Vineyard

We imported our vines from Beaucastel, shepherded them through a USDA-mandated 3-year quarantine, and propagated them on our on-site nursery. These clones were hand-selected for intensity of flavor and true varietal character. Some varietals had never been brought into the United States before, and we brought in new clones even of the varietals that existed here previously.

Stressed Grapevines

We densely plant the vines (1600 to 1800 per acre) to create competition, and trellis them low to the ground to take advantage of the radiant heat from the rocky soil. The competition between the plants, as well as the rugged terrain and limited water, creates intense small clusters of grapes with thick skins. Each vine is limited to 8-12 bunches each year.  We dry-farm all of the vineyard most vintages, and many blocks every vintage.  This forces the vines' roots deep into the bedrock and makes sure that they pull the maximum character of place out of their environment.

Organic Vineyards with Hands-On Farming

Our organic vineyard practices following the lead of the Beaucastel estate in Chateauneuf du Pape. Like Beaucastel, we use no herbicides or systemic pesticides in the vineyard. Cover crops minimize erosion, host beneficial insects, and return nitrogen to the soil. We use extensive composting, and use compost tea to control mildew in the vineyard and reduce our need for sulfur. We received our organic certification in January, 2003 and continue to explore how we can better respect our place.  We began farming much of the vineyard Biodynamically in 2010.

We prune and harvest by hand. The pruning is done both to promote the general health of the vine and to minimize crop load, and we regularly thin our crop to improve the quality of the fruit. All grapes are harvested by hand at optimum ripeness, and most of the vineyard blocks are harvested in multiple passes, ensuring that the grapes that arrive at our winery for vinification are at peak ripeness.