Our story
Winemaker Andy Erickson has been crafting wines with a singular focus on quality and sourcing for over 30 years. In 2004, he founded Leviathan with a clear vision: to create one Cabernet‑driven wine each vintage, unconstrained by appellations and drawn from exceptional vineyards across Northern California to capture the power, depth, and diversity of the state.
From the beginning, Leviathan has been guided by an exploratory spirit, looking beyond AVAs and traditional boundaries to find sites that bring both intensity and balance. Each year, the team works with long‑standing grower partners and carefully chosen vineyards, many from mountainside and volcanic‑soil sites, to craft a single, layered, and compelling expression. It is a wine defined by energy, structure, and complexity, unmistakably California and unmistakably Leviathan.
“The goal was simple: to create one, unique 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: Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot
Cole Silt Loam Soil: Alluvium derived from volcanic and sedimentary rock
The Label
“Leviathan” conjures something immense and powerful, much like the stories from which the name originates. 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 for the vision to create a single, expansive wine fed by multiple unique sites, our exploration of California’s vineyards.
The name also inspired the label, designed by Michael McDermott. The current label reflects that journey, drawing on ideas of depth, scale, and exploration. Simple and abstract, dark but not sinister, it symbolizes power, refinement, and discovery, qualities we strive to capture in every bottle.
