Folk Machine, White Light 2020

The vineyards that we work with and the relationships formed around them are long-term commitments, refined over many years, sacred assets. Each site has been chosen, generally for many reasons including growing the right variety in the right place, but also the site’s ability to co-evolve with the company and their winemaking goals. There are some sites that they have been continuously working with for fifteen years now and most for at least ten. The site selections are based more on values and ethics than dollars and notoriety. 

In total, The Hobo Wine Company sources grapes from about 200 acres spread across Sonoma County, Mendocino, Clarksburg, Suisun Valley, Arroyo Seco, and the Santa Cruz Mountains. Of this, they lease and farm either directly (hands on) or indirectly (with contract labour and vineyard management companies under their guidance) about 70 acres. They play more of an advisory role in the other 130 acres monitoring vineyards and partnering with growers to reach the mutual goal of making high quality wines via ecological farming practices that over deliver on value.

88% of the vineyards that The Hobo Wine Company works with are farmed organically. 100% of the vineyards that they farm are farmed organically.

The Hobo Wine Company, based in Santa Rosa, California, believes in unforced winemaking. It is their goal to intervene as little as possible, but they understand that winemaking by definition is an intervention on something that doesn’t occur in nature. They believe in letting the vintage and the vineyards guide the process, dictate what is and what is not necessary. They believe in traditional winemaking as a goal, but modern technology within ethical limits as a resource. They want our wines to be balanced, to have a sense of place and time, to tell a story, share a history, and above all else, be delicious.

All of their wines are un-inoculated (fermented without adding commercial yeast) except the Banyan Gewürztraminer. Malolactic fermentations are also spontaneous. They avoid all commercial additives and primarily use older oak barrels. Only low doses of sulphur are added to the wines and generally as close to bottling as possible to keep the wines alive in the cellar.

The Hobo Wine Company is a wine producer based in Santa Rosa, California. They are a member of "1% for the Planet". The company is committed to a value system that extends beyond financial progress. They believe a business has an affect on its micro and macro communities and an obligation to better both. They stand behind the Black Lives Matter movement to fight for freedom, liberation, and justice, and along with the environmental crisis believe these are the most pressing issues of our time.

Their philosophy is to pay attention to each wine and its individual potential. Each wine is respected, considered, and thought about. Any action on the wine needs to be justified. When in doubt, let the wine be.

The Folk Machine was created in 2005 to primarily be a home for Pinot Noir, but is now also the main venue for our more esoteric line of wines.