great grapes

The initial 15-acre section of estate vineyards was planted in 2001, with rows going east-west to give us optimal utilization of the sun during the day and the foggy marine layer that rolls in during the night. This area of the vineyard is planted with 4 feet between the vines and 9 feet between the rows. This allows us to provide the best vine and cover crop management and weed control. The 15 acres includes 10 acres of Pinot Noir (clone 115 and Pommard), and 5 acres of Syrah (Estrella and clone 99) as well as about a fifth of an acre of Viognier (clone 1) in a classic Rhône tradition.

Click here to watch how quickly our Syrah vines grow.

In August 2004 we decided to expand our estate vineyards and selected eight separate, small areas on the property to plant 10 additional acres – we call them the “baby blocks”. The varietals, clones and rootstock selections reflect two years of tasting different wines from our neighbors in Sta. Rita Hills . We continued our focus on Pinot Noir and Syrah but also decided to add a small block of Grenache. The new planting is tighter spaced - 7 feet between the rows and 3 feet between the vines. The Pinot Noir blocks are inter-planted with Pinot Gris as part of our continuing experiments with co-pigmentation.

Roll your mouse over the different blocks on the map below to explore the vineyard.