Slate Creek Ranch

Our Grapes

Slate Creek Ranch Vineyard is planted on a steep south-facing slope at an elevation of between 1700 and 1800 feet. We grow five varietals: Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Tempranillo, Grenache, and Sangiovese. All of our vines are trained on wire with single cordons running west to east which allows full afternoon sun.

Cabernet Franc. These vines live at the top of our hill, near 1800 feet elevation, in steep terraced rows on thin rocky soil. About half were planted in 2008 with the remainder planted in 2009. These plants produce long vines and have copious amounts of small bunches of fruit, so we monitor them closely as the season progresses to remove seconds.

Malbec. We fell in love with Malbec when we bought a bottle from an El Dorado winery- a savory experience! Malbec is a challenging varietal to grow. They are less vigorous and require close attention — but stressed plants make better tasting wine! We love the dark color and the large bunches.

Tempranillo. These black grapes thrive in our hot climate, and, as the name indicates, are the first to bud out every year. The clusters hang in a row below the cordon wire which makes them everyone’s favorite to pick. This also means the fruit gets lots of sun and are the first to ripen.

Grenache. At the bottom of our vineyard, the Grenache vines get the widest variation in temperature, giving these grapes an interesting character. The last to ripen, the grapes cluster heavily and the yield is high. Gordon Binz is now selling Grenache from Slate Creek Hills grapes.

Sangiovese. Our smallest plot of grapes is planted in short rows that slope south and east. These plants are the most fun to grow because they are highly vegetative and produce huge clusters of fruit. This, plus the benefit of better soil and morning rather than afternoon sun, produces a high quality crop.

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Our Vineyard

We planted Slate Creek Hills vineyard in May 2009, on what turned out to be the hottest day of the year. Our primary goal has been to nurture the vines and raise healthy plants for long term quality rather than harvesting fruit. We had a very modest first harvest in 2011. In 2012 we harvested about 3 tons of grapes after dropping fruit from vines which still needed to mature. With the wide spacing of our vineyard, we have been able to maintain exceptional fruit quality.

A Year on Slate Creek Hill

We look forward to the longer days of spring when each plant gets carefully pruned to produce a strong cane that will provide the framework for the fruit to come. Suckering is followed by training the vines through the wires for support. During the hot summer months when the temps are still cool at night, Paul assesses the vineyard for signs of disease; he ensures the sprayer delivers just the right amount of sulfur to limit mildew. Water from our well, provided for extended time periods, hydrates the vines during the dry months.

In late July or August, as each of the varieties undergoes veraison, we net the vines to avoid loss due to birds. In September and October, the real fun begins: harvest! We monitor the grapes daily and when the BRIX and TA levels are right, we invite all our friends to participate in the big event.