Soil, climate, geography, geology. They're all part of the terroir that gives each of our wines its distinctive character. We carefully select only the finest growing locations in California’s premier wine regions. Vineyards whose terrior helps produce the premium grapes necessary to make the wine that carries our name.
Hudson Vineyard
Soil: lighter Haire Clay Loam
Clones: Wente selection
Detail: B-Block planted in 2001. Located north of the Carneros Highway, 2 ¾ miles west of Hyde Vineyard, the terrain here is more rolling than that of Hyde, the soil lighter and more friable.
AVA: Carneros-Napa
Hyde Vineyard
Soil: Quite heavy Haire Clay Loam
Clones: Wente, Robert Young and Long
Detail: Hyde Vineyard is situated on gently rolling slopes of the Carneros appellation, on the Napa side. The soils are quite heavy Haire Clay Loam about 30 inches deep with impenetrable clay subsoil which limits vine vigor and crop yield. Summer temperatures are kept relatively cool by marine air flowing through the Petaluma Gap. Ancient creek beds provide drainage and add a scattering of rocks. The Ramey Wine Cellars blocks of Chardonnay were planted between 1980 and 1999 and are Wente, Robert Young and Long field selections.
AVA: Carneros-Napa
Pedregal Vineyard
Soil: Iron rich red soil, 85% basalt rock
Clones: Cabernet Sauvignon - Clone 7 on St. George and 110R rootstock, planted with 4'x8'spacing in 1990. Petit Verdot - Sterling selection on 110R rootstock, planted with 4'x6' spacing in 1996.
Detail: “Pedregal” means a rocky place in Spanish, and that is certainly a distinguishing feature of the site. This is a small, hillside vineyard on the lower slopes of eastern Oakville that's planted to 85% Cabernet Sauvignon and 15% Petit Verdot. During 2008 we agreed to a long-term lease of this vineyard which gives us complete control even through any change in ownership. That year, we began directly farming the vineyard. Our farming team, headed by Mike Neal, planted this vineyard in 1990 and has farmed it continuously since.
AVA: Oakville
Cole Creek Vineyard
Soil: Very gravelly Felta clay loam
Clones: Syrah Alban Selection, Clone 174 and a special Australian selection, and 5.6% Viognier
Detail: There are 11 rows of Viognier that are harvested at the same time as the Syrah. All the grapes are co-fermented. The rows of vines have 6x4 spacing on 420A rootstock. The vines are VSP (vertical shoot positioned) and cane pruned.
AVA: Sonoma Coast
Varietal Syrah
Platt Vineyard
Soil: Soil is Goldridge Loam uplifted from ancient ocean floor.
Clones: Platt was planted in 2003 Wente selection Chardonnay collected from one of our Hyde Vineyard blocks, the rows are densely planted (3' and 4' by 6') on low-vigor rootstock (420A). In 2010, we removed the Chardonnay trunks from three acres of our 16 acre block and grafted Pommard and 828 Dijon Pinot Noir clones to the rootstock.
Detail: The Platt Vineyard is our coolest site, producing wine that is more focused and mineral driven than fruit driven. Located five miles from the Pacific off Bodega Highway, midway between Sebastopol and Bodega Bay, the vineyard sits at 800' on a south-facing slope overlooking the Estero Americano (which funnels cooling marine weather to the Sacramento delta via the Petaluma Gap).
AVA: Sonoma Coast
Ritchie Vineyard
Soil: pure sandy Goldridge Loam, originating from the bed of an inland sea
Clones: Wente selection
Detail: Situated directly in the center of the Russian River appellation, our block of Kent Ritchie's vineyard was planted in 1972 to the old Wente selection. Widely spaced—the fashion at the time—these old vines with their gnarly trunks produce tiny quantities of grapes per vine. The benchland soil is pure Goldridge Loam, common to great vineyards in this part of the Russian River Valley.
AVA: Russian River Valley
Rodgers Creek Vineyard
Soil: Poor volcanic soils
Clones: Syrah 877, with 5% Viognier
Detail: This unique property is on the western, cooler side of Sonoma Mountain, which provides the savory character that to us defines Syrah. Our block was planted to our specifications in 2002 and is positioned 800 feet up the southwest face of Sonoma Mountain, in the "Petaluma Gap" which sweeps cool Pacific air past on its way to the Central Valley.
Poor volcanic soils and the cool weather limit yields to two tons per acre or less, and it is routinely the last or among the last of our sites to be harvested. This cool climate brings out the savory characteristics of the variety, as opposed to its jammy, fruity side. One finds here aromas and flavors of smoked meats, white pepper, green olive and grapefruit, with an almost Pinot-like texture and balance on the palate; in sharp and deliberate contrast to an overblown Shiraz style.
AVA: Sonoma Coast
Westside Farms
Soil: Yolo sandy loam—an alluvial soil
Clones: Chardonnay clones include UCDavis 04 and two chardonnay musque selections, Rued and Spring Mountain. The musque selections have a floral, slight muscat-like character. The plantings from 1990 are on AXR-1 rootstock and are 14 X 8. The new block was planted in 2006. They are on O39-16 rootstock and are 12 X 8 spacing.
Detail: The vineyard runs along the bank of the Russian River. The vines are in a north-south orientation, so they get excellent east-west sun exposure. The site is low lying and morning fog settles over the vines. This keeps the vines cool, so they retain beautiful natural acidity.
Woolsey Road Vineyard
Soil: Huichica clay-loam over clay
Clones: Old Wente cuttings were taken from our Chardonnay blocks in Platt Vineyard, which had been selected from the Hyde Vineyard.
Detail: This vineyard is owned by the Martinelli family and was planted to our specifications in 2007. It lies directly south of their winery on Woolsey Road. Vines are spaced at 6.5 x 3 feet. Rootstock is the low-vigor 420A and the vines are cane pruned.
AVA: Russian River Valley
Varietal Chardonnay