The Vineyard
We’re nestled in the hills of the Russian River’s Green Valley, on the northern tip of Sebastopol, CA. You'll find many different grapes growing in this area, but there’s one that's perfectly matched to our 5-acre vineyard, and that’s Syrah.
why Syrah?
Here in Sonoma County, it feels like we’re an island of Syrah in a sea of Pinot. But that’s how we like it.
First embraced in France’s Northern Rhône region, Syrah has since spread around the world, from the Americas to Africa to Australia. It’s been in Sonoma County for ages, but on the periphery. When we bought this property in 1997, we knew we would plant grapes, and started to sample the varietals of local wine makers. The boutique Syrah wines we found made a very strong impression.
What we’ve come to love about Syrah is that it’s a fantastic, transition grape, falling somewhere between the light, fruitiness of a Pinot and the heavier, strong nature of a Cabernet, with its own unique combination of fruit and spice. In our opinion, Syrah’s middle ground nature makes it a perfect food wine, pairing well with all sorts of dishes without competing or overpowering.
Syrah grapes are also very versatile in that they can be the foundation of distinct, delicious wines. From this vineyard, commercial wine makers have used our Syrah to make a Rosé of Syrah, a Syrah mixed in the Côte-Rôtie style (with up to 10% Viognier grapes), a Châteauneuf du Pape (a blend of Syrah and Grenache grapes), and a pure Hermitage Syrah. Four fantastic commercial options from one grape (and we’ve made a few others for our private use).
location, location, location
What pushed us to plant Syrah — and then keep Syrah during the Pinot craze spurred by The Sideways Effect — was our vineyard’s particular location.
We’re nestled in the hills of the Green Valley of the Russian River Valley, on the northern edge of Sebastopol, CA. We’re only 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean, so it’s often cool, breezy and moist. Spring and summer highs range from the 60s to 80s, but often drop into the 40s at night.
And while there's not much rain after winter, there is thick, heavy, even soupy Pacific Ocean fog. It rolls in over the hills at night like a big, moist blanket, seeping into the soil and wrapping every leaf in a jacket of mist. Even in the hot stretches of August and September, we often wake up to a wall of fog that cools and soaks the vineyard before yielding to sunshine a few hours later.
These swings from daytime warms to nighttime cools is crucial, allowing the grapes to ripen but still maintain the acidity required for premium wine. Certainly, people grow Syrah in warmer weather (it's the number one grape in Australia, aka 'Shiraz') and you get a big, tasty wine heading towards a Zinfindel. But our vineyard’s cool, lush nature produces something different: a lighter, more elegant touch, more complex, and really just something extraordinary.
a bit of Viognier, too
We’re a Syrah vineyard, but we also have a soft spot for the white Viognier grape, with two rows planted to yield about 3 tons of grapes a year (compared to 18 tons of Syrah).
Viognier is a lovely grape on its own, producing white wines with a very pleasant aroma and crisp taste. A Viognier wine is delicious on a warm afternoon, sitting out on our patio and enjoying a cheese board with friends. It’s also a great option when our nephew comes back from Bodega Bay with fresh salmon or halibut for dinner.
But we plant Viognier specifically because it’s a wonderful complement to Syrah. Like Syrah, the Viognier grape is from France's northern Rhône region, and it loves the environment here in Green Valley. The French discovered that mixing a bit of Viognier into a Syrah wine intensifies the Syrah’s red color, and brings out the Syrah fragrance. In a pinch, French vintners could also use Viognier to salvage a Syrah crop in a bad year. If a Syrah’s sugars were down, they would let their Viognier grapes over-ripen, and then add them to the Syrah to boost its sugar.
Whatever the reasons for mixing the two grapes, this blend of Syrah with a bit of Viognier (up to 10%) has became a recognized style in its own right, known as Côte-Rôtie.
