Rudd Oakville Estate

Originally known as the Girard Estate, Rudd Oakville Estate was renamed in 1996 when Leslie Rudd, manager of the Standard Beverage Corporation and Chairman of Dean & DeLuca, purchased the 22-hectare estate in Oakville, California. After the purchase, he heavily invested into revitalizing the vineyards and winemaking facilities. He eventually hired Charles Thomas, a talented winemaker who had previously worked at Mondavi and Cardinale, to make wines from estate's 4 varieties, which began cementing Rudd's reputation for top wine. Beginning with the 2006 vintage, the winemaking team was reshuffled with Michel Rolland as consulting oenologist and viticulturalist extraordinaire, David Abreu, in the vineyards.