Our Heritage
Fulfilling The Dream of Generations
It began with a dream passed from father to son — and the love of a woman who believed in both.
José Ferrer grew up surrounded by the rhythm of harvest and the legacy of his family’s winemaking tradition in Spain. But his heart was set on something bold: bringing the art of traditional method sparkling wine to the New World. He knew this wouldn’t be a journey he could take alone.
When José met Gloria, he found not just a partner, but a true match — a woman of strength, grace, and curiosity. Gloria shared his love of wine, his sense of adventure, and the conviction that tradition could find new expression in California’s rugged beauty.
Together, they crossed oceans and planted roots in Carneros, where the cool breezes and rolling hills reminded them of home. What began as a shared dream became a pioneering legacy — one that lives on in every bottle of Gloria Ferrer sparkling wine.
A Leap of Faith
In the early 1980s, José and Gloria ventured from Barcelona, Spain to Sonoma, California in search of the ultimate region to make sparkling wine. At that time the Northern California wine “business” was early in its history, having only been put on the map with the infamous Judgement of Paris in 1976. For José and Gloria to venture to Sonoma was a leap of faith, especially given their desire to establish what would be the first sparkling wine estate in the region.
They settled upon Carneros and began to build the estate and prepare the land for planting. This process would take over 5 years. In 1984, the first 50 acres were planted and the winery building was completed and opened in 1986. Today, the estate boasts over 300 planted acres.
What’s In A Name?
In the 80’s it was a commonplace practice to name wine estates and wineries after “the man of the household”. However, in recognition of their partnership and love for each other and life’s adventures, José dismissed this tradition, opting to call the estate and winery after Gloria.
Gloria’s influence can be seen throughout the property, particularly in the main winery buildings. Her elegance and gracefulness are represented in the art, as well as her passion for collecting antique sparkling glassware from around the world. A portion of her collection is on display at the estate. Gloria was also known for her approachability. Always ready to welcome people to the estate, she greatly influenced our approach to hospitality – treating everyone as they would want to be treated – as a good friend.
Don’t Count the Days; Make the Days Count
For over four decades we have stayed true to this Spanish expression — from welcoming each day with passionate intention to the relentless pursuit of quality in everything we do.
With full hearts and hard-working hands, we pour ourselves into every wine we produce. This enduring spirit fuels our commitment to preserve our founding family’s 100-year-old tradition of creating world-class sparkling wine.
José and Gloria Ferrer pioneered a new path of excellence and we continue to keep this rich tradition alive by creating exceptional sparkling wine with a unique character that only the Carneros region can capture.
Respecting Tradition While Forging Innovation
Today, an integrated approach fuels everything we do with the intent to create sparkling wines as close to brilliant as humanly possible. We constantly ask ourselves, “what should we be doing for the health of our employees, the land, the air, the vines, the grapes, and the wines.”
Everyone who works on our estate is an employee
Whether they work in the vineyards, our winemaking facility, the tasting room or the estate gardens. And, many of them have worked on the estate, in various capacities, for decades.
In the vineyards we marry traditional and innovative farming techniques such as: Integration of livestock for weed control, fertilization and soil health, planting insectaries to breed the “good bugs”, and traditional minimally invasive pruning. On the innovative side we practice precision irrigation management, use high detail aerial imagery to map grapevine vigor and spore trapping to minimize sulfur application.
Our winemakers use creativity, ingenuity, and a gentle hand to reveal the distinctive Carneros terroir through our Pinot Noir-dominant sparkling wines. Our winemaking team focuses on creating texture driven wines with layers of complexity and nuance. Wines that are a glorious experience in and of themselves.