The Mathieu family brings the Rhône to Sonoma

Côte des Cailloux, which translates to “Hill of Rocks,” was founded in 1996 by the Mathieu family. Jacques Mathieu, a French expat from Haute-Savoie and his wife Jenifer Kaufman from New York established CDC when they discovered the Sonoma Valley, so reminiscent of Jacques’ early years exploring the Rhône region. Jacques had been an elementary school teacher, a tree planter and a builder, and Jenifer was a hat-maker and artist of many trades. With their two young children, they moved to a small, south-facing parcel in the Mayacamas foothills and planted 2.5 acres of the traditional Northern Rhône varietals, which thrive in steep volcanic hills. 

Building Côte des Cailloux

The estate vineyard was planted with the purpose of making a field blend comprised of 45% Grenache, 35% Syrah, 15% Mourvèdre, 3% Counoise and a mix of Zinfandel and white varietals such as Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier. Jacques learned to farm organically with the help of Phil Cotturi, who managed the vineyard early on, and to vinify the grapes naturally with his brother Tony Coturri at H. Coturri & Sons on Sonoma Mountain.

Philosophy and Practices

Côte des Cailloux wines are the direct expression of our soils, climate and fruit, which yield powerful, structured wines with intense color, finesse and balanced acidity. We don’t add or remove anything from the wine, which we believe is made on the vine by strengthening our plants and building the wine’s character and immunity. Fermentation occurs naturally with wild yeasts, and without added sulfites, temperature control or filtration. We seek high-quality  fruit in order to extract as much flavor as possible. After green-cropping, our estate vineyard consistently yields 4 tons per acre. We use regenerative agricultural practices such as green manure, compost and organic fertilizers, with minimal sulfuring to prevent mildew. We irrigate from early June to mid-August on average six hours a week with the goal to make the plants as self-sufficient as possible. We manage the canopy during the growing season in order to achieve, as much as reasonably possible, ripeness across all varietals in order to co-ferment. 

 The Home and Winery Project

Concurrent with planting a 2.5 acre vineyard in 1996, Jacques began designing and building a winery/residence. The style of the house was influenced by his travels in North Africa, echoing the flat roofs and towers of Berber ksars in the Maghreb. The first floor, which is set into the hill of rocks, will control the winery temperature naturally, and the upper terraces will shelter and entertain. The building is made of concrete, with a layer of shot earth, pigmented with crushed rocks from the Mayacamas Mountains. The projected completion is late 2023.