| At Drew, our focus
is towards working intimately with local vineyard producers,
and particularly those we feel are complementary to
our overall goal of being facilitators in the evolution
of grapes becoming unique and balanced wines. To this
end, we have established close relations with each of
the vineyards with whom we work. They, in turn, have
provided us an opportunity to gain both a greater understanding
of the biophysical aspects of local vineyards, as well
as an increased appreciation of Santa Barbara County,
Paso Robles and California’s North Coast appellations
as premium grape producing regions.
The following is a partial list
of vineyards - we are working on updating this section
in the very near future.
Drew is very proud to work with the
following vineyards to obtain fruit for our wines:
Arita Hills
provides Pinot Noir
Ashley's
Vineyard, Santa Rita Hills provides Pinot Noir
Julia's Vineyard,
Santa Maria Valley provides Pinot Noir
Rio Vista, Santa
Rita Hills provides Pinot Noir
Vogelzang, Santa
Ynez Valley provides Cabernet Franc
Alisos Vineyard in
Alisos Canyon provides Syrah
Hearthstone Vineyard,
Paso Robles provides Cabernet Franc, Grenache &
Syrah
Larner Vineyard, Santa
Ynez Valley provides Syrah
Rodney's Vineyard,
Santa Ynez provides Syrah
Morehouse Vineyard,
Santa Ynez Valley provides Syrah
Thompson Vineyard
in Alisos Canyon provides Syrah
Arita
Hills
 The
vineyard produces only Pinot Noir, and the fruit that
Drew sources is all clone 667 on 3309 rootstock.
The Arita Hills fruit produces a wine
that is one of the more classical wines within the Drew
cellar. The wines made from Arita Hills differ from
vineyards to the east and west within Santa Rita Hills,
so it is interesting to be able to taste the continuum
of the appellation.
back
to the list
Ashley’s
 Owned
by the Fess Parker family, Ashley’s, named after
Fess Parker’s daughter, is located on the western
periphery of the Santa Rita Hills appellation. The vineyard
itself is comprised of two sections. Phase I (109 acres),
planted in 1998 is located in the lower valley floor
area of Ashley’s while Phase II (103 acres), planted
a year later, is comprised of some relatively flat vineyards
neighboring Phase I plus roughly 50 acres planted higher
up on a primarily north facing plateau. Situated just
over 10 miles from the coast, Ashley’s is one
of the coolest vineyards within the appellation and
dominated with deep, sandy-loam soils having very good
drainage in Phase I and more shallow, clay-loamy soils
in Phase II.
Farmed by John Belfy of Buona Terra
Farming with an emphasis on producing lower yields of
high quality grapes, Ashley’s is planted primarily
to two varieties; Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Specifically
focusing on these two varieties with such an expansive
vineyard, John has been able to plant and cultivate
a diverse and eclectic array of clones providing the
basis for very unique and respected Burgundian wines.
As Ashley’s vineyard continues to mature, we are
excited to further our understanding of Pinot Noir grapes
grown in this particular locale and in turn, endeavor
to produce elegant wines that express the unique characteristics
of the western periphery of the Santa Rita Hills appellation.
With the upcoming 2004 harvest, Mark
and Jason were looking for the perfect block for Drew
wines. Jason was hoping for Pinot Noir clone 115, while
Mark was thinking of 1103 rootstock. Coming over the
hill to Block 10A, they were greeted with an end post
of a block of clone 115 Pinot on 1103 rootstock, planted
in dark, silty soil. Voila!
back
to the list
Julia’s
Julia’s Vineyard has been owned
by Cambria winery since the late 1970's; in 1990 the
vineyard was replanted to what is known as the "Julia's
Pommard" clone of Pinot Noir. The vineyard is on
the north bench of the Santa Maria river on a gently
south-facing slope with well-drained sandy loam soils.
Combining this with the cool climate and passioinate
farming makes this vineyard a joy to work every year.
This vineyard consistently produces grapes with elegant
tannins that mature with a good dollop of balanced fruit
weight and acidity, with flavors of intense cherries,
raspberries and spice.
In 2001, Drew became one of only five
wineries in the Julia’s Vineyard Artisan Program.
In this program, each winemaker chooses their own rows
of vines within Julia's Vineyard and determines when
to harvest, resulting in five different interpretations
of Pinot Noir from the same vineyard. From the beginning,
we have respected working with this vineyard largely
because it is ardently farmed to produce wonderful grapes
and in turn, fine quality wines that convey a strong
sense of the terrior of Santa Maria Valley.Being our
only vineyard source of Pinot Noir grapes outside of
the Santa Rita Hills, working with Julia’s has
brought to us a greater appreciation of the California’s
central coast as a premium Pinot region.
back
to the list
Rio
Vista
 Owned
by the Thorne family, the Rio Vista was planted in 1999
on the eastern border of the Santa Rita Hills. From
the outset, the Thorne family has been very enthusiastic
about working with hands-on winemakers to combine farming
efforts and winemaking to produce exceptional Pinot
Noirs. Facing the Santa Ynez River, Rio Vista actually
consists of two separate vineyards, which combined are
just over 25 acres, all of which are planted to Pinot
Noir grapes.
