Pey Family "Legacy Wines"
The past 30+ years of winemaking have been an incredible adventure. Below are some of our wines which we no longer produce and are not available for sale. I hope Susan and my modest contributions help pave the way for future vinous explorers.
Mount Tamalpais Vineyards
1999-2008
We started making wine in chilly western Marin County in 1999 after reading “Early Marin” by Jack Mason. Mason noted the significant viticultural activity in Marin in the 1800’s. This history led us to research further and soon we took over an ailing west Marin Merlot vineyard, gave it some love, and made some delicious, balanced wines that met with great acclaim. In 2003 we produced Marin County’s first dry Rosé which we called “Vin Gris”. Over time we realized that cold west Marin was better suited to Pinot Noir and Riesling so we grafted the vineyards over and the label was retired in 2008.
Pey-Marin Vineyards
2002-2021
2002 was the first vintage of our coveted “Trois Filles” Pinot Noir. We grafted Merlot vines over to heritage Pinot Noir budwood sourced from the legendary (and generous) cool-climate expert Francis Mahoney. In 2005 I found some Germanic “Neustadt” Riesling vine material and grafted over a few acres. These wines were nervy, balanced, low alcohol gems. Sadly, the dry-farmed vineyard succumbed to the California drought and I shuttered the label in 2021.
Marin Water
2018-2021
Our first dry rosé release in 2003 was also the first ever produced in Marin County. Later I produced a limited run of a killer dry rosé under the MARIN WATER label and with its minimalist label developed a loyal following from the local soccer mom crowd. I shuttered this label in 2021 to focus on my newly purchased French vineyards.
Today, Marin has more than a dozen adventurous winemakers following our footsteps and crafting delicious wine from Marin-grown grapes.
Textbook
2004-Present
In 2004 Susan and I had enough confidence in our winemaking that we took the plunge into North America’s most heralded wine region; Oakville, in Napa Valley. Starting from a rocky vineyard next to Screaming Eagle, we made 300 cases in 2004. We wanted to show that it was possible to make a “bold-yet-balanced” Cabernet Sauvignon in Napa Valley. And we succeeded. Over the next dozen years TEXTBOOK garnered too much critical acclaim to capture here, but the best moments were attending the famed Napa Valley Auction as a winery, earning a 96-point Cabernet score and the 2021 Lettie Teague feature in The Wall Street Journal which selected TEXTBOOK Napa Valley Cabernet at the best quality/value in the world. After TEXTBOOK grew to 25,000 cases it became too onerous for me to manage and I sold the business in 2019, but I am still involved in vineyards/winemaking on a consulting basis. The wines remain wonderful – don’t miss them.