A Vineyard of Our Own

Since our founding in 2008, we have relied on others to grow the grapes that go into our wines. For five years, our recipe for success has hinged on the long term relationships we’ve cultivated with some of the best growers of pinot noir and zinfandel in the state of California. And as we enter the 2012 harvest season, we’re looking forward to continuing to work with those great winegrowers. But since we started this journey, there’s always been something missing for us – a vineyard of our very own. A place where we could craft true estate wines, control all aspects of the growing process, and foster a place that would be uniquely for and about our wines.

Today, we’re very excited to share the news with you that we have found that place. Last week we closed escrow on our very own pinot noir vineyard in the acclaimed Russian River Valley. She’s small, but she’s all ours. Or, should we say, she’s all yours!

Previously named Two Sisters Vineyard, the original planting date on the property is a mystery.  We've seen claims dating the vineyard to the mid-1950's, but we think it was most likely planted sometime in the 1960's (we're actively investigating this issue!).

What we do know is that from 2000 to 2007, the fruit was used exclusively by the Adrian Fog winery to craft single vineyard wines that routinely scored in the 90’s by Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. Here’s what the folks at Adrian Fog had to say about the vineyard:

Two Sisters Vineyard in the Russian River Valley is comprised primarily of the noble Martini clone with a few of the fashionable clone #667 vines added in recent years. The original vines were planted in 1953 when Martini was prominent and prized for its robust fruit and spice characteristics. The vineyard tilts subtlety downward adding a signature nuance of red raspberry and strawberry flavors with a touch of black tea in the background. The entire vineyard, just 499 plants in total, which would be about a row of an average sized vineyard, yielded just a few barrels of beautiful Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. The vineyard has decades of maturity which lends its hand in achieving amazing flavors and finesse. Each vine has a unique shape as the years have transformed them into gnarled works of art. She is tiny in size but grand in flavor and aromatics.

And tiny she is. We expect to only pull a couple of tons of fruit from the vineyard in 2012 and maybe up to three tons in future years. That translates to only 100-150 cases of wine. But when added to the amazing line up of wines from our grower partners, we think the size is just perfect for us.

We look forward to sharing the vineyard and its wines in the coming years. In the interim, stay tuned to how you can help us with a very important task – coming up with a new vineyard name!

UPDATE:  We've chosen a name - Torrey Hill Vineyard.  Click here for details on the name and its meaning.