Frequently asked questions

Here are a few questions we're asked most often about Ojai Mountain. If you're still searching for an answer, reach out anytime at info@ojaimountainestate.com .

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About Us

Vision

Ojai Mountain started as a family farm — the 120-acre property on Sulphur Mountain was purchased in 2015 as a private retreat. A friend from UC Davis Viticulture pointed out that the site was exceptional for viticulture. The vision that emerged is specific: make terroir-driven estate wines from an extreme mountain site that most of California's wine world doesn't know exists, using farming practices that preserve the land exactly as found. Every decision — organic farming, minimal-intervention winemaking, 500-case production — flows from that. → Our story

The Sulphur Mountain property was purchased in 2015 as a private family retreat — with no intention of starting a winery. A UC Davis contact identified the site as exceptional for viticulture, and the first vines went in the ground in 2018. The elevation was mentioned to Erich Bradley at a wine event in Sonoma. He flew down the following weekend. Phil Coturri followed. The first vintage was 2020. → Our story

The goal is straightforward: for guests to leave with a genuine sense of connection — to the land, the winemaking process, and the character of the wines. The estate was built on the belief that truly exceptional wine starts in the vineyard, and that the work of every visit and every bottle is to let the place speak. On the farming side, the commitment to organic and regenerative practices is a long-term bet on quality. Organic farming is expensive and demanding, but it is the only way to sustain vine health across decades. Conventional vineyards may replant every 20 years; the goal here is vines that keep improving for 100. → Our story

Around 500 cases per year from 5.64 acres under vine — small by design, not by limitation. Small production means every lot is handled with full attention: separate block fermentations, careful barrel selection, no blending for volume. The goal is wine specific to this mountain and this vintage, not wine made at a scale where that specificity disappears. Expansion to 17 planted acres is planned, and eventually up to 100–120 acres — but even at that scale, Ojai Mountain would remain a boutique producer by any standard. → Shop wines

The estate sits on 120 acres with potential to plant 100–120 acres of vine. The immediate horizon is expanding from 5.64 to 17 planted acres. But the thinking is in decades — these vines are young. Erich Bradley has said: "I know I'm not the person who's going to be responsible for making the best wines ever grown on this site. These things take so long to get established. I enjoy this role of just helping get it on firm ground and setting it up for the long haul." → About us

Honestly, it wasn't chosen — it was discovered. When Erich Bradley first heard about the 2,800-foot elevation, his response was: "Nobody says 2,800 feet." He flew down the following weekend. What he found was a site with no prior vine history, no precedent to follow, fractured shale soils, steady coastal winds, and views of the Channel Islands. In Bradley's words: "This vineyard is tough. It's raw. No real soil yet — just fractured rock and time. And out of that struggle come wines with a kind of natural tension I find really compelling."

Yes. The estate uses sheep and goats for fire prevention grazing — their paths also serve as natural break lines during winter rains. The Ojai Raptor Center partnership supports wildlife rehabilitation across the region, not just pest control on the estate. The chicken program — a flock of approximately 120 hens on the estate — now supplies compost to the vineyard continuously. And the long-term commitment to avoiding replanting every 20 years (as conventional vineyards often must) means the land stays farmed, stable, and undisturbed for generations. → Our farming

Rhône Rangers is America's leading nonprofit dedicated to promoting wines made from Rhône varieties grown in the United States. For Ojai Mountain, which farms exclusively Rhône varieties (plus Tempranillo), it's a natural affiliation. It also places us within the broader community of American winemakers who believe these varieties are exceptionally well-suited to California's diverse climates. → Our wines

Yes. In February 2026, Ojai Mountain was featured in the Vinous Icons Cool-Climate California Masterclass at Pier Sixty in New York City, alongside Roar, Clarice, Denner, Domaine de la Côte, DuMOL, Kistler, Rhys, and Hirsch Vineyards. Being included in that group of producers is one of the clearest signals of where Ojai Mountain sits in the national conversation about cool-climate California wine. → Press & media

Team

Erich Bradley is a Sonoma-based winemaker with 25 vintages of experience, known for Repris, Sojourn Cellars, Textures, and Pangloss. He first visited Ojai Mountain in 2019 and was immediately drawn to its extreme conditions. His philosophy centers on restraint and terroir: "I'm really focused on trying to stay out of the way so that my sensibilities don't somehow mask the true beauty of what comes out of the raw material." He has been Ojai Mountain's winemaker from the inaugural 2020 vintage. → Meet the team

