WE ARE ONE VOICE IN A CHORUS OF AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS WHO ARE CHANGING THE TUNE OF THE WINE INDUSTRY.
OUR STORY
Martha Stoumen Wines was founded upon the desire to recapture a farming and winemaking culture that has all but faded away: a winemaking culture of patience.
After 8 years apprenticing around the world, Martha set out as a self-funded, first generation winemaker to answer the question, “What does California taste like?” In our hot little corner of Northern California, Mediterranean grapes thrive and healthy vineyards allow us to create joyful balanced wines. Our wines are made from unexpected varietals and offer new takes on California classics. We do things the right way even if it's not the easy or cool way. Of the nearly two dozen wines we make every year, blends and flavors change but our desire to share the simple pleasures of natural wine remains the same.
A CULTURE OF PATIENCE
COLLABORATING WITH CARETAKERS
We have deep compassion for others.
We believe in treating all people in our supply chain equitably
LISTENING TO THE LAND
We respect California soils.
We believe in putting Mother Nature at the forefront of our decision-making.
CRAFTING WITH PATIENCE
We approach the winemaking process with patience and care – no shortcuts for this ancient process.
We believe that true expressions of the California harvest cannot be formulated in a laboratory.
ENJOYING LIFE'S SIMPLE PLEASURES
We live for the joy of wine.
We generously share the art, romance, and pleasure of our craft.
Handmade with Patience
PATIENCE IN THE VINEYARD MEANS COMPOSTING RATHER THAN ADDING SYNTHETIC FERTILIZERS
When Martha founded the company in 2014, she started by exploring warm and breezy regions that allow for natural farming. She was thrilled to find a handful of dedicated farmers, primarily growing Mediterranean grapes in the Ukiah area of Mendocino County, Contra Costa County and Suisun Valley. She has been making wine from their fruit and laughing with them ever since. Martha also found two traditionally planted, head trained, dry farmed vineyards that she now leases, allowing us to farm 25% of our production.
Image: A vine unfurling during springtime at Bricarelli Ranch.
Wine is an agricultural product. Just as with food, highly processed wines contain additives to mask flavor deficiencies in the base ingredient: grapes. And poorly farmed grapes (read: cheap farming that’s bad for our soils) will always need this flavor boost. Why apply harmful pesticides and herbicides when we know this kills essential microbes in the soil, the very things that assists in plant nutrition and grape flavor? In the vineyard we farm for healthy soils and vine longevity rather than high yields. We allow predatory insects the ability to outcompete pests rather than spraying insecticides, and do proper handwork to ensure healthy grapes come into the cellar ready to make flavorful, honest wines.
Image: Larry Venturi (grower), Martha, Tim and sort through a bin of just-picked Carignan.
PATIENCE IN THE CELLAR MEANS TAKING A MINIMALIST WINEMAKING APPROACH
We craft our wines in Healdsburg, CA in a winery we share with friends. Our main goal is to create complex, delicious wines, and, simple as it sounds, the best way to do this is by using complex, delicious grapes. Healthy grapes contain every ingredient necessary to make wine. Each berry contains sugar and acid in the pith, tannin in the skin and stems, and a rich bloom of yeast and bacteria on the clusters. We embrace the idea that wine is an agricultural product, and no two wines should taste the same. Instead of using a single commercial yeast species, we embrace native fermentations and the many flavors a diversity of microbes bring to our wines.
Image: Two sets of feet ankle-deep in red wine grapes.
In the cellar we strive to create the conditions for the natural process of fermentation to thrive. Rather than trying to tightly control the transition from grapes to wine from within the juice, we prepare with rigorous cellar cleaning. From there we intimately monitor every fermentation. We work with our hands, feet, and our own human energy to bring these wines to life, and are energized by this process. Harvest heals, excites, inspires, and connects us every year.
Image: Martha performs a pumpover on a small lot fermentation.
ABOVE ALL WE STRIVE TO MAKE WINES THAT ARE DELICIOUS, JOYFUL, AND TRULY REPRESENTATIVE OF CALIFORNIA
We’re small fish in a big pond (CA’s largest winery produces 75 million cases annually, we make approximately 8,000 annually), so we form a friendly community with one another and with our customers. Wine is an extension of our culture. Our collective idea of beauty has shifted away from homogeneity, status, and normativity, and moved toward uniqueness, authenticity, and personality. This moment allows us the creative freedom to express the true variability and beauty of nature. Each of our wines expresses a distinct personality, and we like that.
Image: Martha marks a barrel with chalk.
You have your own personality, and we like that too. That's why we take your joy seriously. We're ready to leave that heavy, tired feeling you get when drinking conventional wine behind. We believe natural wines jive with your body better: whether it’s a moody red, a snappy rosato, a bright white, or something in between, our wines tend to uplift you more than weigh you down.
Image: Martha reaches for a cluster of grapes on the vine.
Shop Spring 2026
The spring release takes us on a wandering journey through place and time. Every vintage of wine contains all the years that came before it; just like Martha’s winemaking is a culmination of prior experiences. This release is one of our most dynamic—spanning seven years of time. Reacquaint yourself with familiar favorites like Out to the Meadow or experience the wonders of a Mystery Date.
