COUNTRY :
United States
REGION :
Sonoma County
PRODUCTION :
Jennifer Reinhardt and Sara Morgenstern
Jennifer Reinhardt and Sara Morgenstern first met back in 2016 while working for a Sonoma Coast winemaker and grower. Jen was the assistant winemaker, Sara the sales director. After getting to know each other over bottles shared at Casino Bar and Grill in Bodega, they quickly realized their mutual love of bright, fresh wines, low intervention vineyard practices, fluffy dogs and eventually each other. Jen’s family took in Sara, an east coast transplant, and many a holiday was shared together. While joking for years about starting a label together, dreams became reality in 2020 when Jen discovered Stampede Vineyard in Lodi. Their goal is to make wines that highlight the fantastic vineyards we are privileged to work with.
Since 1901, Jen’s family has been in the food industry of California, most specifically raising ducks for restaurants in the Bay Area.
The winemaking bug bit in the spring of 2011, and that autumn Jen completed her first harvest in Sonoma County, California. Over the next few years, she completed six additional harvests, to the Sonoma Coast, down to Chile, back to Sonoma Coast, down to Australia, and back again. Harvest number eight brought in a new meaning, when she started her own label, Raft Wines.
These days, Jen continues to run Liberty Duck, Raft Wines, and Et Al wines. She’s roommates with Jack the dog and Mike the husband.
Sara’s journey has taken her from lab technician to wine director, national sales broker to winemaker. She has made or sold wine in California, New York, Florida and New Zealand.
Sara became enamored with low intervention wines when she first started working as a wine buyer in San Francisco. Growing up with a park ranger mom, environmental issues were always important and tied in directly with her passions in the wine industry. Her goal with Little Trouble is to express fun and transparent expressions of the fantastic vineyards LT works with, while getting in the way of nature as little as possible.
In addition to Little Trouble Wines, she is currently the Director of Operations for Ruth Lewandowski as well as the founder/winemaker of Killer Quail Wines. Sara is also a horse girl and mom to Ham the dog.

Killer Quail Carbonic Zinfandel
Region: Dry Creek Valley
Grape: Zinfandel
Vineyard Size:
Soil: boomer loam, volcanic
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: 5 days carbonic maceration and fermentation
Aging: in neutral wood
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none

Killer Quail Chenin Blanc Piquette
Region: California
Grape: Chenin Blanc
Vineyard Size:
Soil: decomposed sandstone, clay, gravely Loam
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: pomace soaked for 4 days, pressed on muscat skins, fermentation started with Chenin Blanc
Aging: 6 months in neutral oak barrel and stainless steel drum
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none

Killer Quail Chenin Blanc
Region: California
Grape: Chenin Blanc
Vineyard Size:
Soil: decomposed sandstone, clay, gravely Loam
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: foot tread, short maceration with skins, spontaneous slow fermentation
Aging: in neutral oak barrel and stainless steel drum
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: 30 mg/l

Rorick Piquette
Region: Sonoma
Grape: Chardonnay (Dijon)
Vineyard Size:
Soil: limestone, schist
Average Age of Vines: 21 years
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: rehydrated pressed skins, spontaneous fermentation in neutral oak with indigenous yeasts
Aging: 6 months in neutral oak, liqueur di tirage
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none

Rorick Chardonnay
Region: Sonoma
Grape: Chardonnay (Dijon)
Vineyard Size:
Soil: limestone, schist
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: whole cluster, 2 day maceration, spontaneous fermentation in neutral oak with indigenous yeasts
Aging: in neutral oak
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: minimal

Stampede Heritage Piquette
Region: Sonoma
Grape: Zinfandel, Mission, Alicante Bouschet, Syrah, Grenache, Petit Sirah
Vineyard Size:
Soil: granite
Average Age of Vines: 81 years
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: rehydrated pressed skins, spontaneous fermentation in neutral oak with indigenous yeasts
Aging: 6 months in neutral oak, liqueur di tirage
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none

Stampede Heritage Rosé
Region: Sonoma
Grape: Zinfandel, Mission, Alicante Bouschet, Syrah, Grenache, Petite Sirah
Vineyard Size:
Soil: granite
Average Age of Vines: 81 years
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: direct press, spontaneous fermentation in neutral oak with indigenous yeasts
Aging: in neutral oak
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: minimal

Stampede Heritage Red
Region: Sonoma
Grape: Zinfandel, Mission, Alicante Bouschet, Syrah, Grenache, Petite Sirah
Vineyard Size:
Soil: granite
Average Age of Vines: 81 years
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: destemmed, 10 day maceration, spontaneous fermentation in neutral oak with indigenous yeasts
Aging: in neutral oak
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: minimal