Our story
Winemaker Andy Erickson has been producing wines with an unrelenting focus on quality and sourcing for over 30 years, crafting some of the most sought-after bottles in Napa Valley. In 2004, he started Leviathan with a single goal: to create one Cabernet-based blend each vintage that would be free from the constraints of appellations, drawing on the strengths of multiple sites throughout the state to capture the beauty and diversity of Northern California.
Since the beginning, this exploratory spirit has fueled our vision to literally chart our own map, pushing beyond AVAs and other conventional winemaking boundaries. Each vintage, the Leviathan team coaxes the very best characteristics from a range of carefully chosen varietals and outstanding vineyards to craft a single intense, complex, and compelling red wine. And with a decade of 90-plus ratings from top critics, it’s one that—whether poured as an everyday wine or reserved for special occasions—consistently overdelivers. That’s the power of Leviathan.
“The goal was simple: to create one, unique red wine, drawn from some of the best vineyards in Northern California.”
Andy Erickson, Founder & Winemaker
the vineyards
Making wine without constraints means opening the imagination to the diversity of California’s terroir. But power in a red wine derives in part from hardworking vines, and this characteristic can be found particularly in slope-side vineyards with volcanic-based, well-drained soils—which are found in abundance along the Mayacamas Mountains.
Working alongside Andy Erickson, Nicole Hayden—our director of grower relations, who brings decades of farming and vineyard experience from her Sonoma upbringing—has logged thousands of miles in her truck to build and deepen our relationships with prestigious vineyards, renowned generational growers, and emerging young farmers across Northern California. Together they’ve walked countless rows, meeting spouses and dogs and swapping ideas and observations, learning what makes each site tick.
This ongoing collaboration with our growers allows us to fully express the best characteristics and potential of each distinctive site. While our drive to keep exploring new ideas and places evolves our sourcing each year, our core partners have remained our stalwarts for years.
the vineyards
Making wine without constraints means opening the imagination to the diversity of California’s terroir. But power in a red wine derives in part from hardworking vines, and this characteristic can be found particularly in slope-side vineyards with volcanic-based, well-drained soils—which are found in abundance along the Mayacamas Mountains.
Working alongside Andy Erickson, Nicole Hayden—our director of grower relations, who brings decades of farming and vineyard experience from her Sonoma upbringing—has logged thousands of miles in her truck to build and deepen our relationships with prestigious vineyards, renowned generational growers, and emerging young farmers across Northern California. Together they’ve walked countless rows, meeting spouses and dogs and swapping ideas and observations, learning what makes each site tick.
This ongoing collaboration with our growers allows us to fully express the best characteristics and potential of each distinctive site. While our drive to keep exploring new ideas and places evolves our sourcing each year, our core partners have remained our stalwarts for years.
rancho salina vineyard
sonoma County | moon mountain AVA
Elevation 500 FT
Varietals: Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc
Goulding Series Soil: Residuum from weathered metavolcanics, cobbly clay loam
OBSIDIAN RIDGE VINEYARD
Lake County | Red Hills AVA
Elevation 2500 FT
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon
Bottlerock Complex Soil: Residuum from weathered obsidian, very gravelly loam
Wild Diamond Vineyard
Lake County | Red Hills AVA
Elevation 1700 FT
Varietal: Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah
Sobrante Complex Soil: Residuum from weathered basalt, shallow clay loam featuring wild diamonds
FAUST VINEYARD
NAPA VALLEY | COOMBSVILLE AVA
Elevation 50 FT
Varietal: Merlot & Syrah
Cole Silt Loam Soil: Alluvium derived from volcanic and sedimentary rock
The Label
“Leviathan” conjures something immense and powerful, much like the stories that the name originates from. The word was actually the progenitor of the wine. “When I heard it, I thought it was so much fun and I should make a wine called Leviathan,” Andy has said. It became the perfect symbol embodying the vision to create a single, expansive wine fed by multiple unique sites – our California vineyard exploration.
It also served as the inspiration for the label, designed by Michael McDermott in collaboration with Andy. A Leviathan is something unusually huge, and Michael wanted the label to reflect that. Simple and abstract, dark but not sinister.
