California Winery Enhances Guest Experience with Redwood

Businesses of all kinds are embracing what some are calling the “Roaring 20’s”. One such example is Hook & Ladder Winery in the Russian River Valley of Sonoma County, California. During pandemic-induced shutdowns the winery turned to a wide-ranging remodeling effort to improve guest amenities for the day shutdowns ended and business operations normalized. Featuring prominently in the remodeling effort are sustainably harvested redwood lumber and timbers from Humboldt Sawmill.

“I don’t think you could visit Hook & Ladder Winery and not notice the redwood,” states Devin Ruddick, VP, National Sales Manager. “Humboldt Sawmill really took our experience to a whole new level. When people come to our vineyard they look around and in a world of social media, find so many different areas in which to capture a great day that they are having.” 

Key outdoor uses of redwood on the property include numerous 6″x6″ timbers supporting large fabric shade sails, and a deck that serves not only as a stage area for musical acts, but as a creative way to hide a critical irrigation system. Plenty of outdoor seating at redwood picnic tables and benches was a must-have.

Inside the tasting room redwood was used on the bars, in lattice work near the ceiling, as baseboards, and finally for a beautiful ladder able to roll side-to-side across the wine library, giving tasting room staff easy access to the wines for guest pours and product sales. 

In selecting redwood for the remodel, Hook & Ladder Winery had two major prerequisites in mind. According to Ruddick, “Humboldt Sawmill’s sustainable practices were really right in line with our philosophy, along with the fact that we wanted structures that were going to be durable, that were going to last.” 

Reserve your tasting at Hook & Laddery Winery in the beautiful Russian River Valley and visit GetRedwood.com to learn how to incorporate redwood into your own remodeling projects.