{"id":2676,"date":"2026-02-04T02:26:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-04T02:26:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2676"},"modified":"2026-02-04T02:26:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-04T02:26:11","slug":"winemaker-interview-series-sequoia-grove-jesse-fox-november-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2676","title":{"rendered":"Winemaker Interview Series \u2013 Sequoia Grove &#8211; Jesse Fox &#8211; November 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Jesse-Fox-Sequoia-Grove-Home.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-2446\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Jesse-Fox-Sequoia-Grove-Home-248x300.jpg\" alt=\"Jesse Fox - Sequoia Grove\" width=\"248\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Jesse-Fox-Sequoia-Grove-Home-248x300.jpg 248w, https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Jesse-Fox-Sequoia-Grove-Home.jpg 259w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 248px) 100vw, 248px\" \/><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, we had the opportunity to interview<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/sequoiagrove.com\/meet-jesse-fox-sequoia-groves-new-winemaker\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Jesse Fox<\/strong><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">once again. Jesse is the winemaker for<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/sequoiagrove.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Sequoia Grove Winery<\/strong><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">. On the white side, we covered a 2024 Sauvignon Blanc and a 2023 Chardonnay. On the red side, we covered one 2021 and three 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon wines. You can learn what is new with Jesse, and what is new at Sequoia Grove, and read all about these terrific wines in this post.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Before we get to the wines, I thought I would share some tidbits<\/span> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">Jesse shared.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">We first visited with Jesse in November 2024, and you can read more about his background and the winery<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2444\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>in that post<\/strong><\/a>.<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This year was his 4<sup>th<\/sup> harvest with Sequoia Grove<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2025 was a very interesting vintage.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It stayed cool, so the whites slowed down.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The reds sped up. So, there was a bit of a harvest crunch with white and reds ready at about the same time.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In 2025 they will have a wholesale Sauvignon Blanc.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It will be from Napa Valley.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It will be 100% Barrel fermented, 100% whole cluster &amp; lots of lees.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They bought the State Lane Vineyard in 2021 from Clos du Val.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is across from the Gamble Ranch.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">This area is ideal and notable for Sauvignon Blanc.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is on the eastern bench of Yountville.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The 2024 SB is from a warmer vintage. Jesse used 10 to 15% new oak.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The &#8220;Haire Vineyard&#8221; Chardonnay is old vine Wente clone and Robert Young.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The vineyard is across from the Hudson Vineyard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">It is unfined &amp; unfiltered, hence hazy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Rutherford is a warmer AVA.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">70% of the wines Jesse makes are from Rutherford.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The 2022 &#8220;Rutherford Bench Reserve&#8221; Cabernet Sauvignon is the first wine that Jesse made start to finish.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">70% of the grapes are from Estate vineyards.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They picked the grapes post the heat spike.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They sorted out the raisins.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Their Morisoli Vineyard grapes come from the 46-year-old Zieglar Block.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The 2023 &#8220;Napa Wines&#8221; will have the new &#8220;green&#8221; labels.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">New wines are coming.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There will be a 2023 vintage Chardonnay from the Hyde Vineyard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There will be a 2024 vintage Chardonnay from the Hudson Vineyard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">There will be a 2023 vintage Cabernet Sauvignon from the Georges III Vineyard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They purchased a vineyard at the top of a vineyard on Mt. Veeder from the Hess Vineyard. Their first wine from this vineyard with be a wine from the 2023 vintage.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Jesse says his 2025 Merlot is gorgeous.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">The idea behind the Cambium wine is to create the best reflection of the vintage. They are also looking to achieve power and elegance.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Vineyards used in 2022 Cambium are the Healy Vineyard, the Missouri Hopper Vineyard, and the Stagecoach Vineyard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">If you want to hear a lot more about Jesse and his journey to Sequoia Grove,<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.insidewinemaking.com\/jesse-fox-sequoia-grove\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>check out this interview on the Inside Winemaking podcast<\/strong><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">. It originally inspired me to reach out to Jesse for our first tasting and interview.