About the winery
Leeward Winery was a small winery in Ventura, founded in 1979 by Chuck Brigham and Chuck Gardner3, two home winemakers by the account of a 2011 blog post1. In 1982 they moved into a winery they had designed for the job, on Johnson Drive in Ventura, with a temperature-controlled room for fermenting Chardonnay in French oak barrels3.
Leeward bought its grapes under contract from vineyards elsewhere in California3. Its 2003 page on Web Winery said more than half of what it made was Chardonnay from Central Coast vineyards. It also made Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot from the Napa Valley, Syrah from the Edna Valley and Pinot Gris from the Central Coast, and from 1989 a Pinot Noir from the Bien Nacido Vineyard3.
The 2011 post credits Brigham and Gardner with joining early efforts against restrictive wine-selling laws, and with helping make way for the Ventura County wine trail that came after them1.
Known for
- Central Coast Chardonnay
- Bien Nacido Vineyard Pinot Noir
- Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot