Cline Family Cellars gets Lifetime Achievement Award from Rhône Rangers

For his achievements in furthering the American Rhône wine movement, Fred Cline of Cline Family Cellars will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Rhône Ranger on Saturday, June 24.

It’s the seventh such award from the organization, which Cline helped to found.

A native of Los Angeles, Cline spent his summers as a teenager in Contra Costa County at his grandfather Valeriano’s farm. Valeriano, an Italian immigrant, shared his European approach to winemaking, and taught Cline how to farm grapes. The experience inspired a lifelong love of agriculture and winemaking, and sent Cline to U.C. Davis to study viticulture.

In 1982, Cline started Cline Family Cellars in Oakley, California, making his first vintages from original plantings of head-trained and dry-farmed mourvèdre, zinfandel and carignane, with some plantings dating back to the 1880s. In 1989, Cline and his wife, Nancy, purchased a 350-acre horse ranch property in the Los Carneros region of Sonoma Valley, which is home to the present-day location of Cline Family Cellars.

Cline’s love for Rhône varietals led him to initially plant syrah, viognier, marsanne and roussanne grapes, which were viewed with skepticism at the time. To help raise awareness for these obscure varietals, Cline worked with others in the industry to co-pioneered the original Rhône Rangers. Cline has devoted his career to sustainable farming practices in the vineyard and the preservation of heritage vineyards in Contra Costa. Cline Family Cellars will celebrate 41 years in business this year.

“It is a great pleasure that the Rhône Rangers have the privilege of honoring foundational leaders in the wine industry with the Lifetime Achievement honor. Fred and his family have never wavered from their dedication to crafting fine wines from the classic Rhône varieties. They have built a foundation for all Rhône Rangers making wines from these varieties in the United States today,” said national Rhône Rangers President Craig Camp of Troon Vineyard.

Past Rhône Rangers Lifetime Achievement honors have been awarded to Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon Vineyard (2013), Robert Haas of Tablas Creek Vineyard (2014), Robert “Bob” Lindquist of Qupé/Lindquist Family Wines (2015), Bill Easton of Terre Rouge (2016), Sondra Bernstein of the girl and the fig (2017), and Gary Eberle of Eberle Winery (2021).

The Lifetime Achievement Award will be presented during the Rhône Rangers Summer Gala, to be held at Cline Family Cellars. The evening will include speakers from the Rhône wine community and a selection of wines, in the picturesque outdoor setting at Cline Family Cellars.

Tickets are $250 per person and include a multi-course dinner, with a rare selection of reserve wines served at the afternoon wine tasting. Wine tasting only tickets are available for $75 per person. The afternoon Rhône Rangers wine tasting will be held on the Cabana Lawn at the winery, featuring 30 Rhône Ranger wineries from throughout the nation, representing Sonoma, Napa, Lodi, El Dorado, Lake County, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara County, Oregon and Texas.

For tickets and additional information, visit rhonerangers.org.

Founded in 1998, the Rhône Rangers are a group of 100+ wineries throughout the United States dedicated to making wines from the 22 grape varieties originally made famous in France’s Rhône Valley. The Rhône Rangers started from a small gathering of American vintners who began meeting informally in the 1980s. As their numbers expanded, the nonprofit organized under the name “Rhône Rangers,” with a focus on promoting the enjoyment of Rhône varietal wines produced in the United States.