About Us
With Vineyards in the Sonoma Coast and Petaluma Gap Appellations, Delgado Family Vineyards is focused on crafting small lots of exceptional California Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
The Delgado Family
We began making wine in the early 1990’s when we released our first wine. Our first effort was a partnership that produced a merlot named “Keon”. We helped pick the grapes and hand delivered them to the crush facility. It began our love affair with the wine industry.
Miguel and Becky decided when the time was right, we would buy our own vineyard and produce our own brand. Finally, in 2006, the right property came on the market, and suddenly our dream became a reality. We purchased a 23-acre parcel in Sonoma, with sweeping views of the surrounding vineyards. It was planted with chardonnay and pinot noir grapes. We loved walking the rows of grapes, especially in the late summer as the evening winds would kick up.
Our first vintage from the property was in 2010. And, every year since we have been producing high quality single vineyard chardonnays and pinot noirs. We take great care to work with the most talents wine professionals to produce uniquely delicious wines that can be paired with food or simply enjoyed by the glass with friends. We are proud to put our name on every bottle.
We hope you enjoy our wines, but please always drink responsibly.
Cheers!
The Delgado Family
Don Van Staaveren - Winemaker
Born and raised on a large working farm in California’s Central Valley, Don never imagined his love of the land would inspire him to become a winemaker.
However, after graduating from Cal Poly, San Luis Obisipo and working briefly in the valley in 1969, Don moved to Sonoma to manage multiple vineyards. Thus began his fascination with winemaking. His love of pinot noir in particular, began with a tasting of the 1947 Chambertin during a post-harvest celebration in the early 1970’s.
In 1976, Don took a temporary crush job at Chateau St. Jean. He stayed on and worked his way up through the ranks in the cellar, becoming winemaker in 1985. As a winemaker and a “tinkerer,” Don searched out new, gentler ways of handling grapes, preferring fermenting and/or pressing whole berries to crushing grapes.
In 1996, Chateau St. Jean became the first winery to have five of its wines featured in the Wine Spectator Top 100. Later, Don’s 1996 Chateau St. Jean Cinq Cepages became the first Sonoma wine to receive the Wine Spectator “#1 Wine of the Year” award.
In January 2005, Don became the winemaker at Three Sticks Wines, one of California’s top Chardonnay producers. In addition to his responsibilities at Three Sticks Wines, Don consults for a select group of small producer clients, including Delgado Family Vineyard.
