.
A first generation family winery, husband and wife Nick Peay and Vanessa Wong grow and make the wine, and brother Andy Peay sells the wine and runs the business.
Notably, Peay are certified organic farmers with what they refer to as “a respect for Mother Nature’s ability to create an intricately complex and balanced natural environment.” They focus on the health of the soil and the roots of the vines, they maintain certifications for fish-friendly farming and integrated pest management, and they run on bio-diesel at the vineyard and solar power at both the vineyard and winery. Their philosophy is that long-term health of the vineyard dictates these approaches to farming and making wine.
Peay Vineyards consistently earns critical acclaim, including being named SFGATE’s “Winery of the Year” and featured on top-ten lists for their distinct quality, with winemaker Vanessa Wong gaining recognition for their exceptional, terroir-driven wines from the West Sonoma Coast appellation.
A native of San Francisco, Vanessa Wong began learning about the wine business by working in wine retail and catering when she was a teenager, sparking her fascination with wine making. This led her to pursue a degree in viticulture and enology at UC Davis. Vanessa expanded on her studies at U.C. Davis by working at various wineries in the Napa Valley and spending one year in France to study enology and do research at the l’Institut d’Œnologie in Bordeaux. Upon completion of her studies, she traveled between Europe and Australia to explore the diversity of winemaking.
Vanessa was planting a vineyard on the Sonoma Coast when she heard about the Peay brothers who had just planted Pinot Noir clones “up north.” She visited in the fall of 2000 and loved the beauty of the place and the quality of the young vine fruit she tasted while she walked the vineyard with Nick Peay. Vanessa joined Peay Vineyards in the spring before their first vintage in 2001 and she and Nick were married the following year.
Prior to coming to Peay, Vanessa worked at Peter Michael Winery as winemaker and assistant winemaker from 1996-2000. She also spent time working in France at Château Lafite-Rothschild in Pauillac and Domaine Jean Gros in Vosne-Romanée.
Together with the Peay brothers, Vanessa shares the vision of what she refers to as “making distinctive, harmonious wines that capture their estate vineyard’s timeless, unique expression of place.”
