Wines & Vineyards...
Through our vineyard management company we manage or consult on vineyard projects in the Santa Cruz Mountains and Santa Clara Valley. We’ve also consulted on vineyards as far away as San Diego and El Dorado County. We always thought that getting our hands on the vine would be the most valuable experience in making wine.
Vineyards we manage:
Home Vineyard (Haut Tubee, for the hot tub in the back yard) – Located at our home in San Jose, this was our first experiment with vines. We started with 25 Syrah and 25 Grenache vines planted in the front and back yards. We’ve since added Mourvedre and Zinfandel. In 2009 we removed our entire front lawn and a portion of the original Syrah and Grenache and replanted the area with 25 Mourvedre vines on a 5 wire VSP system.View Photos
Crimson and Clover Vineyard, Morgan Hill, Santa Clara Valley AVA – Located in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, outside the town of Morgan Hill. It is planted with 1 1/2 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon. Named for the bright red Crimson Clover used as a cover crop. Our first harvest from this vineyard was in 2008.
Harrison Vineyard, Los Altos Hills, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA – Located near the old Page Mill Road winery. In 2007, we outfitted the small one acre vineyard with Syrah. It will begin to yield grapes in 2010 and will likely become part of our Haut Tubee program.
Chaine d'Or Estate Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA – Located at 1200 feet above the town of Woodside in the heart of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The vineyard was planted in 1987 by Anne and Jerry Anderson with Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The small winery was completed in 1992 with the finest equipment available. Paul began working at Chaine d'Or with the 2005 harvest. In the summer of 2007 we took over operations in the winery and vineyard and moved our production into Chaine d'Or. The vineyard is named for the phrase Paul Masson used to describe the Santa Cruz Mountains "Chain of Gold".
Vista Verde Vineyard, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA – Located on a very steep hillside in San Mateo County above the town of Portola Valley. The vineyard is planted with Pinot Noir and will yield 2-3 tons in most years. We are in the process of restoration and retraining and yields will be lower through 2011. The vineyard is located at 1300 feet less than a mile from the ridgeline and is in one of the coolest climates of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The Vista Verde name is currently used by a vineyard in San Benito County and our wine will simply be labeled 'Santa Cruz Mountains' rather than carry a vineyard designate.
Vineyards where we consult and use the grapes.
Ottigurr Vineyard, San Jose, Santa Clara Valley AVA – Located in an unincorporated area between San Jose and Los Gatos it is planted with Syrah and Zinfandel.Vineyards we love:
We use other vineyards to make wine as well. Our basic criteria is we look for vineyards in sites that offer the potential for getting grapes ripe and maintaining sound acidity. We want to make wines that will fit in with the style of wines coming from our own vineyards. Most important though we look for grape growers who are, well, borderline insane. We’ll only work with grape growers who are just as crazy as we are about growing the best grapes.
Eaglepoint Ranch, Mendocino County - The ranch is located at 1800 feet and has attracted winemakers like Sean Thackery and Wells Guthrie of Copain. Tasting Wells Guthrie’s Eaglepoint Ranch Syrah convinced us we needed to make a wine from this vineyard. It had the combination of fruit and structure of great California Syrah. At Eaglepoint they focus on growing Syrah that will make complex wines with great fruit, balance and an earthy edge. You'll never get this wine confused with a cheap sweet Syrah.Harvest Moon Vineyard / Martin Ranch, Gilroy, Santa Cruz Mountains AVA - Located in Redwood Retreat in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Dan and Terese Martin grow Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc with passion and detail. They are just about the nicest people we've met in the wine business and we feel lucky they let us purchase grapes from this famous Santa Cruz Mountains Vineyard for our Santa Cruz Mountains Cabernet-Merlot blend.