VINEYARDS

Our Estate vineyards are picturesquely located on hilltops of the eastern side of Dry Creek Valley in northern Sonoma County. With stunning views of Geyser Peak and Mount St. Helena to the east and Dry Creek Valley to the west, the combination of steep terrain, stone-strewn soils, cool ocean influence and warm summer days provide ideal growing conditions for our vines.

Much like the Côtes du Rhône region of France, these diverse soils produce luscious fruit from grape varieties, including Rhône varietals Grenache, Syrah, Mourvèdre, Counoise, Cinsault, Viognier, Marsanne, Roussanne and Picpou. In addition, the Estate is home to Petite Sirah and, of course, Dry Creek Valley’s most famous grape variety: Zinfandel

This beautiful 40-acre ranch is sustainably farmed with each of the eleven vineyard blocks tended by hand, using techniques tailored to each’s specific soil, exposure, slope, vine age and type. Each block is individually managed throughout the growing season to ensure the health of each vine. At harvest, we often employ a method known as micro picks: tasting and then hand-picking vine by vine, skipping rows if necessary to identify and select the ripest fruit. Ultimately, our goal is to preserve the essence of these unique varietals and ensure that the fruit that goes into our wines yields optimum flavor profiles.

Another “old world” farming technique utilized is the process of “field-blending.”  Specific rows of desired blend varietals are set aside until the aggregate level of ripeness among them is just right.  These rows are then picked together and combined in the field and then co-fermented when turned into wine. Rather than making each varietal separately and then creating a blend, we are essentially blending them in the field before the wine is even made.  While a more challenging method of producing wine, this technique produces rich, earthy and uniquely complex blends.