The mystery is solved. On our second visit to Woodenhead we finally asked where the name Woodenhead comes from. “Nik’s ex-girlfriend thought he was very stubborn, so used to call him a “Wooden Head”, winemaker Nik Stez’s then current girlfriend and partner Zina Bower told us.
When we first stumbled across Woodenhead they had their handful of barrels in the corner of a bankrupt winery in Forestville. They were doing the crush with an enthusiastic bunch of friends including a fireman from San Francisco, and a local teacher who had called-in sick.
Construction worker Nik Stez got the wine bug by working a couple of harvests with the legendary Burt Williams at Williams Selyem, the original Pinot garage winery in the Russian River Valley. Nik and Zina buy small lots of fruit from several vineyards. Wiley is from Anderson Valley which has a strong coastal influence from the Pacific Ocean. Humboldt County is from Eel river where there are huge Redwoods. Martinelli Road belongs to one of the feuding Martinelli brothers. Tiny production, unfiltered, unfined, fragrant and supple. Muscular, even.
