The Annadel Estate Vineyard The 37.4 acre Estate was established in 1998 at the northwest end of the Sonoma Valley appellation, fronting on the Sonoma Highway in the narrow gap communicating between the valley and the Santa Rosa plain. Though our parcels are in the Sonoma Valley appellation, the site drains northwest toward Santa Rosa Creek rather than south-southeast toward Sonoma Creek. There is no flat land, and elevation ranges from 410-530 feet. Early on we placed automatic weather monitoring equipment on the site to assess growing conditions. The climate at the site has more in common with that of the Russian River Valley than it does with the San Pablo Bay and much hotter Kenwood areas. Heat accumulations in the coolest areas at the site are 5% to 7% less than at some of the most famous Russian River Pinot Noir vineyards. From 1998 through mid-2002 we surveyed the property, dug numerous soil pits, ripped and graded the vineyard area, installed extensive sub-surface drainage, developed a well, a reservoir and a drip irrigation system, and worked with Sonoma County Planning to obtain a winery use permit. During development we discovered that the soils on the site are well-supplied with water, but also drain well. The soils downslope are relatively deep, while the upper slopes are weak and shallow. All of the soils are characterized by alluvial gravel and cobble. We developed our water reservoir at the lowest spot on the property, on top of the most fertile and potentially vigorous soil type. This location is also the most prone to frost. High potential vigor and probability of frost made the choice to give up this area for planting an easy one. Finally, we placed our vineyard roads along the natural breaks between the remaining soil types. In 2001 we began planting the vineyard to a mix of Pinot Noir and Syrah clones, as well as several other Rhône varieties. These scions were grafted on rootstocks suited both to the site and to our intended farming practices. To date we have planted just over two-thirds of our available acreage. We have focused on placing Pinot Noir in the coolest areas of the vineyard, and planted the tête de cuve selections of the modern Burgundian so-called Dijon clones: 115, 667, 777 and 943, all grafted on 101-14 rootstock. In 2007 we planted 1.5 acres of heritage-selection Pinot Noir: budwood from the Haynes Vineyard grafted on to 101-14 rootstock. And in 2009 we planted another 7.5 acres of heritage selections of Pinot on the same rootstock: Mt. Eden, Calera, Chambertin and Pommard. Today Syrah is planted on all four soil types on the site. We chose a select group of clones: 100, 174, 877 and Tablas Creek A (a sub-selection of clone 99 made by Château Beaucastel). Our Syrah is grafted on 101-14 and 420A rootstocks. Early on in development we determined to plant other red Rhône varieties to give us blending options which would increase the distinctiveness of the Estate Syrah. We were among the first vineyards to purchase California-certified Château Beaucastel budwood from Tablas Creek nursery, including two clones of Grenache, as well as Mourvedre and Counoise (a red grape approved for the Châteauneuf-du-Pape appellation, virtually unknown in California). We also planted a small amount of the rare variety Tannat; the budwood originating from Madiran or Irouléguy -- small appellations in the west of France near the feet of the Pyrenees. We are finding that this makes an exciting varietal wine. In our 2009 planting we put in a few rows of ENTAV clones of Viognier and Roussane, our intention being to blend these aromatic whites with our Syrah, as is practiced in the Rhône Valley. All of these varieties, particularly the late-ripening Mourvedre, are planted in the warmer upslope areas of the vineyard on the weaker, shallower soils. Again, our rootstock choices were predominantly 101-14 and 420A, with a third of the Grenache grafted onto 3309C and a fraction of the Tannat on 110R. Beginning with the 2005 vintage we have used these Rhône grapes to produce our redFOUR blend, inspired by the great wines of Châteauneuf-du-Pape. We were happy to be able to develop our vineyard without having to remove any trees from the property. No soil amendments were incorporated prior to planting, nor did we fumigate or apply any herbicides. The entire vineyard is planted to a permanent cover crop, which we seeded into the mix of native grasses and wildflowers that were present before planting. During the vineyard establishment phase, while we are training the vines up into the trellis, we irrigate and apply small amounts of fertilizer to encourage development of a deep and healthy root system. As the vineyard matures less and less irrigation is required to keep the vines healthy through harvest. We are using glyphosate under the vines to keep the weeds and grasses down until the vines are well established. Once the vines are mature, we will allow the natural cover to spread under the vine rows. We are able to manage mildew and Botrytis in the vineyard using low-impact treatments: predominantly with dormant sprays of lime-sulfur-copper and regular in-season applications of wettable sulfur and sulfur dust. We use disease modeling based on weather data from the site to help us determine the optimum timing of these applications. The entire vineyard is trained on a vertical trellis system which includes both fixed and movable wires. The oldest vines are planted on a spacing of 5 feet between vines and 6 feet between rows (1,452 vines/acre or 3,588 vines/hectare). These vines are pruned to double cordon, with a target of 10-12 spur positions per vine. Our 2006 - 2009 plantings are spaced at 4 feet by 6 feet (1,815 vines/acre or 4,920 vines/hectare) and are cane-pruned to the double-Guyot system: two canes and two renewal spurs on each vine. Our target yield for the mature vineyard is an average of 3.0-3.5 tons/acre (45-52 hectoliters/hectare); lower for the Pinot Noir and higher for the Rhône varieties, based on relative cluster sizes and vine vigor. Our practice is to crop young vines in the third year at 1.0-1.5 tons, double this in year four and to reach the stable target yield in year five. We practice a rigorous green thinning of clusters after berry set (but before veraison) to achieve these yields. We also perform shoot thinning and shoot positioning to encourage cluster exposure and minimize leaf-shading-leaf, but to avoid sunburn on the berries we do not do any leaf pulling in the fruit zone. We hedge the vine canopy several times in the growing season to establish a constant ratio of leaf area to crop load. As we approach harvest we manually thin leaves high in the canopy to help moderate the rate of sugar accumulation in the ripening grapes. The site supports a balanced ecosystem of fauna. We are fortunate that the wooded area along the northern edge of our property and the hillside above provide habitat and nesting for three species of hawks and two species of owls. These raptors, in concert with relatively abundant coyotes, foxes and rattlesnakes, act as a natural check on the populations of rabbits, voles and especially gophers which might damage the growing tops and roots of the young vines. Although we have a mobile population of deer in the area we have made no efforts to control them as we have observed that they do little damage to the vineyard. Permanent populations of turkeys and migratory populations of geese and ducks help control insect levels without doing much damage to the fruit. We are more concerned that a population of racoons may become established in the area when they discover this easily accessible food source. However, as yet we have seen no racoon tracks or spoor; this may be due to the presence of larger predators in the area. We have made a couple observations of large cat tracks and seen evidence of wild pig rooting near the treeline. We are proud to practice low-impact and sustainable farming at our Annadel Estate Vineyard. While we have chosen not to pursue certification, in our farming we are every bit as attentive, rigorous, thorough and respectful of our local environment as practitioners of organic and biodynamic viticulture. These specialized certifications mean nothing to wine quality unless their adherents practice yield regulation -- when it comes to crop thinning nobody is more rigorous than we are.

Our Estate is planted to a selection of Pinot Noir, Syrah and other Rhône grapes. Great soils, felicitous climate, and rigorous farming come together to create the promise and reality of world-class available from The Annadel Estate Vineyard all wines from The Annadel Estate Vineyard select another vineyard The Sunny Oak VineyardThe Haynes Vineyard

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