Rodney Strong Vineyards is dedicated to Sonoma County. The winery was established in 1959 by Rod Strong, one of the first pioneers of the modern wine industry in California, as the 13th bonded winery in Sonoma County. Rick Sayre, current Director of Winemaking, joined in 1979. Since 1989, the winery has been privately owned by the Klein family, a fourth generation California agricultural family. Rodney Strong Vineyards grow and produce wines exclusively from four of Sonoma County's finest appellations - Russian River Valley, Chalk Hill, Alexander Valley and Sonoma Coast. Rodney Strong Vineyards believe in careful stewardship of the land. To that end, Rodney Strong have installed a 766kW, 4,032 panel solar electric system-the largest solar array in the wine industry. Over the next 25 years, the solar-generated electricity will reduce emissions of carbon dioxide by 89,700 tons. These emissions reductions are equivalent to planting 2,500 acres of trees or not driving 22 million miles on California's roadways. Dedication to quality starts in the vineyards and continues in the cellars. In 2005, Rodney Strong completed the construction of their winery within a winery for the production of their wines. In the vineyards, individual sections or rows are isolated and are harvested in very small lots. Those ultra quality rows are hand harvested at optimal times and temperatures to ensure that the fruit is delivered cool to the winery. Following stringent hand sorting and a very slow de-stemming, the berries ae mechanically sorted by a Le Trieur to ensure only perfect fruit is vinified in very small capacity tanks. The results have been spectacular.