Making great wines begins with finding great vineyards; unique and lovingly tended sites with something special to express in the glass. At MacRostie, we work with upwards of 25 Chardonnay vineyards and close to 20 Pinot Noir sites each vintage, but we are always on the lookout for exciting new terroirs as we explore the diversity of Sonoma County Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. One such discovery is the Huichica (Hoo-cheee-kah) Hills Vineyard in the Carneros region of Sonoma County. 

We began working with Huichica Hills about five years back, and in the years since, it has played an important role in our Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir and has even contributed to our pinnacle Pinot Noir, The Loch. In 2022, after evaluating our lots of Pinot Noir from Huichica Hills, Winemaker Heidi Bridenhagen and her team were so impressed that they made the decision to elevate Huichica Hills to a single-vineyard wine, our 2022 MacRostie Huichica Hills Vineyard Carneros Pinot Noir.

One of the factors that drew Heidi to the 380-acre Huichica Hills Vineyard is its unique location straddling the border between the cooler Sonoma side of Carneros and the warmer Napa County side. Our prized block of Huichica Hills, which features Dijon Clone 828 Pinot Noir vines planted in 2012, is entirely on the Sonoma County side. The block features well-draining volcanic clay loam soil and is located on steep undulating hillsides. Planted in an ideal east-west orientation that allows cooling winds to funnel through the block, it yields grapes with thick skins, amazing color, and classic Carneros notes of earth and spice. While Carneros is know for producing lush, red fruited Pinot Noirs, the climate of Huichica Hills pushes the flavors to a darker fruit profile of blue fruits and purple plum with big, lush tannins. The site also naturally limits yields, with small, tight clusters producing intense, concentrated flavors.

At Huichica Hills, Heidi and our Grower Relations Manager & Viticulturist Taylor Abudi, work closely with the same farming company that guides two other acclaimed sites we work with, Mirabelle and Wohler Road vineyards, to implement pruning, leafing, and shoot thinning as needed. Because the vineyard produces a naturally bold expression of Pinot Noir, Heidi aged the wine in a bit more new French oak (38%) to frame the wine and add intriguing layers of cocoa and coffee.

If you wish to try our debut Huichica Hills Pinot Noir we invite you to visit our tasting room in Healdsburg, the MacRostie Estate House, where we are currently pouring the wine as part of our Signature Experience. Featuring single-vineyard Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs, our Signature Tasting can be enhanced with a selection of curated food pairings, including Caviar & Truffle Chips or an Elevated Charcuterie Plate (vegetarian option available).

The wine was also be included in our May 2025 Summit and Pinnacle MacRostie Wine Club shipments. At MacRostie, we offer three great wine club options, our Pinnacle, Summit and Highlands clubs, with each one offering a Pinot, Chardonnay or Mixed option. Our customizable clubs also include a wealth of fantastic benefits such as access to limited production wines like Huichica Hills, complimentary tastings, exclusive member pricing, complimentary flat-rate shipping and much more. If you are a fan of world-class Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, we hope that you will consider joining our vibrant community of wine lovers.