Vineyards

After a lifetime spent making wine in Sonoma County, in 2001 we were fortunate to find Amapola Creek, an ideal location to produce small quantities of outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon. Our ranch consists of 120 acres along the sun-washed western slope of the Mayacamas Mountains adjacent to the highly-acclaimed Monte Rosso Vineyard. These red, iron-oxide soils have yielded superb wines for well over a century. We have planted approximately 20 acres of organically and sustainably farmed estate vines to continue in that tradition.

Each vine is literally hand-tended by Sonoma Valley’s leading organic viticulturist, Phil Coturri and his crew.  Phil has taught us to view our vineyards as living organisms and to approach winegrowing with the concept of balance.  Achieving balance is not only critical to the health of the vines, but essential to realizing our goal of making wines that are an expression of their terroir.  And, as Phil puts it, “You can’t express the soil if it’s dead.”

Over the past few decades, wine country farmers have tended toward planting a “monoculture of grape growing”.   It’s a too-much-of-a-good-thing tendency which results in sterile soils and increased susceptibility to disease.  Our “Dr.” Phil is a huge proponent of cover crops because “biodiversity is the antidote for tired soil and mutating insects - with the emphasis on the diversity. We want to promote life, rather than suppressing it.  Life is about biodiversity and cover crops teem with life.”

Depending on the needs specific to the different vineyards, he prescribes a wide concoction of winter cover crops, including clover, various grasses, mustard and sweet peas.  These cover crops serve a multitude of functions:  returning nutrients to the soil; providing habitat for beneficial insects; loosening the dirt for maximum water absorption during the rainy season; and especially important to our hillside vineyards, protecting the soil from erosion.  Some plants like mustard for example, do even more.  Aside from the ascetic pleasure we derive from its bright yellow flowers, it also acts as a natural insecticide when tilled under in the spring.

Cover crops can give the vineyards a wild and “hairy” look in the winter, so Phil tries to prepare growers who are transitioning to organic farming. “We want to see as much life in the vineyard as possible and so don’t expect them to look neatly groomed.”  The messiness is worth it.  For one thing, we have virtually no need for fertilizer since up to 90% of the nutrient input to our vines is provided by the diligent use of cover crops.  We are also able to dry farm and conserve water.  During the drought of this past December and January, our cover crop roots remained hydrated.  They had created porosity in the soil that retained moisture from earlier rains.  

Vines will shut down when there are insufficient nutrients in the soil but healthy vines are able to withstand adversity.  Healthy vines ripen their fruit slowly, even in hot weather on rocky soils.  During a major heat spike in 2008, our vines remained green and healthy compared to conventionally farmed vineyards and this helped avoid the “pruney” flavors which can develop as a result of excessive heat.

In addition to healthy soils, balanced wines need uniform ripening of the grapes.  To help achieve this goal, we use an unusual type of pruning called Double Guyot in which the cane is arced over the trellis.  This type of pruning helps to prevent “blind budding”, a condition in which the buds at the center of the cane may not develop properly.  This can be a particular problem with Cabernet Sauvignon.

Attaining healthy vines, perfectly balanced fruit and uniform ripening are labor-intensive projects. Phil and his crew will visit each vine several times during the growing season for canopy management and cluster thinning.  The objective of canopy management is to remove just enough leaves to achieve perfect ripening conditions for the clusters; we want to have enough light for the berries to ripen but leave enough shade to keep the berries from getting sunburned.

Phil and Richard work together closely with the same goal:  making the best wine that can be made, from the best vineyards that can be grown, in the most natural way possible.  Richard says, “Clonal diversity and several non-contiguous sites scattered along half a mile of mountainside, with at least three distinctive soil types creates complexity and gives tannin structure, flavor profile, and textural richness  to Amapola Creek’s wines.”  “And” Phil adds, “the trick is to farm each block sufficiently to create uniform ripening in a chaos of terrain and soil, then let the terroir express its uniqueness.”

To see what is going on in the vineyards right now and hear about it from Phil, check out our “Days of our Vines” video.