Situated at the opposite end of the
appellation, the Rio Vista vineyards are slightly warmer
relative to Ashley’s. In addition, having the
Rio Vista Vineyards planted primarily with clones 115,
667, and 777 we feel fortunate to have an opportunity
to source what we feel is an array of premium quality
grapes from different sub-regions within the Santa Rita
Hills appellation. Rio Vista is another property managed
by John Belfy of Buono Terra Farming.
back
to the list
Vogelzang
 The
Vogelzang vineyard is in the Happy Canyon area of Santa
Ynez Valley; this area is the furthest east part of
the appellation and so receives all of the heat and
sunshine needed to fully ripen Bordeaux red varietals
such as Cabernet Franc. The vineyard is managed by Jeff
Newton.
Drew receives fruit from Block I,
which is a 1.5 acre block with a west facing slope planted
to Cab Franc clones 332 and 101. Jason says that this
block has "a perfect combination of dirt, climate,
rootstock and clones".
back
to the list
Alisos
 The
Alisos Vineyard is in the Los Alamos Valley, sandwiched
between the Santa Ynez Valley and the Santa Maria Valley
appellations. Located roughly 500 feet above sea level,
the 35-acre vineyard is planted in shallow, marginal
soils on south-facing aspects.
The Alisos Vineyard was planted and
is managed by Loren and Wayne Colahan and epitomizes
what we feel is the essential owner-vineyard relationship
necessary to bring into being fruit of the highest caliber.
With a particular focus on growing grapes that produce
definitive fine wines, Loren pays meticulous attention
to farming this vineyard in a manner resulting in lower-yields
of balanced and expressive fruit. For example, they
utilize cane pruning techniques that, according to Loren,
provide greater flexibility in managing vine canopies
and in turn fruit production on a per vintage basis.
Combined with the micro-ecological setting and the objective
of producing world-class fruit, the Alisos Vineyard
is one we look forward to being involved with for years
to come.
back
to the list
Thompson
The Thompson Vineyard is a steep,
south-facing vineyard in the Los Alamos Valley, on the
opposite side of Alisos Canyon from Alisos Vineyard.
The Thompson Vineyard lies on a low hill with sandy
and well drained soil that prevents the vines from over-cropping
in even the most prolific vintages. It consistently
produces ripe, dark, and tannic fruit.
back
to the list
Larner
 This
small vineyard is owned and operated by the Larner family,
including husband and wife Steve and Christine, and
their son Michael. The vineyard is on the south end
of the south-north Ballard Canyon in the middle of Santa
Ynez Valley. Our vines sits on an east-facing slope
low enough to receive early morning fog. This site is
relatively cool with well drained soils, that combine
with low yields to produce an array of complex flavors
that are classy, wild and seductive. Drew receives three
different clones - Estrella, clone 3 and clone 877 -
and can produce wines with clonal complexity from the
same terroir.
In the spring of 2001 Jason stopped
by the Larner Vineyard to meet with Steve and Michael,
and spent a good hour talking with them. That year,
Drew and Babcock Vineyards were the first to produce
wine from Larner Vineyards; in fact, we were so impressed
by the quality of the fruit, Drew released the first
single vineyard-designated wine from Larner Vineyard.
back
to the list
Rodney’s
Named after Fess Parker’s son-in-law,
Rodney’s Vineyard is a 118-acre estate vineyard
located on the same property as the Fess Parker Winery,
on Foxen Canyon in Santa Ynez Valley. Rodney’s
is planted predominantly to Syrah and Viognier, with
smaller amounts of Chardonnay and Grenache. Particularly
significant to us is a 21-acre section (Block F) of
Syrah (clone Shenandoah on rootstock 5C) atop a plateau
that was planted in 1996. Farmed by John Belfry, the
emphasis in Block F has been to have fewer vines per
acre (spacing is 6 x 10 ft) that are challenged to yield
terroir- driven expressions year after year.
back
to the list
Morehouse
 Down
a slope as you drive on Hwy 246 between Santa Ynez and
Solvang, you can see two neighboring vineyards: Morehouse
(Syrah) and Rothberg (Viognier). Morehouse is to the
east and is planted with Durrell and 5C Syrah clones
in a well-drained silty, clay soil. The extremely poor
soil keeps the normally prolific Syrah vines in check,
naturally concentrating the aromas and flavors into
a meager 2 tons per acre.
Morehouse Vineyard was planted in
1990 and for many years provided fruit to Foxen. Drew
took over the 1.8 acre vineyard in 2003. The unique
soil and microclimate is "wildly individualistic,
and the wine follows" says Jason. Morehouse is
Drew's most unique vineyard and produces our most terroir-driven
wine.
back
to the list
Hearthstone
The Hearthstone Vineyard is the only
vineyard Drew works with that is not in Santa Barbara
County. The vineyard is on the far west side of Paso
Robles touching the famed Tablas Creek Winery property.
This steep hillside vineyard has a steep south exposure
with a major component of limestone rock underlain,
known as ‘bonerock’ to the locals. The diurnal
temperatures can be radical with highs in the summer
reaching over 100 degrees with the same day lows dipping
into the low 40’s. It is the soil and climate
that make this vineyard unique with great depth of flavors.
back
to the list
|