The elevation. When Erich Bradley first heard the site was at 2,800 feet, his reaction was: "Nobody says 2,800 feet." He flew down the following weekend. What he found resonated with everything he'd spent his career pursuing: "The combination of all those factors — shale soils, constant sun exposure, steady marine influence — leads to a terroir signature that's incredibly unique. That's a big draw for any winemaker." He describes the site as one of only a handful of places in his 25-year career that triggered an immediate emotional response. → Meet the team

After 25 vintages, Bradley says he finds himself "chasing tension in wine. Not weight. Not volume. Tension." His goal at Ojai Mountain is to step aside: "The mountain and Mother Nature, the season and the weather — they're all part of the personality. I'm afraid that if I do more, it'll be too much and I might overshadow the beauty that's already there. I want to be a caretaker, a custodian, a steward. I'm trying to step aside and let this light shine." → Our winemaking

Phil Coturri is one of California's most respected organic and biodynamic viticulture consultants, known for his work with celebrated estates in Napa and Sonoma. He came to Ojai Mountain at Erich Bradley's invitation after hearing the elevation — 2,800 feet intrigued him immediately. His role is advising how to farm challenging mountain conditions in ways that build soil health and biodiversity over the long term. Phil has been described as a "celebrated father of biodynamic farming" — he was farming organically and building soil health when most of the industry was still relying heavily on chemical inputs. → Meet the team

Phil’s core belief is that terroir — the distinctive character of a place — can only express itself through the fruit if the soil ecosystem is alive and healthy. Synthetic inputs kill the microbial life in soil. Dead soil produces grapes that taste like a formula rather than a place. His work at every vineyard he consults centers on rebuilding that ecosystem: cover crops, compost, natural amendments, minimal disturbance.

On the challenge of Ojai Mountain, he has said: “You want to grow a healthy, robust vine under the most challenging conditions. That’s where you get the intense flavors; that’s how you get terroir. Terroir is the soils, slopes, climate, aspects — and the attitude of the grower.” That last phrase — the attitude of the grower — is the Coturri philosophy in a sentence. And on the views from the site: “Whenever you can see the Channel Islands from a vineyard, you know you are in for a treat.” His challenge, in the “carved canyons, battled by onshore winds,” is to “capture flavor as unique as the vista.” → Our farming

Phil Coturri doesn’t consult on young, unproven projects. He selects sites he believes in. His involvement signals something specific to people who know his name: that the land is serious, that the farming commitment is real, and that the results will reflect the place rather than winemaking intervention.

For Ojai Mountain specifically — a site on virgin land with no prior vine history, no precedent to follow, no existing knowledge of what the terroir could produce — Phil’s experience with challenging, high-elevation sites was directly applicable. He and Erich Bradley had already collaborated in Sonoma’s Moon Mountain District, where working above the fog line on difficult terrain produced some of the most compelling wines from that appellation. Ojai Mountain is that same spirit taken further south and higher up. Phil’s reaction when he heard the elevation: “Oh, well, that must be interesting.” He was in from the start. → Meet the team

Martín Ramírez is Ojai Mountain's head viticulturist — the person on the mountain every day. He was the first person to plant vines on Sulphur Mountain, starting with 4.42 acres in 2018, with an additional 1.22 acres planted in 2025 bringing the total to 5.64 acres. He has farmed nearly every vineyard in Ojai for more than 30 years. He manages cover crops, pruning, irrigation, canopy work, and harvest decisions. Erich Bradley: "Martin is out in the vineyard more than anyone else, connected to the land in a way no one else can be." Ramírez himself says of the estate: "It will become successful growing the best grapes and producing the best wines in the region." → Meet the team

Ojai Mountain is a privately owned family estate. The property on Sulphur Mountain was purchased in 2015 as a family retreat, and the winery grew from there — vines planted in 2018, first vintage in 2020. The owners are involved in the estate's direction, farming philosophy, and the hospitality experience, and are present at the estate most weekends. → Our story

The core team: the owners (private family), Erich Bradley (winemaker, Sonoma), Martín Ramírez (head viticulturist, on-site daily), Phil Coturri (biodynamic and organic farming advisor), Jacopo Miolo of Simonit & Sirch (pruning consultant). The estate also employs a hospitality team for visits and events, a property manager, and approximately 120 chickens whose manure feeds the composting program. As one journalist summarized it: good wine really does take a village. → Meet the team

Yes. Vinous critic Billy Norris wrote of the estate: "This is one of the most exciting new projects I've encountered in California in some time. Without tipping into hyperbole, Ojai Mountain may be the next great vineyard in California." The winery has been covered by Forbes, Decanter, the San Francisco Chronicle, Wine Enthusiast, and Vinous, among others. In 2026, Ojai Mountain was included in the Vinous Icons Cool-Climate California Masterclass in New York alongside Kistler, Hirsch, Rhys, and DuMOL. → Press & media