THE LAND
THE LAND
site
siteThe Santa Cruz Mountains Appellation is known for being a cool-climate coastal growing region with incredibly diverse microclimates and soils throughout.
There are many small vineyards tucked away and surrounded by redwood forests or oak chaparral, and most grow Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Toyon Vineyard sits on a south-facing hillside just three miles away from the Pacific Ocean and at 400ft elevation.
The growing season is characterized by the coastal fog, which helps keep the temperatures low and allows the grapes to slowly ripen and develop flavor while maintaining beautiful acidity. The cool marine layer comes in almost predictably every night of the summer, and burns away the next morning to reveal sunny skies.
GRAPES
We tend to 2.5 acres of Pinot Noir and half an acre of Chardonnay on a south-facing hillside. The rows are oriented in a North/South alignment, with pretty narrow spacing between rows.
The Chardonnay at the top of the vineyard is on a much steeper slope, so steep that all work must be done by hand with out the help of the tractor.
There are three blocks of Pinot Noir, each planted with a different clone (Pommard CO 90, 777, Dijon 115) but all on the same 101-14 rootstock. We are working with the classic clone 4 for Chardonnay, which is known to produce rather large clusters, retain bright acidity, and thrive with the foggy nights and warmer days.
GRAPES
We tend to 2.5 acres of Pinot Noir and half an acre of Chardonnay on a south-facing hillside. The rows are oriented in a North/South alignment, with pretty narrow spacing between rows.
The Chardonnay at the top of the vineyard is on a much steeper slope, so steep that all work must be done by hand with out the help of the tractor.
There are three blocks of Pinot Noir, each planted with a different clone (Pommard CO 90, 777, Dijon 115) but all on the same 101-14 rootstock. We are working with the classic clone 4 for Chardonnay, which is known to produce rather large clusters, retain bright acidity, and thrive with the foggy nights and warmer days.
SOIL
This area used to be a shallow ocean seabed millions of years ago. When the water receded and was followed by tectonic activity along the San Andreas Fault, the earth was pushed up and eventually formed the Santa Cruz Mountains.
Our land is characterized by sandy soils, and we have even found a few marine fossils embedded in the hillsides here.
At Toyon Vineyard the soil is eroded Purisima sandstone, siltstone, and mudstone, mixed with organic material associated with coastal arboreal (Oak, Madrone, Bay, Redwood) ecosystems. The topsoil is thin, so the roots of the vines must grow deep to find nutrients and water.
We are farming to increase the organic matter, microbes, and structure of the soil to keep the vineyard thriving for generations.