Idyllic setting for a winery

‘‘In the palm of God.”

That’s how Mary Colhoun, co-vintner of Landmark Vineyards, describes the property, which is at the foot of a mountain in Kenwood.

The Landmark 2007 Overlook Chardonnay is our wine of the week winner, so we visited the winery near Sugar Loaf State Park and found something uncanny on display near the tasting room: a John Deere tractor.

The Colhouns are the descendants of the late inventor, who revolutionized agriculture when he created the steel plow. The family has continued its passion for agriculture, forsaking corn for grapes.

The Overlook is the winery’s flagship wine. This year, Landmark produced a total of 22,000 cases, with the lion’s share (18,000 cases) being the Overlook.

The esteemed wine consultant Helen Turley spent five years advising Landmark beginning in 1993. “At that time her career was just starting,” Colhoun said. “Her mission was to remake the (Landmark) brand.”

Colhoun said Turley’s “Wine Bible” insisted wine is made in the vineyard and that wild-yeast fermentations best served wine. “She gave us a foundation that gave us a benchmark.”

Today the chardonnay grapes are no longer grown on the property but are harvested from cooler regions. Landmark had to replant the vines because of an outbreak of Phylloxera, a pest that infects the roots of vines. Today, 12 acres are replanted to Rhone varietals, which are better suited to the increasingly warmer temperatures at the winery, Colhoun said.

Visit our latest wine video at www.pressdemocrat.com to get a glimpse of the property and see why Colhoun refers to it as “the palm of God.”