Our Vineyards
APPELLATION
Paso Robles is located halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco on California’s central coast. The growing season is defined by a climate of warm afternoons and evenings cooled by coastal fog. Daily temperature swings of 40 degrees or more are not unusual during the growing season.
TERROIR
The landscape is defined by rolling hills, dry riverbeds, rocky terrain, and abundant wild life. Deer, coyotes, rattlesnakes, tarantulas, rabbits, hawks, vultures, and owls live in and around our field. The soils range from sandy loam to clay loam. Our Malbec, Tempranillo, Petit Verdot, and Barbera are grown side-by-side in blocks of seven acres in our Shandon vineyard. The field is set on the top of a large hill where the grapes receive maximum exposure to the sun. Temperatures in this vineyard average 10 degrees higher than San Miguel. All of the water used in our vineyards comes from our own wells.
OUR VINEYARDS: San Miguel and Shandon
Our 40-acre Cabernet Vineyard is located in San Miguel, California. It is a mostly flat vineyard close to sea level with some gently rolling hills on the eastern side, which block the morning sunlight. It is twenty-five miles from the ocean. The vineyard is frequently covered in coastal fog. It is surrounded by neighboring vineyards on all sides, most of which are also planted with Cabernet Sauvignon. This area is considered the premier Cabernet Sauvignon growing region in California’s Central Coast.
Our second 40-acre vineyard is twenty-five miles east in Shandon, California. It is located atop of hill that is significantly higher than our San Miguel vineyard. The vineyard receives unobstructed sunlight for the duration of each day. Temperatures are on average ten degrees higher and lower here than in our San Miguel vineyard. The terrain is very rocky. The grapes are watered from our own wells and reservoir.
VITICULTURE
Our top priority is to grow fruit of the highest caliber. We limit our Cabernet Sauvignon vines to just one bud per cordon. We manage our vineyards on a block-by-blocks basis, tending to the individual needs of each varietal in matters of irrigation, pruning, and harvesting. This fine-tuned approach enables us to get the most out of each block, varietal, and vintage.
PRODUCTION
Our case production is based on the harvest. We bottle approximately 15-20% of our total grape production. We choose the best grapes and we sell the rest to other local vineyards. Some of the harvest is made into bulk wine for sale to other wineries. We have the capacity and flexibility to increase or decrease production based on the quality of our harvest and the needs of our customers.