Rudd Winery

The narrative of the Rudd story is driven by the value Leslie places on tradition and family, values reflected by his desire to create a multigenerational winery with a legacy of excellence. As a young man working for his father’s wholesale liquor company in Wichita, Kansas, Leslie learned the alcoholic spirit business from the ground up. His dream of owning a winery took root on a trip to France in the mid 60’s when Leslie visited the legenda...

Our soil’s optimal mineral content and other geological characteristics along with our western facing exposure give us the opportunity to grow Bordeaux varietals in order to produce world-class red wine. We have planted all five of the major Bordeaux varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Malbec, and Petit Verdot. But the land’s potential can only be achieved if at every decision point we make the choice to maximize quality.

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Our overarching winemaking philosophy is to allow our unique vineyard sites to express their full potential by combining meticulous, balanced farming with classical winemaking techniques enhanced by innovative practices. As Leslie puts it, “It all starts in the vineyards”, and thus our emphasis is on the vineyards. We strive to achieve an ideal balance in our vineyards with our farming practices to maximize quality at the expense of quantity i...

Immediately after purchasing the winery in 1996, Leslie began expanding and enhancing the winery’s caves to a capacity today of 20,000 square feet. The 78,000 tons of stone and bedrock removed during construction were reused to build the stone walls surrounding the property. Recent improvements allow the cellar team to have complete temperature and humidity control over different sections of the caves to give flexibility in treating each varie...