Touring Monterey County Vineyards

On a recent trip to the Central Coast vineyard sites from which we are sourcing grapes this year, the same conditions that greeted us in Livermore were evident down south: nothing is moving.

Harvest time is a lot like an automobile race except when it comes to grapes you never really know, until the moment it happens, whether it is a sprint, a 500-miler, if the starting flag has really dropped...

Our relatively cool summer continues. And with the cool weather comes slower maturation of fruit. As winemakers, we like this condition. We get slow development of flavors and sugar levels move up only grudgingly. As fruit processors, though, the hurry up and wait conditions are burdensome. The team is ready to sort fruit, crush and de-stem, start fermentations, etc. but they sit idle. The real trouble starts when all the fruit comes in at once...which may be a consequence of the weather this year.

Mission Ranch

The Mission Ranch is located about 115 miles south of Livermore in the Arroyo Seco appellation and was planted by my family in the early '60s. Over 200 acres, the site is planted mostly to Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and Syrah. From Mission we get the fruit for our Classic Clones blend: Mariafeld, Pommard, Wadensville, and Swann (a new clone for us this year). The photos below show Mission's proximity to the Santa Lucia Highlands appellation up the hill in the background (l) and the new Swann block (r).












Mission is now owned by Steve McIntyre. Our relationship goes back to the early 2000s when he bought the vineyard from the family, and he and his team have done a wonderful job supplying us with gorgeous fruit. The photo below of the Mariafeld block shows how immaculate the fruit and vineyard are.


As of September 15, 2008 the fruit at Mission was sitting at about 20 Brix, at least a couple of weeks away from being ready for harvest. Flavors are developing beautifully, however.

Paraiso Vineyard

This is the most southerly-located vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands appellation from which we source fruit. Owned by Rich Smith, the vineyard site had provided outstanding quality fruit to us for many years...and the views are amazing. In the photo below, we are looking east from Paraiso's Wedding Hill, over the Salinas Valley all the way to the Chalone appellation in the Pinnacles on the east side of the Valley.



Located in the Santa Lucia range about 700 feet above sea level, the Martini and 667 clones have consistently produced wines that are highlighted by bright red cherry, cola, and orange oil notes. The 2006 release of this wine was made exclusively for members of Pinot Noir Program. Planted originally in 1973, the Paraiso block from which we get our fruit has been grafted over the course of time. Sometimes a vine or two is missed when they are top-worked. In the photo below notice the Pinot Noir and Gwerztraminer clusters sharing the same vine.


Sleepy Hollow Vineyard

Juxtaposed to Paraiso Vineyard in the south is the Sleepy Hollow Vineyard in the far northern reaches of the Santa Lucia Highlands. Owned by the Talbott family, this vineyard site produces one of the most distinctive Pinots we offer (think raspberry fruit folded into mushrooms, pine needles, and soy...mmmm! mmmm!).

The photo on the left shows Sleepy Hollow up against the foot of the almost vertical Santa Lucia, the center one shows the Clone 113 block marker (notice that it is planted on its own roots), and the one on the right shows the uppermost rows from which we harvest the Martini clone fruit that is the base for our multi-clone wine.



With weather remaining cool, it will be a few weeks yet before all of our Central Coast fruit is in to the winery. If the last part of the harvest goes as well as the early part, the quality of the fruit...and the wine...should be very high indeed.