Old Stones

Originally acquired as an apple and plum orchard, Old Stones is an ancient river bed covered with massive basalt cobblestones, just like the vineyards found in the Châteauneuf-du-Pape region of Southern France.  These cobblestones go deep in the soil and retain heat during the day to then radiate that heat back out during the cooler evening hours and continue ripening the fruit.  In the spring of 2006, we planted Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, and then planted Viognier, Grenache and Mourvedre in the spring of 2007. Our new plantings have grown so well that we began testing some of this fruit with the 2007 vintage, an entire year earlier than usual for a newly developed vineyard. Neighboring vineyards have produced intense, flavorful wines garnering many accolades and high scores.