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Below is a summary of the Sequoia Grove wines that we covered with Jesse. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find the two distributed wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase the other higher end wines on the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/sequoiagrove.com\/shop\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Sequoia Grove website<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Sequoia-Grove-Logo.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2445\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Sequoia-Grove-Logo.gif\" alt=\"Sequoia Grove Logo\" width=\"300\" height=\"256\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Sequoia-Grove-2024-Estate-Sauvignon-Blanc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Sequoia Grove 2024 Sauvignon Blanc &#8220;State Lane Estate Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">$38<\/span> (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 92.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Sequoia-Grove-2023-Haire-Vineyard-Chardonnay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Sequoia Grove 2023 Chardonnay &#8220;Haire Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">(Carneros) $55<\/span> (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Sequoia-Grove-2022-Rutherford-Bench-Reserve-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Sequoia Grove 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Rutherford Bench Reserve&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">$90<\/span> (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93<\/strong><\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Sequoia-Grove-2021-Morisoli-Vineyard-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Sequoia Grove 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Morisoli Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">(Rutherford) $125<\/span> (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 94.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Sequoia-Grove-2022-Tonella-Vineyard-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Sequoia Grove 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Tonella Vineyard&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">(Rutherford) $125<\/span> (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 94.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Sequoia-Grove-2022-Cambium-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Sequoia Grove 2022 &#8220;Cambium&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">(Napa Valley) $175<\/span> (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 96<\/strong><\/span>)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong><u>Widely Distributed Sequoia Grove Wines Covered Separately<\/u><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Sequoia-Grove-2023-Napa-Valley-Chardonnay\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Sequoia Grove 2022 Chardonnay &#8220;Napa Valley&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">$40<\/span> (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 92<\/strong><\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Sequoia-Grove-2022-Napa-Valley-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Sequoia Grove 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Napa Valley&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">$55<\/span> (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You can find reviews of past and future Sequoia Grove wines that we cover on the<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine.php?winery=1885\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><u>KWG Sequoia Grove winery page<\/u><\/strong><\/a> <span style=\"color: #000000;\">on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! &#8211; Ken<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesday, November 19, 2025, we had the opportunity to interview Jesse Fox once again. Jesse is the winemaker for Sequoia Grove Winery. On the white side, we covered a 2024 Sauvignon Blanc and a 2023 Chardonnay. On the red side, we covered one 2021 and three 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon wines. You can learn what [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2446,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,3324,1544,13,104,88,2701,11,2704,2708,10,2746,2707,1778,123,2204,249,9,2702,1186,2705,1256,126,8,6,240,1292,2202,2737,1288],"tags":[625,2728,1551,491,2823,2789,2726,2729,1765,1763,2709,2719,2731,519,3323,2247,649,507,1414,3321,3322,910,2730,518,2711,2710,640,2725,2724,897,2727],"class_list":["post-2676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cabernet-sauvignon","category-cambium","category-carneros","category-chardonnay","category-georges-iii","category-high-end-wines","category-jesse-fox","category-kens-wine-guide-tasting-panel","category-kobrand","category-lamoreaux-vineyard","category-merlot","category-missouri-hopper-vineyard","category-morisoli-vineyard","category-mt-veeder","category-napa-valley","category-oak-knoll","category-rutherford","category-sauvignon-blanc","category-sequoia-grove-winery","category-stagecoach-vineyard","category-tonella-vineyard","category-virtual-wine-tasting","category-wine-ratings","category-wine-recommendations","category-wine-reviews","category-wine-tasting","category-winemaker","category-yountville","category-zieger-block","category-zoom-wine-tasting","tag-cabernet-sauvignon","tag-cambium","tag-carneros","tag-chardonnay","tag-gamble-ranch","tag-georges-iii-vineyard","tag-haire-vineyard","tag-healy-vineyard","tag-hudson-vineyard","tag-hyde-vineyard","tag-jesse-fox","tag-kobrand","tag-lamoreaux-vineyard","tag-merlot","tag-missouri-hopper-vineyard","tag-morisoli-vineyard","tag-mt-veeder","tag-napa-valley","tag-oak-knoll","tag-old-wente-clone","tag-robert-young-clone","tag-rutherford","tag-rutherford-bench-reserve","tag-sauvignon-blanc","tag-sequoia-grove","tag-sequoia-grove-winery","tag-stagecoach-vineyard","tag-state-lane-vineyard","tag-tonella-vineyard","tag-yountville","tag-zieglar-block"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2676"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2676\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2679,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2676\/revisions\/2679"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}