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Sonoma's Jordan Sells Original Land to Native Americans
Winery was no longer using land; tribe has made no announcement of plans for the site yet
Jordan Vineyard and Winery has sold 269 acres of land, including 110 acres of vineyards, in Sonoma’s Alexander Valley to Lytton Rancheria of California, a Native American tribe. This was the original vineyard that the Jordan family purchased when they founded their winery in 1972, and it sits close to—but was not part of—the original Lytton Rancheria tribal territory. Purchase price was not disclosed.
The Lytton Rancheria is a federally recognized tribe of Pomo Native Americans. Their holdings include commercial buildings and land holdings in Santa Rosa and Windsor, as well as the San Pablo Lytton Casino, located about 20 minutes east of San Francisco in San Pablo. “The tribe was looking at economic diversification,” said their attorney, Larry Stidham. He added that their main interest in purchasing the parcel is because it is “close to the land that was illegally taken away from them by the federal government.”
Jordan Vineyard and Winery was founded in 1972 when Denver oil and gas executive Tom Jordan and his wife, Sally, purchased this 269-acre piece of property, planting it to Cabernet Sauvignon. Since then they have acquired additional land—after this sale, Jordan will own more than 1,200 acres of land with 110 acres planted to grapes. Jordan makes two wines, an Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and a Russian River Valley Chardonnay.
Though this parcel was their original vineyard site, the Jordans have since focused their vineyard plantings off of the valley floor on higher elevation hillsides and benchlands, where they feel the soil is better-suited to Cabernet Sauvignon. Jordan CEO John Jordan called the parcel sold “a piece of land that is no longer capable of delivering the quality of grapes we demand.”
“The land is zoned for agriculture, but we’ve let 60 percent of the property go fallow since John [Jordan] embarked on winemaking quality enhancements in 2006,” explained Lisa Mattson, communications director for Jordan. Stidham said that the Lytton Rancheria does not have specific announcements of development for the property, but did say it was possible that it would remain vineyard land.
