• Vineyards Photo
  • Vineyards Photo
  • Vineyards Photo
  • Vineyards Photo

Vineyards

We embrace a quality focused, traditional Burgundian winemaking approach that begins with hand harvested, optimally ripe grapes from premium coastal, low yield vineyards.  All of the vineyards we work with have superior farming practices, but we do have a few favorites.

Stone Corral Vineyard

Stone Corral Vineyard is a unique venture developed with Talley Vineyards, Stephen Ross Cellars and Kynsi Winery.  Careful planning went into the layout of the vineyard, where six to eight foot deep pits were dug to analyze soil profile over the diverse terrain. The soils are marine in origin with many fossils and are very well drained.  It has varying soil types, including sand, sandy loam, loamy sand, pebbly clay loam, all fine angular blocky.  Many areas have underlying decomposing sandstone layers.  Low vigor rootstocks were selected for each specific soild profile; 101-14, 3309 and 1616C.  The philosophy of using low vigor is to subdue vegetative growth and fruit set so more energy goes into a lighter crop load for more complex flavors.  Three French Dijon clones 667, 777 and 115 were chosen as well as 2A (Wadenswil) a clone from Switzerland.  A significant portion of the 2A came from cuttings off the Talley's Rosemary Vineyard.

 The origin of the name Stone Corral goes back to San Luis Obispo's mission days in the late 1700's.  The temperate climate of the Edna Valley with average rainfall of 24 inches and maritime influence with foggy mornings and warm afternoons produced lush grazing lands for Mission de la Tolosa's vast cattle herds.  The mission Indians constructed a large, circular corral made of stacked stones for use in handling their cattle and for thrashing grain.  The stone corral was located between two creeks in the heart of the Edna Valley.  When the mission lands were divided into ranchos during the early 1800's, the land in the Edna Valley became part of the 30,911 acre Ranch Corral de Piedra.  The English translation is Stone Corral Ranch.

Bien Nacido Vineyard

Bien Nacido Vineyard has become one of the most highly regarded vineyards in California.  Their meticulous farming, talented team and blessed environment make them one of our favorites to work with.  The quality standards they have set are high and they continue to meet and surpass them, year after year.  We currently occupy over 5 acres total of Pinot Blanc, Zb block Syrah and Pinot Noir from 36 year old vines, including Pommard and Martini clones.  Slopes vary in between 2% to 30% depending upon block and site. The soils in these blocks range from Los Osos clay loam, elder loam, elder shaly loam, sorrento sandy loam and mocho sandy loam. www.biennacido.com

Righetti Vineyard

Righetti Ranch dates back to 1890 and has been in the family for generations.  The ranch has always been known for producing world class avocados, although in recent years they have planted about fifty acres to Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes.  The soils differ from any other vineyard in the Edna Valley and the elevation is also a bit higher than others in the region.  It is an incredibly expressive site that produces wines of deep color and complexities with a low pH for aging and balance. We currently produce Pinot Noir from Righetti Ranch using 943, 115 and Calera clones.

Jesperson Ranch

Nestled in the rolling hills of the northeast corner of the Edna Valley, Jespeson lies just four miles from the Pacific Ocean and derives much of its personality from the coastal influence. The blocks that we contract from have well drained, sandy subsoils and a deep, clay cap. There was true vision for the vineyard from its inception with a quality installation, high density plantings and a diversity of clones. Located on a hillside with extreme exposure, we currently produce Syrah and Grenache from the Ranch. Like all of our cool climate vineyards, Jesperson is often fog laden and ocean kissed.