THE PLACE
Our first alignment was found on two acres of Bell Summe Vineyard, in the Russian River Valley.
Here, cool ocean fog gives way to warm afternoons, creating a daily rhythm that shapes the growing season. Beneath the vines lie two of the valley’s defining soils: Goldridge sandy loam and Felta gravelly clay loam. Together, these conditions give the vineyard its particular character, connecting what happens above the ground with what lies below it. Our work begins with understanding that relationship—following the season closely and making thoughtful choices that allow the wine to reflect the place where it was grown.
Bell Summe Vineyard
Middle Reach · Russian River Valley · 0 mi
Home of Moon Dust and our first alignment.Kistler
Trenton-Healdsburg Road · 0.2 mi
Next door on Trenton-Healdsburg Road.
Ritchie Vineyard
Eastside Road at Trenton Road · 0.5 mi
Farmed by Kent Ritchie since the early 1970s.Williams Selyem Eastside Road Vineyard
Eastside Road · 1.4 mi
One of the valley's most sought-after single vineyards.
Joseph Swan Vineyards
Laguna Ridge · 0.9 mi
First planted in 1969, among the valley's earliest Pinot Noir.
Martinelli, Jackass Hill
River Road · 1.9 mi
Historic hillside vineyard off River Road.
Williams Selyem Winery
Westside Road · 2.2 mi
The Westside Road home of a Pinot Noir icon.
Allen Vineyard
Westside Road · 2.5 mi
Between Williams Selyem and Rochioli, long one of the cultiest bottlings.
Rochioli Vineyard
Westside Road · 2.7 mi
East Block planted in 1968, a Middle Reach landmark.
Giusti Ranch
Forestville · 2.7 mi
Farmed by the Giusti family since 1875.
Olivet Lane (Pellegrini)
Santa Rosa Plain · 3.2 mi
Planted in 1975, one of the first Pinot Noir estates in the valley.
Bacigalupi Vineyards
Westside Road · 4.1 mi
Supplied 40% of the fruit for the 1973 Château Montelena Chardonnay.
Keefer Ranch
Green Valley · 4.2 mi
Green Valley, among the coolest sites in the appellation.
The Soil
Bell Summe holds two of the Russian River Valley's defining soils.
Goldridge
A fine sandy loam formed from an ancient seabed, laid down three to five million years ago when the Pacific reached far inland. It drains freely and holds little, so the vines work for every cluster. It is the soil the Russian River Valley is best known for.
Felta Gravelly Clay Loam
Ancient gravel, loam, and volcanic ash. We call it moon dust. The ground gives little, and the vines give back character.
Both soils hold back water and nutrients. The vines stay small, and the fruit stays concentrated.
The 2024 Season
The 2024 Growing Season
The 2024 season followed a wetter than normal winter and a mild spring with no significant frost. A warm summer carried the vines through an ideal growing season and brought the fruit to ripeness earlier than in past years.
THE FLAVORS TELL US IT'S TIME
We do not pick on numbers alone. We walk the rows and taste, again and again, until the flavors tell us it is time. In 2024, that moment came at 1:11 a.m. on August 29.
The Stars
The night sky at the minute the harvest began
August 29, 2024, 1:11 a.m., above Bell Summe Vineyard. Every star below stood over the vines at the moment the fruit was picked.
38.49818° N, 122.85056° W · The moon, 22% full, had not yet risen
The Growers
The People of Bell Summe.
Jon and Becca Bell were two North Carolinians working corporate jobs when they decided to trade conference calls for work with their hands. In 2018 they found their site: a hillside in the Russian River Valley that one family had run as a horse and cattle ranch since the 1800s. The vineyard carries both of their names, Bell and Becca's family name, Summe.
Today the 93-acre property holds their home and 15 acres of vines, mostly Pinot Noir, on a south-facing slope of Goldridge and Felta soils. They farm organically, power the vineyard with the sun, and are often found in the rows themselves. They call themselves grape growers, not winemakers, and they sell their fruit to a small circle of producers they respect.
NOMDE is one of them. Our founders, Charles Dick and Jonathan Campbell, are North Carolinians too, and each harvest the founders join Jon and Becca at the sorting table. Four people from the same home state, drawn to the same few acres of Sonoma.
The Offering