Western Santa Clara Valley & Eastern Santa Cruz Mountains
Bates Ranch
This 900 acre property operates as a land preserve with an easement for the 22 acre vineyard. Originally planted in 1968, it has quietly been the source of several of the best Cabernets to come out of the Santa Cruz Mountains over the decades. The vineyard is located up Redwood Retreat Road, on the eastern flank of Mount Madonna, and is cooled by ocean breezes coming over Hecker Pass from Watsonville. I. Brand & Family takes Cabernet Sauvignon from the original Stagecoach Block planting and Cabernet Franc from the contiguous block planted in 1978. Soils are volcanic and sand depending on proximity to the creek. These are fantastic, nuanced bottlings showing the elegant side of the varieties.
Brigantino
In the 1980s the 120-acre ‘experimental’ vineyard planted by the Almaden Winery over the confluence of Tres Pinos Creek and the San Benito River was subdivide into 5 acre home sites. Some parts of the vineyard were pulled out, others persist and still others were replanted. Vince Brigantino’s family has been cattle ranching and farming apricots in San Benito County since the 1950s. This 4.5 acre block of Cabernet Sauvignon dates from the early 1960s and ripens in October with beautifully black fruit flavors, elegant textures and low sugars. It is a key component of our Paysan Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon and some years we bottle a small barrel selection on its own to showcase the site.
Escolle
Planted by the Caraccioli family on Honoré Escolle’s Ranch in 2007, the Escolle Vineyard is among the best tended properties in the Santa Lucia Highlands. In 2015, Scott Caraccioli moved to dramatically restrict water during the growing season. In 2017 he ceased use of RoundUp on the vineyard and is experimenting with organic viticulture in the damp breezes off the Bay. Located due west of Gonzales on a high bench in the northern, cooler end of the Highlands, Escolle wines are imbued with the combination of cool temps, sea air and sunshine that make Monterey Wines so compelling. We’re proud get Chardonnay and Gamay Noir from the property.
Ventana
Planted in 1972, the grenache vines on Ventana root deep in the riverstone and sand alluvial deposits of the Arroyo Seco River. This is among the coolest climate grenaches in California, consistently ripening late in October. The wines show dark brambly fruit underscored by savory elements like black tea.
Fellom Ranch
Bud Fellom’s grandfather bought the property with a small vineyard at the top of the Montebello Ridge as a family retreat in 1929. Fifty years later, Bud began replanting the site. It’s contiguous with the famed Monte Bello Vineyard, often considered the crown jewel of American Cabernet, overlooking the huge Permanente and Stevens Creek limestone quarries and the San Francisco Bay. I. Brand & Family takes Cabernet from vines planted in 1981 on a northeast facing hillside. Farmed without herbicides at 2200 feet, Fellom Ranch can be subtly brawny with spice and surprising red fruited elegance.
San Benito County & Cienega Valley
Flint
Tucked in a cool, northeast facing gully abutting Mount Harlan, Scott Flint farms this small Pinot Noir vineyard next to his workshop, where he refurbishes classic tractors and farm equipment. Scott planted it in the mid 90s with special cuttings given to him by friends in the Salinas and Willamette Valleys. It picks in late September at superb balance and produces a Pinot Noir of surprisingly delicate structure for what is thought of as a warmer area for the variety.
East Side of Salinas Valley & Chalone
Graff Family
Dick Graff, with his three brothers in tow, started the Chalone Vineyard in the mid 1960s and it rose, under his care, to international fame. They had several different vineyard properties on the Chalone Bench over Soledad. In the 1990s, the family lost control of what had become a multi-vineyard conglomerate but held onto some small parcels. This one hectare block was planted in 1989 to Syrah, Mourvédre and Melon de Bourgogne by Hector and José Bravo, who continue to farm the site. It is organically farmed but not certified.
La Belle Rose
Planted in 2008 by the Piearcy family on their family ranch just south of the entrance to Chualar Canyon, this windy, granitic vineyard was the second source for our Paysan Chardonnay starting in 2010. It was the singular source for our 2011 Paysan Chardonnay that set us on our quixotic path pursuing a new style of Chardonnay for Monterey. Planted to clones 76 and 4, it produces flinty, citrusy chardonnay we typically ferment cold in stainless steel and age in concrete.
Santa Lucia Highlands
Arroyo Seco & West Side Benches
Arroyo Seco Canyon
The Arroyo Seco Canyon constricts and warms farther up river toward Mount Junipero Serra. Before it opens into the dry arroyo, the river is flanked by benches of Monterey Shale. We take Grenache, Cinsault and Mourvédre from the old Kuchta Ranch on these benches for our Paysan Rosé program. The Mourvédre vines were grafted from cuttings from the heritage vines at Enz Vineyard in Hollister
Zabala
The Zabala family has been in Monterey County for 170 years. Their 880 acre vineyard in Arroyo Seco is a remnant of an old Mexican land grant purchased in the 1860s. The vineyard is a windswept patch of rock and sand alluvial deposits from the Arroyo Seco River, with cobbles reminiscent of the galets of Chateauneuf-du-Pape. In their forty years experience tending grapes on this land, the Zabala family has become experts navigating its particular conditions. Wines from this property are bright, fresh and saline.
