Fawnridge winery is located in the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevada, just north of the historic gold mining town of Auburn. The winery sits atop a picturesque ridge with scenic views overlooking the Sacramento Valley, the Sierras, and the Coastal Range with Mt. Diablo on the horizon.

In the year 2000, with the start of a new millennium, Stewart and Stephanie Perry began embarking on a new journey in pursuit of their love of wines. The couple decided to explore developing vineyards on their Auburn property. Research was conducted including soil testing and evaluation of their "terroir" (the influence of the soil and climate on the wine). As luck would have it, the land received excellent ratings and the hillside locations were thought to be very well suited for wine grapes of the Rhone and Italian varietals. Excellent sun exposure and soil condition make the climate of the Sierra Foothills similar to areas of Europe famous for producing high quality wines.

Fawnridge Vineyards was started in the summer of 2002. Barbera and Syrah grapes were selected based on the soil and climate conditions. After consideration of numerous ways to develop the vineyard layout, Vertical Shoot Positioning was chosen based on research within the wine industry. This method trains vines up a vertical trellis on horizontal wires up to six feet tall. Grapevines receive improved sun exposure resulting in superior quality. This all makes for better wine from the harvest of superior grapes.