SkyPine Vineyards—2,000 feet on Pine Mountain, Alexander Valley, Sonoma
Home of grower/owners Tim & Kandy Ward along with ultra premium Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc varietals. Perched high atop Pine Mountain at 2,000 feet, there are panoramic views of the Russian River and Alexander Valley in all directions far below. This Alexander Valley appellation vineyard holds blocks that cling to steep hillsides and benchland vistas, featuring seven separate micro-climates and soils, infusing the effects of its unique terroir into each vintage.
The soils on these slopes are shallow, rocky and poor, compared to soils of the valley below. Wines grown in these thin mountain soils are far less vigorous, so produce less foliage, lower yields and smaller intensely flavored berries, with distinct and intense varietal character.
Premium Merlot will be harvested from this outstanding vineyard estate.
Demattei Vineyards—2,000 feet on Pine Mountain, Alexander Valley, Sonoma
Quietly nestled at 2,000 feet this Pine Mountain estate is located on the south-western ridge and slope of the Mayacamas Mountain Range; source of some of the world’s finest vineyards. Tucked among the ridges and hillsides of the Alexander Valley appellation, owner/grower David Demattei has spent most of his life on this rustic property which grows the regions finest Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel grapes. Cool ocean breezes tenderly move through the vineyard blocks and mix with the warm summer sun blanketing this ideal location for growing premium grapes.
Pine Mountain Vineyards—2,500 feet on Pine Mountain, Alexander Valley, Sonoma
Teetering on the boarder of Sonoma and Mendocino counties, this is the furthest north Sonoma fruit available. Once again, sitting far above the valley floor, this vineyard’s fruit ripens very late in the year typically being our last grapes to come into the cellar. Owned by wine industry veterans, the berries are small and intense, perfectly situated for both our Ispiri blend as well as to compliment our Alexander Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon.
JMT Vineyards—Russian River Valley, Sonoma
Jesse Torres, owner, is a vineyard veteran as he has walked the rows since he was a little boy and is now the manager of the highly acclaimed Walter Hansel Winery. So, between Jesse and Leslie, we have together some of the greatest Pinot Noir minds and talents in northern California.
Jesse’s personal vineyard is a project of pure passion. As he explained it—he was looking for a small winery focused on extreme quality only agreeing to all the most necessary and premium vineyard techniques. Very easy for us to agree to and see eye-to-eye on.
As you can see in the pictures, the rows are placed close together promoting vine competition and grape shading (against sun burn). Also, it is a technique used in Europe when only very small machinery or hand-labor can be used, thus forcing traditional and premium growing techniques. Jesse instilled many other techniques into this outstanding vineyard only learned from years of experience.
Upon tasting the grapes, Leslie (who has tasting thousands of grapes from all over California) was truly amazed and quite surprised that the flavors where already developing complexity. A precious stone found amongst the many rocks!