The cool temperature and that little bit of rain have slowed the beginning of harvest on Spring Mountain. Keenan and Smith-Madrone will be starting Chardonnay this week and the vines look good, the fruit looks excellent and early estimates are for a slightly larger crop on the mountain than last
It looks to me that harvest on Spring Mountain is at least two-plus weeks away. This is based on our Chardonnay being on the bottom side of 20 degrees Brix. With two years of abundant rainfall stored in the soil, the vines weathered the hot spells amazingly well. Even our
In case you saw some smoke on Spring Mountain on June 24, here’s what happened. At the western end of the Ritchie Creek Canyon, at about 1:30 pm, a fire was observed. CalFire sent several ‘bombers’ almost immediately and St. Helena Fire was also on the scene with their trucks.
The San Francisco Chronicle just released its recommendations for 20 wineries to visit in Napa Valley and two Spring Mountain District wineries made the list! Congratulations to Keenan Winery and Stony Hill Vineyard! About Keenan, the Chronicle mentions “…continues to produce some of the best (and best-value) Merlots in California. Visiting the
Originally published in the St. Helena Star When was your winery founded? And why did you choose to be in the Spring Mountain District American Viticultural Area (AVA)? In 1981 Carroll and Christina Ballard took up residence in Napa Valley, Carroll coming from Los Angeles and Christina from Switzerland. Both
Originally published in the St. Helena Star When was your winery founded? “My parents, Chris and Betsy Peacock, built their home on the vineyard property. They sold their fruit to Barnett for several years in the ’90s. Once my Dad realized that he was sitting on some amazing vines, he
Originally published in the St. Helena Star When was your winery founded? “Fantesca Estate & Winery was founded by Susan and Duane Hoff. After successful careers in the corporate world, the college sweethearts decided to slow things down and raise their family in Napa Valley. They took the leap and
Originally published in the St. Helena Star When was your winery founded? “Founded in 1977.” Why did you choose to be in the Spring Mountain District American Viticultural Area (AVA)? “The wines and the availability of real estate at the time.” Who is owner? Who is winemaker? Who is vineyard
Originally published in the St. Helena Star When was your winery founded? “We purchased our property in 2012. The previous owner assembled adjacent parcels to create the current 17 acres. There was no vineyard planted but there was an approved Erosion Control Plan to plant 5 acres, which we completed