Hook & Ladder Wines at New Castle Liquors
We’d planned to take one day off from tasting during our visit to Sonoma and Napa in the spring of 2019 and were headed to explore Bodega Bay. On a whim, I researched a couple of wineries that weren’t on our schedule. Hook & Ladder Winery in the Russian River Valley caught my eye and it was on our way, so we dropped in to check it out. Boy, were we glad we did!
Owned by Cecil and Christine De Loach, whose wine story started back in 1970, Hook & Ladder is a nod to Cecil’s 17-year career as a San Francisco firefighter. Hook & Ladder is helmed today by grandson Jason De Loach, an accomplished winemaker who joined the winery in 2006. These days, Cecil and Christine can often be found at the winery they founded, helping out in the office, cellar and occasionally in the tasting room, which is festooned with fire station t-shirts given to the winery by visiting firefighters from all around the world. We were lucky enough to meet Christine during our visit.
Scott and I both fell in love with their wines and their story, and purchased several bottles to bring home. I even bought a t-shirt as a souvenir. At that time, Hook & Ladder wines were not distributed in our neck of the woods.
Fast forward a year and a half…I had several open spots to fill, so I reviewed my notes from our trip. I decided to see if they’d made any progress on expanding distribution in Western Colorado. I’m so glad I did! They do, and you can now find Hook & Ladder Wines at New Castle Liquors. We’ve brought in four of our favorites to start:
