 |
 View Gallery
Harvest Moon Estate and Winery was founded on growing, producing and bottling world-class Russian River Valley wine in a balanced, elegant style. Our premise is that Russian River Valley Zinfandel can be just as layered and complex as any Pinot Noir or Bordeaux variety in the world and receive the same respect. The Pitts family has grown quality grapes in the Russian River Valley since 1976. In 2000, son Randy reverse migrated from San Francisco back to Sonoma County to assume the farming responsibilities at the family's modest nine-acre ranch. In conjunction with lessons on farming by his Dad and a few viticulture/enology courses at the local junior college, Randy made a barrel of homemade Zinfandel off the ranch's back block which turned out exceptionally tasty. Quickly concluding that properly farmed and judiciously fermented, Zinfandel has great capabilities of being California's own wine nobility. The growers-turned winemakers birthed their inaugural vintage in 2002 and look forward to making their Zinprint on the winescene for decades to come. In addition to growing up Zinfandel, Harvest Moon also hand crafts small amounts of Russian River Valley Gewürztraminer, Pinot Noir and Dry Creek Cabernet Sauvignon. We proudly invite you out to the Estate tasting room and winery to experience the next echelon of full-service Sonoma County wine country! The significance of the logo: Our simple circular brushstroke logo is an ancient Chinese symbol that’s been contemporarily adopted by the Japanese as the circle of life. Our logo, like our vineyards, represents a semi-closed system; permeable from outside influence. The Circle of Life starts out slow and builds to high productivity only to level out and enjoy a slow, gradual decline. Just before the circle is joined, there’s a brief pause- a quietness of sorts- and then begins the cycle anew. This is life… These are our seasons… This is wine.
The Harvest Moon Crew:
Susan Dusterhoft, a Business Administration graduate of Mount Mary College in Milwaukee, WI, moved to California 12 years ago to escape the cold winters of the Midwest. She arrived at Harvest Moon with over 15 years of Office Administration experience spanning the industries of Hospitality, Retail, and Manufacturing. She has worked at both the corporate and small business level. Susan’s wine knowledge was acquired by training for two years with one of the leading wine writers in Northern California. She spent an additional nine months learning wine logistics before accepting the Office Manager's position at Harvest Moon.
Miss Charlotte Brown, otherwise known as "Brown Dog", is Harvest Moon's Official Tasting Room Greeter. She spends her mornings on gopher patrol in addition to supervising Randy while he works the vineyards. She can be seen in the afternoon at the Tasting Room greeting the guests as well as overseeing the staff. Currently gracing the pages of the Winery Dogs of Sonoma County book at the local bookstore, Charlotte has developed her own fanclub, and receives phone calls inquiring when she will be available for pictures at the Winery.
|
|
The Harvest Moon: the moon at and about the period of fullness that is nearest to the autumnal equinox. In the legend of the Harvest moon, it is said that all full moons have their own special characteristics based primarily on the whereabouts of the ecliptic in the sky at the time of year that these moons are visible. 
Erin Stewart went to Sonoma State to earn her degree in Women’s and Gender Studies and Sociology. While there, she fell in love with wine and the culture of Sonoma County. Through the exploration of her new found passion, she began mapping the different wines and experiences until she had acquired the making of an extensive review of Northern California’s wine country. With book in hand, she decided to make a career out of her love of wine and found her way to Harvest Moon. Her enthusiasm has led to her position as the Director of Hospitality where she strives to bring the same spirit she put into her book into the every day experiences of our guests.
