Pisoni Vineyards

Three generations of living on and working the land comprising Pisoni Vineyards has inserted this beloved place into our family’s DNA. Looking out over this land we feel our connection to it running deep and strong, like looking at our children and seeing our own reflections.

Walking, watching, farming and feeling each of the 20 distinctive parcels in 40 acres, we breathe in energy and beauty and breathe out pride and knowing. Each day, season and generation brings a deeper sense of belonging, stewardship and evolving.

Farming is what we do. Gary’s parents, Jane and Eddie Pisoni, first started farming in the Salinas Valley in 1952. They fostered this sense of pride for farming, place and family that has carried through the Pisoni Family ever since.

It was Gary who, in following his passion for wine, introduced the family to growing grapes in the mountains—at a time when everyone thought he was crazy to do so.

The Pisoni family’s goal: grow exceptional grapes to make exceptional wine. Wines made by the Pisoni family are bottled under the Pisoni Estate and Lucia labels.  Gary and his two sons, Mark and Jeff, farm and produce Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Syrah from their three vineyards in the Santa Lucia Highlands: Pisoni, Garys’ and Soberanes vineyards.  These vineyards and wines represent an extreme commitment to farming and classical winemaking.

This land has an identity. These mountains, this soil, the rocks, the quality of air and the wind. All these traits contribute to a character unique to this very part of the earth. Our goal as a family is to work with nature, through farming and crafting wines, and to preserve this identity in wines that express this very site.

The personality of this land was first recognized when Gary Pisoni began planting grapes in 1982 — some of the very first in this region. Each year we learn more about the characteristics of our vineyards; farming and winemaking to steadily improve the sustainability of what we do, and the wines we strive to create.

BY NATURE, instinct and knowledge, we select and balance the vines for each site. All work is done by hand – from planting to canopy work to harvest. Our farming philosophy at Pisoni Vineyards is rooted in Burgundian traditions and sustaining the land. From each year’s generous harvest we craft Pisoni Estate wines. Addtionally, we share our grapes with some of the most prestigious Pinot Noir producers in California in relationships built over years. At the base of all our work is our love of this land and respect for it.

Winemaking and viticulture must be seen as a whole, rather than as separate parts. This is essential to producing the best wine we possibly can. And in true collaborative family fashion, Gary’s vision of Pisoni Vineyards is carried on through son Mark, who manages the vineyards and son Jeff, who makes the wine. This teamwork is essential to our family’s goals, and allows the work in the vineyards and winery to be of one and the same objective.

We implement a very focused, precise approach to the wine, wherein each individual block is considered and handled separately. Jeff vinifies the small lots using artisanal methods: hand-sorting, native yeast fermentation, hand punch-downs, no fining and no filtering. All considerations are driven by the vineyard identity and respect for the wine.

This meticulous attention and overarching philosophy retains the character of our family vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands.