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Nicolas Vonderheyden, winemaker and vineyard manager for the Woodside-based wine label Maison Areion, isn’t a one-trick pony when it comes to winemaking. Vonderheyden, who was born in the United States but grew up in France, has been making wine from Woodside’s Chaine d’Or Vineyard for nearly 10 years. He got his start in the wine industry after following in his parents’ footsteps.
“My parents are French, and they were importing and distributing wine on the East Coast back in the ‘80s,” said Vonderheyden. “We also have a family vineyard in Margaux, just outside Bordeaux, that my uncle was running until the early ‘90s when he passed away suddenly.”
His parents ultimately decided to move back to France to take over the family business when Vonderheyden was 5 years old.
“I grew up on the vineyard, so that’s how I was exposed to the vineyard and winemaking and just basically fell into it when I was little,” he said.
After completing business school and a food and science degree, Vonderheyden worked at several wineries around the world, including in California and France, and ultimately decided that California was where he wanted to make wine.
Vonderheyden worked several harvests at wineries throughout the Santa Cruz Mountains, including at nearby Thomas Fogarty Winery and Mountain Winery. He eventually took over vineyard and winemaking operations for Chaine d’Or vineyard in Woodside in 2015 while he was working full time as the vineyard manager at Mountain Winery.
“On weekends I would go to Chaine d’Or vineyards and tend to the vines and take care of the wine,” he said.
Now, as the vineyard manager for Chaine d’Or and the winemaker for his own label, Maison Areion, Vonderheyden does it all. He has no full-time employees, so he wears many hats.
Chaine d’Or Vineyard
The 2-acre Chaine d’Or Vineyard, where Vonderheyden sources most of the grapes for Maison Areion, was originally planted by Silicon Valley entrepreneur Jerry Anderson in 1987. He planted the vines in conjunction with local wine pioneers Bob and Jim Varner, who are known for planting some of the best vineyards in the northern part of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Vonderheyden is currently the only winemaker who makes wine from the grapes grown on this nearly 40-year-old vineyard site, which is located just south of Alice’s Restaurant on Highway 84, near the intersection with Skywood Way. The vineyard is not open to the public for tastings, though Vonderheyden occasionally gives private tours.
The name Chaine d’Or, which means golden chain in French, comes from the name vintners like Paul Masson and Martin Ray gave the growing region on the eastern face of the Santa Cruz Mountains.
“The old winemakers around the turn of the century thought that this was the best place in California to make wine, so they called the group of winemaking estates Chaine d’Or,” Anderson said in an interview with The Almanac in 2019.
Vonderheyden agrees that it is a very special place to make wine. “(The vineyard) is located at 1,400 feet elevation, and we’re not very far from the coastline so there’s a lot of Pacific influence,” he said. “This tends to preserve the natural acidity in wines, and this is what I really love.”
He now farms the vineyard site entirely organically, and aims to become organic certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers by 2026. He says that farming organically helps his wines better reflect the land where the grapes are grown. With minimal intervention in the vineyards, his wines showcase the influence that the soil and air have on these grapes.
“There is no use of herbicides, no use of insecticides,” he said. “There’s minimal canopy work, so there’s no leaf pulling. … It’s very hands off.”
The 2-acre estate is planted with chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon and smaller plots of cabernet franc, merlot and petit verdot. The red grapes, Vonderheyden said, felt very familiar to him: “This is kind of a Margaux-like blend, so this suited me well.”
But Vonderheyden was nervous at first to make chardonnay, a wine grape which hails from the other large winemaking region in France, Burgundy.
“It’s a little ironic,” he laughed. “But I am enjoying it just as much.”
Vonderheyden also sources grapes from other vineyards in the region when he can. He has made a pinot noir from Saveria Vineyard in Corralitos and a cabernet franc from Vogelzang Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley.
The small cellar that Vonderheyden uses to make his wine is located underneath Anderson’s house. Despite being located under a residential living room, the cellar has everything that a professional winemaker might need.
“It’s fully bonded and commercial,” said Vonderheyden. “It’s underground, it’s kind of like a cave. It has very thick walls, and there’s a little gallery tunnel to access the main tank room and barrel room. It’s relatively small but it’s extremely functional.”
Maison Areion
Though Vonderheyden started out as the winemaker for Jerry Anderson’s Chaine d’Or brand, he soon found himself wanting to be able to have control over the wines he was making.
“In 2015 when I started at Chaine d’Or, Jerry (Anderson) was still pretty active in the operations,” said Vonderheyden. “He didn’t want to just give up on his baby, so to speak. We made an agreement back then that he would keep his Chaine d’Or brand, and I was looking for a brand for the wines that I wanted to make.”
It turns out that just like his first forays into the winemaking business, Vonderheyden’s family is what ended up inspiring him. His sister, who was a professional horseback rider, sustained a traumatic brain injury in a horseback riding accident.
“She fell from a horse, and that was right when I was looking for a brand name,” he said. “I stumbled upon the name Areion, who happens to be a horse in Greek mythology, and it all came together.”
For Vonderheyden, the name Maison Areion represents more than just his connection to his family: It also represents his connection to the land and the grapes that he tends to.
“Areion was born from Gaia, who is the mother of agriculture and earth, and Poseidon, god of oceans,” he said. “I like to say that grapes — and eventually wine — are made of water filtered through the earth.”
The wines
Nicolas Vonderheyden says that his Maison Areion wines are meant to be consumed with food. The natural acidity that is maintained in the grapes by cool Pacific breezes are what make his wines, along with many other wines grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains, so food-friendly.
“I was raised in France drinking wines that always pair very well with food,” he said. “Especially in the United States, with food that tends to be a little bit on the sweeter side, I find that the higher acidity complements it greatly.”
Vonderheyden says that he doesn’t like giving tasting notes for his wines. “Everyone has a different perception of the wines,” he joked. But he’s more than happy to suggest food to pair his wines with.
He recommends pairing his chardonnay with grilled chicken, smoked salmon or a pear salad with pistachios. He suggests pairing his cabernet sauvignon with meats of all kinds, though his favorite pairing is beef stew.
“It might be a little hot to make beef stew in the middle of summer,” he said. “I also recommend pairing with a burger on the grill, or maybe a brownie.”
Under the Maison Areion label, Vonderheyden only produces about 350 cases, or 4,200 bottles per year, so his wines are a rare commodity. Currently, the Maison Areion wines are not widely distributed, and there is no public tasting room. But local consumers can purchase Chaine d’Or at Roberts Market in Woodside and Portola Valley.
“I sell the Chaine d’Or brand to Roberts Market, because historically Jerry (Anderson) has always sold there,” Vonderheyden said.
One of the only ways to see the vineyards and taste Maison Areion wines is to contact Vonderheyden himself. He’s hoping to expand the brand’s reach in the coming year.
“I’m developing sales for (Maison Areion) mainly in Southern California, because I have a broker there,” he said. “I also have a distributor in Ohio, and another one in New York and New Jersey.”
Vonderheyden is focusing primarily on direct-to-consumer sales. Individuals interested in purchasing a bottle or two of Maison Areion for themselves, or arranging for a private tour, can contact Vonderheyden directly on his website, maison-areion.com.
“I feel extremely fortunate to be able to make a living out of my passion,” he said. “Not everybody is so lucky.”