Moshin Vineyards

The Moshin Vineyards story is one of unlikely beginnings, tenacious hard work, and a passion for winemaking. Founder Rick Moshin went from being a San Jose State University math instructor to a pioneer of Russian River winemaking. He literally built the brand from the ground up—without the assistance of outside investors – keeping ownership solely within his family. To this day, you can still find Rick tending vineyards, tasting barrels in the cellar, conducting virtual wine events, building furniture for the tasting room, or repairing the plumbing. He was DIY way before it was a thing!

Since way back in 1989, Rick has been producing natural terroir-driven, and delicious wines in the Russian River Valley – sustainably farming the Estate Pinot Noir vineyards that thrive on sunny Goldridge soil slopes and turning those grapes into small-lot premium wines in the gravity-flow Moshin Vineyards winery located on Sonoma County’s famed Westside Road.

The first vintage of Moshin Pinot Noir in 1989 was not without its challenges – an early rain during harvest soaked the picking crew and the Moshin Family as they picked their first Pinot Noir grapes. Rick remained undeterred and continued to enthusiastically farm his vineyard – reworking the caning structure and planting new vines. “It all starts in the vineyard” remains one of his winemaking philosophies with a focus on sustainable vineyard practices followed by light-handed fermentation techniques – utilizing native yeasts, no additives, and the gentle movement of gravity for moving select Pinot Noir lots from tank to barrel to bottling line.

The early 1990’s found Rick teaching mathematics at San Jose State University during the week and farming his 10-acre Pinot Noir vineyard on the weekends. During this time, he connected with local winemaking icons and grape growers such as Davis Bynum, Gary Farrell, and Joe Rochioli – gleaning knowledge, grape cuttings and even selling some of his own grapes to Davis Bynum for a Bynum-Moshin designate bottling. These deep roots in the history of Russian River Valley winemaking have built a solid foundation upon which Moshin Vineyards has grown – culminating in 25 acres of Estate vineyards, a state of the art four-tier gravity flow winery, and a talented team of hospitality and winemaking support.