Vintage

July 1, 2020 (from the archives!)

Walking our hillside vineyard blocks in mid-June, we see that the flowering phase of our Pinot vines is complete
and already small grape clusters have begun to form. There is an abundant fruit set! The fruit zone is loaded with
clusters. It looks like it going to be a good year. In other vineyard news, our newest vineyard section, the
Leonardo Block, is thriving during its second growing season. The block is our only South facing planting and
commands the best exposure at the Ranch. We planted these vines utilizing Pinot clones 828 (Dijon), Mount
Eden, and 667 (Dijon). This densely planted block has tight vine spacing (3’ between vines) and narrow rows.
This means more labor in and amongst the vines, but a higher production rate. With these varieties of Pinot
clones & the dense planting, we are hoping for a Burgundian field blend style coming from this section.

Bio-Diversity

Since first planting our hillside vineyards, one of the chief goals has been creating overlapping layers of diversity.
This has meant planting and tending to lavender fields and olive & fruit orchards too. This has meant cultivating
cover crops that stabilize our hillside and promote better water retention during the winter months. Bee hives
thrive at the top and the Ranch to help with pollination. Our winemaking style has developed into 100% native
yeast fermentations. These native yeasts are in our cellar, and on the grape skins that arrive in plenty during
harvest. We learned recently that some of our native yeasts overwinter in the bee hives during the coldest part
of the growing season. The warmth of the bee hive keeps the yeasts vital, and they are carried out into the vines
again once the growing season erupts in the spring.

Another aspect of bio-diversity is soil building.Encouraging and pursuing growing practices which promote soil health is a win-win for us. Currently, one of the tools in the shed for this is sheep grazing.This year marked the first season where we have
had baby doll sheep grazing our hillside. A local company, The Holistic Shepherd, began running their flocks through our vineyard blocks in February while the vines were dormant. Currently, these same flocks are grazing several areas we have our
eyes on for future vineyard planting. It’s been a learning experience to have sheep at the Ranch, but one which we’ve enjoyed immensely. We were even able to experience a sheep shearing!

Our hope is that all of this diversity means a better single vineyard expression in our estate wines! Our local
winemaker friend, Jeff Brinkman (from Rhys) said while tasting through our 2019 estate Pinot that already the
“terrior” is shining