Bidwell Creek Vineyard is located in Knights Valley in the Sonoma County AVA.  Richly colored by California history, Knights Valley dates back to the era of Spanish land grants.   The area was sparsely populated when Jose de los Santos Berryessa, a sergeant at the Presidio of Sonoma, was given the land as a gift from the Mexican Governor in 1843.  He built an adobe hunting lodge that still exists today and named the area Rancho Mallacomes.  In 1850, after the Mexican War, California became a United States territory and Berryessa lost possession of the land.   Thomas Knight, a participant in the Bear Flag Revolt at Sonoma, purchased the northern portion of Rancho Mallacomes in 1853 and planted row crops, orchards and vineyards.  He expanded the hunting lodge and was highly regarded by those in the area as a successful farmer.  Although he owned the ranch for only 21 years, the area was renamed Knights Valley in his honor.

Knights Valley received significant recognition in the late 1870s and 1880s when author Robert Louis Stevenson wrote “Silverado Squatters” in a cabin on Mount St. Helena overlooking Knights Valley.  Shortly thereafter, the famous 19th century artist Thomas Hill honored Knights Valley and Mount St. Helena through a series of paintings on canvas.

Throughout its history, Knights Valley has remained an agricultural area and today is home to world-class wineries earning critical acclaim from wine critics and collectors alike.

In 2000, Norma and Lamar Hunt purchased a ranch along the banks of Bidwell Creek and began restoration of the site that would later become Bidwell Creek Estate and Vineyard.  After restoring the riparian border along their stretch of Bidwell Creek and reinvigorating the Estate’s prime agricultural soils, they planted the first block of vineyard in 2002.

Nestled on the bank of Bidwell Creek in Knights Valley, Bidwell Creek Vineyard is a site dedicated to the production of ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon.  As the County's eastern-most AVA, its climate is the warmest and its soils are largely composed of mineral-rich material, making it more reminiscent of neighbouring Napa Valley and an ideal environment for cultivating Bordeaux varietals.

Bidwell Creek Vineyard was planted in a superior standard and is intentionally lower-yielding in order to produce grapes of higher concentration and quality.  It was designed with tighter spacing (3’ x 5 ½’) to coax vines to thrive in a smaller footprint and generate as little as one to two clusters per shoot.  As a result, the typical growing season yields two tons or less per acre of prized Cabernet Sauvignon. 

The rich, gravelly soils of Bidwell Creek Vineyard and the area's ideal climate are integral to the complexity and great character of Perfect Season Cabernet Sauvignon.

Farming practices at Bidwell Creek Estate are based on long-term sustainability to enable the preservation of the land and its natural resources.  The quality of the air, soil and water is safeguarded through an ongoing effort to evolve and continually improve farming methods.

Sustainable farming practices include water conservation and monitoring, an important consideration for the Estate and its location along Bidwell Creek.  Water ponds, filled by reclaimed and recycled sub-surface drainage water, supplement the well water used to irrigate the vines in a block-by-block fashion.  If needed, individual vines showing more dryness are hand-watered to reduce water waste.  Two frost systems are in place:  overhead sprinklers (typically used in the area) and wind machines.  In minor frost events, the wind machines are used instead of the sprinkler system to help further reduce water usage.  

Although not certified organic, the vineyard is farmed organically as a general practice using reduced-risk fungicides.  A permanent cover crop planted in alternating rows is used to stimulate better entomology and enrich the soil with nitrogen-fixing material which eliminates the need for synthetic fertilizers.

Bidwell Creek Vineyard is meticulously hand-farmed with careful attention by the team at Barbour Vineyard Management to produce the very best fruit possible. The growing season starts with pruning in late winter followed by budbreak in late March/early April.  The vines flower in early June and continue their gradual maturation until mid to late October when harvest takes place.