Our Story

 Bud's Biography

Bud Lawson, owner of Red Lava Vineyards and producer of Red Lava Syrah, knows soil.  He believes that great wine begins in the vineyard.  From many generations of farmers, he began his informal training as a child through observation and involvement with his family.  Through his career as a land surveyor and work with constrction companies he increased his knowledge about soil.  Many hours of informal consultations from friends, colleagues and professionals has continued his wine grape growing education.

From the time he was a teenager he resided in Northern California, watching as vineyards were planted and the wine industry grew.  He felt that if other people could grow grapes, so could he.  While spending weekends and holidays at the vacation home he built on Clear Lake years ago, he noticed that vineyards were being planted in Lake County.  Land was affordable here so he decided to plan for his retirement, combining his love for working with the land with the newly emerging Lake County wine industry.  On a Sunday afternoon in 1998, while searching for the pertect vineyard site, he found a faded, old "For Sale" sign with a barely readable phone number.  This untouched 80-acre parcel, covered with Manzanita, poison oak and pine trees, would becaome Red Lava Vineyards.

Everything about Red Lava Vineyards is hands on.  Bud, seated on his bulldozer, cleared 10 acres and built roads with the help of his sons, Matt and Luke, and other family members.  After having an informal tasting of different varietals that would be suited to the site, Bud asked his wife, Kristi, what wine she liked.  Her answer was, "Syrah", and the decision was made.  He studied his site, then designed and planted the vineyard using dense spacing and a Syrah clone from the Rhone Valley in Southern France.

In order for a vineyard to thrive in the hot summers of the Red Hills Lake County American Viticultural Area it must have water, and with no streams or natural springs on the property a well needed to be drilled.  After a well-digging crew tried and failed to locate water, Bud used the ancient method called diving, a skill passed down through generations in his family, to find the perfect location to drill.  He walked the property with a Y-shaped branch cut from hillside chaparelle until the tip of the branch pulled down strongly, indicating the exact spot that would become a high volume well.

Bud has a passion for his vines, and cares for them like they were his children.  His viticultural practices are based on lessons he learned years ago from his family: study the land, listen to its needs and treat it with respect, and it will reward you with a su[erior product.

Kristi's Biography

Kristi Lawson, co-owner of Red Lava Vineyards, is from generations of wine enthusiasts.  Her Great Uncle 'Shine', as in moonshine, was known for 'fortifying' neighborhood families during Prohibitiions.  She was told that he may have done a little jail time for his illegal fermentations.  Her paternal grandparents moved from depressed Oklahoma oil country to California, land of opportunity in the 1930's.  While reminiscing with her father it was explained to her that part of the chicken and egg delivery etiquette was to share a glass of wine with the San Francisco and surrounding area business owners during her grandfather and uncle's delivery routes.  Thankfully, during this era cars were slower, traffic was lighter and her uncle was the designated driver back when those ideas weren't enforced with 'driving under the influence' laws.

She grew up in the Napa Valley.  Her early exposure to the wine industry was from paticipating in school field trips to wineries and writing reports on the effects of the use of smudge pots for frost control on air quality.  Her deep seated love for nature influenced her husband, Bud's use of the organic materials and sustainable farming practices used in the vineyards.  Her high school sweetheart was from an Italian family who made their own wine and introduced the traditional red varietals while sharing Sunday suppers.  As in Europe, it was customary for a minor to consume a small amount of wine with a meal and it was not considered illegal behavior.  It was 'good for digestion and made the food taste better' her boyfriend's great grand pa would say.  It helped that the alcohol levels were considerably lower too.

Her hereditary family tree also includes ancestors from the wine growing regions of France and Germany.  Maybe that's why her taste buds had an affinity to the Rhone Valley wines.  Her preference to Syrah during her own personal taste test of wine varietals prior to planting the vineyard encouraged Bud to plant that wine grape varietal.  Unknown to Kristi until a family reunion picnic she organized, her maternal third cousin had been making wine since college and had started her own family wine business in rural Santa Clara County; yes, there still are unincorporated areas where grapes flourish.  College led kristi down the path of dental hygiene and wouldn't you know it, she discovered a recent article on the dental merits of red wine and its effects on cavity prevention.

Transitioning form dental hygiene into wine making and marketing required classes and a fun one was Sensory Wine Evaluation, which Kristi took with her sister, Lisa.  They learned how to sniff and swirl and identify nuances based on the aroma wheel and the wine grape growing regions.  And she discovered that her sister has the gift of a nose that can identify 'smells' as well as the experts.  Kristi's unique sensory gift was to out smell the class in identifying rocks and dirt.  That would be consistent with the minerality and the identifiable terroir of Red Lava Vineyards wines!