2024 WSA American Wine Legend: Tom Klein

For Tom Klein, who has helped build a sustainable future, success in the wine industry comes down to good dirt and investing in people.

Tom Klein isn’t the sort of guy to brag about his accomplishments. He likes to get his boots dirty. Raised in his family’s agricultural business, Klein harvested produce, drove trucks and did whatever else was needed before heading off to Stanford for college and business school. The Klein family had been farming in California for almost a century when Tom Klein returned to the family business and led the family’s acquisition of Rodney Strong, the historic and well-regarded winery in 1989. Namesake Rod Strong was an innovator in his own right, but Klein brought an unwavering commitment to quality and a keen business sense that allowed him to elevate the profile of Rodney Strong to an international scale that now includes the acclaimed brands Davis Bynum, Rowen Wine Company and Knotty Vines.

Almost immediately after assuming control, Klein identified and invested in his top vineyards and parted ways with ones that didn’t meet his high standards of quality. Klein’s focus on vineyard sites drove the quality of the wines forward and led to the acquisition of new parcels, which now total almost 1,200 certified sustainable acres. Among recent investments is the stunning Cooley Ranch, a high-elevation parcel of Cabernet Sauvignon and other Bordeaux varieties of which Klein is especially proud. Cooley Ranch now forms the core of many of Rodney Strong and Rowen Wine Company’s top bottlings and has elevated the quality of the company’s wines across the board, earning exceptional ratings and reviews in Wine Enthusiast and raves elsewhere.

In addition to good dirt, Klein recognized the need for good people to constantly improve the quality of the wine in the bottle. To this end, he retained Rick Sayre, the winemaker who had joined the winery way back in 1979 and continued with Rodney Strong for another two decades. Klein notes that the transition was nearly seamless: “We both had the same goal, to make the wines better and better. You keep turning the switches, and eventually, you get something you really love.” Sayre has since been named Winemaker Emeritus, with Senior V.P. of Winemaking and Winegrowing Justin Seidenfeld continuing to execute Klein’s vision of daily improvement and refinement.

Developing a sustainable future in the wine industry goes beyond vineyard practices and savvy personnel decisions. From the beginning, Klein and his team have focused on innovation in the winery and facilities. Back in 1993, under his direction, Rodney Strong installed the largest solar array of any winery in the world. Those panels have been upgraded recently with more efficient equipment, allowing Rodney Strong to meet over half of its energy needs with solar generated power alone. The winemaking facility itself is a hotbed of development and experimentation, where technology is embraced as an aid to time-honored winemaking practices, not a replacement for them. 

Seidenfeld confirmed Klein’s commitment to challenging the status quo: “People say the best leaders inspire us to do things we never thought possible … His leadership and support allowed our winemaking and viticulture to thrive, and now we are producing wines that surprise and delight with each and every glass.”

The relentless attention to detail under Klein’s leadership has made Rodney Strong a worldwide standard bearer for Sonoma County. In all 50 states and dozens of countries all over the world, wine lovers reach for these exceptional wines. Wine Enthusiast is honored to recognize Tom Klein as an American Wine Legend.

Published: October 10, 2024