Patz & Hall

Sonoma County winery’s new tasting room set to debut in Spring 2026.

Founded in Napa Valley in 1988, Patz & Hall specializes in single-vineyard Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs from top California vineyards. Vintner and founding winemaker James Hall and his team, including current winemaker James McCeney, source grapes from three leading Sonoma County appellations: Sonoma Coast, Russian River Valley, and Los Carneros. Additional fruit comes from the Central Coast’s Santa Lucia Highlands and Mendocino County. The wines deftly showcase their regional and vineyard origins while also reflecting their creators’ sensibilities and experience.

Labels of three wines. — Grapes for Patz & Hall’s Pinots come from as far south as the Santa Lucia Highlands.

Understanding Oak

Hall’s keen understanding of French oak barrels and their effects on the wine-aging process has earned him respect throughout the industry. To achieve the level of quality he desires, Hall is involved in every aspect of barrel fabrication, starting with sourcing wood from French forests. He also decides how long the staves are left to dry and the levels and styles of toasting (lightly burning the insides of barrels to “season” them).

Chenoweth Ranch in the Russian River Valley supplies grapes for one of Patz & Hall’s several single-vineyard Pinot Noirs.

Strikingly Different Results

During a 2025 tasting, I observed to Hall that his oak usage seemed less overt than a decade earlier. He acknowledged that his palate and winemaking approach have evolved over time. “Somebody once gave me an analogy about learning to play music,” Hall recalled. “The first thing you do is play loud and obvious, and then you learn to play more subtly. The wines I find compelling now are more complex and less bombastic – more intriguing and slightly elusive. I have the grapes [from star vineyards like Hyde, Kent Ritchie, Jenkins Ranch, Pisoni, and Chenoweth Ranch’s Bootlegger’s Hill] to make wines like that. So I started picking a little earlier, doing a bit more extraction, and using less oak. That’s something I’ve been working on” for the past several years.

Two wine labels. — Chardonnays from the Hyde and Ritchie vineyards often receive high marks from critics.

Hall may have introduced incremental changes in recent years, but his winery transitioned from private to corporate ownership and then back again over the last decade. Co-founder Donald Patz departed after the 2016 sale to Ste. Michelle Estates, but Hall stayed on as winemaker. Eight years later, Hall and his wife, Anne Moses, repurchased the winery. In spring 2026, a new tasting room is set to open in a bungalow a few blocks south of Sonoma Plaza (until then, limited tastings will take place at the winery’s production facility).

Why go: skilled winemaking team; wines from multiple regions.

Four people, one holding an award plaque. — James Hall and Ann Moses, flanked by Wine Country U.S. House of Representatives members Mike Thompson (left) and Jared Huffman, attended the 2023 Sonoma County Wine Auction. Hall and Moses, two of Patz & Hall’s four founders, served as the event’s honorary co-chairs. (Photo by Bob McClenahan for Sonoma County Vintners.)

Itinerary

Patz & Hall appears in Sonoma Pinot Noir Day Trip.

Info

596 1st St. E, Sonoma 95476 (check the winery’s website for the tasting room’s grand opening date)

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This story originally appeared online in 2017; it was most recently updated in 2026.