Santa Rita Creek Vineyard

THE VINEYARD

Santa Rita Creek Vineyard

Our Unique Microclimate: Santa Rita Creek Vineyard is situated in the Templeton Gap District of the Paso Robles AVA, a winegrowing region defined by the climatic influence of the east-west gaps in the Santa Lucia mountain range. These gaps allow the Pacific breeze and fog to cool the vineyards after warm, sunny days. Our vineyard defines the southerly path of this cooling influence as it travels eastward, allowing the vines to breathe deeply after basking in the abundant heat of a Paso Robles late summer afternoon. Santa Rita Creek borders the vineyard, which lies in a valley between oak studded hills, further protecting ripening grapes from overexposure to the sun and promoting the lazy ripening that best builds outstanding phenolics and tannins. In an effort to promote resiliency of our vineyard, we chose four varieties known for their adaptability and durability and placed them on the most rugged rootstock available. The row directions, planting density and irrigation system were all derived through state-of-the-art soil and light investigations to coax the best expression from each vineyard block.

Our Soils: When investigating the soils of the property prior to planting, the results demonstrated why the grain and safflower farmers favored this property's soil and productivity. Looking all the way down to the baserock, the vineyard sits on top of the Salinian Basement block that reaches from the San Andreas Fault line to the east and dives towards the ocean. Between this baserock and our vines lie Cretaceous and Tertiary marine deposits that are rich in minerals and water storage capacity. Finally, our vines sit directly in Linne-Calodo and Arbuckle soils that transition from acidic calcareous material at depth, to the cobbles-laced alluvium at the surface; sustaining just the right hydration and nutrition.

Santa Rita Creek: The most prominent feature of the property and the inspiration for our name is the omega-shaped Santa Rita Creek that flows along and through the property. Our position within the Lower-Salinas Paso Robles Watershed means that all the creeks from the tip of Adelaida mountain down to us combine and flow by the vineyard on their way to the Salinas River. We enjoy the wildlife and serenity that this creek provides and strategically created wildlife corridors to allow the vineyard to coexist in harmony with the deer, mountain lion, bobcat, fox, turkeys, owls, dove and eagles found on our ranch. We believe this optimal climate, soil and vine integration will result in premium grapes and the resulting wines.