Kristy’s
In 2011, Ian had the idea that Salinas Valley wines lived on aromatics, acidity, minerality and salinity and was searching for vineyard blocks that would allow him to test his theory. Winegrower extraordinaire Steve McIntyre pointed him to the Kristy’s albariño block. Sandwiched between non-descript Pinot and Chardonnay vines just off the highway in an un-appellated portion of Monterey County. Ian was taken by the lightly calcareous Monterey shales and the winds across the vines. The Kristy Vineyard Albariño has become one of our flagship wines.
Carmel & Cachagua Valleys
Fox Creek
We had to sign an NDA to work with this vineyard. We can tell you it’s in Carmel Valley. It is part of an integrated organic farm, and that the wines are stunning with amazing acidity without violating that NDA.
Massa
Few vineyards have the voice of the Massa Vineyard. Fewer still have the deep rooted history. First planted in 1968 by the Durney family, it was known as Durney Vineyards through the 80s and some vintages from the property were legendary across the country. In the 90s it sold to the Heller family and was converted to organic farming but the wines never lived up to the promise of the Durney years. In 2018, the Massa family purchased the 70 acre vineyard on 1000 acres of land, abutting the vast Ventana Wilderness. We take Cabernet Sauvignon from block 10, which is one of the ’71 blocks that form the core of the vineyard, and Chenin Blanc from vines also planted in 1971. The wines off this property are stunning and in time the vineyard will be considered among the best in California.
Besson
Planted in the mid 1910s and purchased by the Besson family a couple decades later, this ten acres is the largest block of old vine Grenache on the west coast. It’s planted on its own roots in the granitic alluvium abutting Uvas Creek west of Gilroy, on the remnants of the old Solis Rancho. Cooled by ocean breezes coming over Hecker Pass from Watsonville, the Besson Grenache comes in between mid October and early November every years and produces a spicy, red fruited grenache with longer term aging potential. This is a true California heritage vineyard. We make the Besson Grenache as a single vineyard barrels selection and in our La Marea Old Vine Grenache.
DeRose
The DeRose family purchased half of the original Theophile Vaché estate, first planted in the 1850s, in the late 1980s. The winery building is famous for being bisected by the San Andreas Fault. Over the next decade they restored 40 acres of vines, some dating back to before 1900. Al DeRose converted the dry-farmed vineyards to organic practices in 2006. We began purchasing a couple acres of Cabernet Franc in 2021. The granitic and calcareous soils, premium farming practices and moderate climate yield a Cabernet Franc of prodigious quality. A total sleeper for the Cab Franc afficianado.
Vista Verde
Also known as Pebble Ridge Vineyard, this is a former cattle ranch that now hosts 850 acres of vines in high calcium uplifted alluvium. Owned by John Dyson, famed for creating the Smart/Dyson vine trellising system and one time owner of Williams-Selyem Winery, this vineyard mostly services large contracts for corporate wineries but the every forward thinking Dyson has planted small blocks of non-traditional varieties with potential in the region. We take a small block of Arneis, the Piedmontese white grape, and the resultant wine has lovely texture, balance and varietal typicity. It has quickly become a fan favorite.
Eden Rift
Originally planted in the early 1850s by Theophile Vaché, the vineyard that makes up the Eden Rift Estate passed through several different hands before it was purchased by a group led by sommelier Christian Pillsbury 160 years later. Known for its Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, there is a small block of Pinot Gris in the granitic northwestern corner of the vineyard. It is rare to find terraced Pinot Gris vines producing grapes of this quality in California. Fermented with several days of skin contact for a salmon hue and finished in barrel, this ‘orange wine’ delicately balances the attractive qualities of rosé wines with some of the subtle structure of a light red.
Wheeler
Planted in 1974 on a cobblestoned hill over the usually dry Tres Pinos Creek, this 11 acre block of Cabernet Sauvignon on AXR-1 rootstock has been in the Siletto family since the 1980s. Ron Siletto was the last General Manager of the legendary Almaden Winery and purchased some of the vineyards with Almaden contracts after its demise. His son, John SIletto, now farms the vineyard and has converted it to organic practices. This is the main component of our Paysan Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon and is responsible for its classic expression of California Cabernet.
Quail Run
This 160 acre vineyard was planted in 1982 below a granite rock quarry at the western base of the Gabilan Mountains. Soils are a hyper-granitic Chualar series loam. The fog and ocean breezes come daily out of Moss Landing and turn south as they hit the Gabilans, which for the eastern boundary of the Salinas Valley, making this one of the coolest and most windswept locals we work with. Botrytis is a constant companion and the grapes are atypically skinned and phenolic for Chardonnay. It tends to be one of our most finicky and difficult fermentations but in good years the results are truly amazing. This constitutes the barrel fermented portion of our Paysan Chardonnay.
Lockwood Valley
Pierce Ranch
Ian started working with the Pierce Family in 2008 and helped shepherd their project from a tiny label operating out of other wineries to a small estate winery with an active tasting room in Monterey. Along the way, he learned a lot about their vineyard. We pull Petite Sirah from Block 1 on the Y ranch, which is the section of their ranch with the most white rock. The resultant wine is surprisingly approachable for a petite sirah, but with beautiful tannin and structure.