Wine Spectator highlighted Phil Coturri, widely regarded as the father of organic grapegrowing in California, in the story “Sonoma’s Pioneer of Organic Vineyards Passes the Torch.”
After 60 harvests in Sonoma, Coturri is stepping back from leading Enterprise Vineyards and entrusting day-to-day responsibility to the next generation, including his sons and Rodrigo Soto of Far Mountain, underscoring Soto’s role as one of the trusted stewards chosen to help carry forward Coturri’s site-driven, organic farming philosophy.
The article briefly revisits Coturri’s decades-long impact, from pioneering organic viticulture in the late 1970s to farming 600 acres across Sonoma and Napa and helping establish the Moon Mountain District AVA, now home to Far Mountain. More than a retirement story, the piece frames this moment as a meaningful generational handoff rooted in shared values of terroir, sustainability, and long-term vineyard stewardship.
You can read the full Wine Spectator story HERE
