Vineyards

Catapult Ranch and Diamond Pile Vineyards

Besides their Petaluma Gap location, Catapult and Diamond Pile have a couple of things in common. Both are hilly, with good sunlight penetration into the bunches and canopy as well as increased exposure to wind. The soil in both is Sonoma Mountain series deep clay loam, which requires minimal irrigation but applies the right amount of stress, forcing the vines work harder and confer low yields, long hangtimes, and mineral-rich wines.

That said, the vineyards also have differences. Nestled among low-lying, oak-covered hills, Catapult is more sheltered and slightly warmer; the Pinot Noir contains more “California heritage” clones, which have richer, plusher fruit and riper, rounder tannins. In that context, we pick Gust Pinot Noir from the tops of the hills, Chardonnay from cooler east-facing slopes, and Syrah from warmer west-facing ones.

Less shielded and farther northwest, Diamond Pile gets more exposure to cool marine air. Pinot struggles to ripen there, but the wind maintains freshness and delicate aromatics in the wine. The site is planted to prized Dijon clones, which impart wonderful cherry flavors as well as earthy, savory characteristics. Syrah exudes the classic cool-climate signature of lifted, floral aromatics.

Once we decided to focus on these vineyards, we submitted them to a painstaking exam, grading every block according to a spreadsheet’s worth of factors: clone, rootstock, vigor, site orientation, cluster size, berry size, shape morphology, leaf consistency. From there we winnowed it down to that fruit whose sensory characteristics (flavor, aroma, acid, tannin, concentration, complexity, density) we most wanted to work with. In the future we plan to move toward single-vineyard bottlings to highlight the delicate details of Diamond Pile and robust opulence of Catapult; for now we’re combining the two into well-balanced, complex wines from a pair of eminently complementary sites.