Vineyard
At an elevation of 2,400 feet on a ridgeline high in the Mayacamas Mountains, Pine Mountain Vineyard is the definition of true “mountain” farming. Planted in 1996 to 26 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and 2 acres of Cabernet Franc this unique vineyard site has the potential to produce exceptional wines. Many factors contribute to making this vineyard so special. The sheer elevation of the site creates a natural stress that is essential to producing intense flavors. Gravely, volcanic soils provide exceptional drainage which forces the vines to dig deep into the earth in search of nutrients and water. Proper rootstock and clonal selection aid in the vines ability to maximize the intake of what little water remains in the rugged, mountain soil. The southern facing, hillside slope of the vineyard maximizes the cool Pacific breeze which creates ideal airflow through the vineyard. The orientation and airflow combine to protect the vineyard from excessive moisture which can lead to mildew and botritus. Because the vineyard lies high above the natural fog line it receives several additional hours of gentle sun light that valley floor vineyards miss as they wait for the morning fog to burn off. Sunlight without excessive heat helps slowly develop layers of flavor while maintaining the fruits natural acidity. The cumulative effect of high elevation, well drained soils, ideal slope exposure and proper clonal selection lead to a naturally low yielding vineyard that produces small clusters with tiny berries. Generally the fruit hangs late into October or early November before reaching optimum ripeness. Throughout each season of the vineyard, exhaustive measures are taken to preserve the natural balance of this wonderful site. We firmly believe Pine Mountain Vineyard has the potential to produce world-class Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.
Winemaking
We combine classic European winemaking philosophy with innovative New World winemaking techniques to produce these world class wines. Harvest occurs pre-dawn when the fruit is most cool. All blocks are harvested by hand to both sort out unwanted clusters and to preserve maximum fruit quality. In many years, the vineyard makes us wait until early November before the fruit reaches maturity and is ready for harvest. Slow to start, our fermentations begin with native yeast selections. As heat builds up for maximum color extraction and flavor development, we add our own special yeast selection specific for Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. We manually press our grapes in a classic basket press – yields are lower but the juice quality is unrivaled. During the press, we frequently taste each lot checking for balanced mouth feel and flavor complexity. After pressing, the wine is ready to go to barrel where it will spend the next 15 to 18 months. Barrel selection is critical and is determined by the quality of fruit from the vineyard and the flavor development during fermentation. We have traveled to the specific forests in France to determine and select where our barrel wood is sourced. We believe in having a close relationship with our barrel coopers and working with them as the wine will spend the majority of its life before bottle in the barrel. The wine is racked from barrel every 3 months, absorbing small amounts of oxygen in the process which encourages the soft and silky tannins to develop. Each barrel is tasted individually, and a final blend is created from the most expressive barrels. Once the wines are bottled we cellar them at a constant 55°for an additional year before being released.