Our PICAZO Estate Vineyard

Our vineyard, like those of our neighbors, is framed by low rolling hills in the foreground, with steeper mountains beyond them forming the boundaries of Livermore Valley. Mt. Diablo, at 3,850 feet above sea level, watches over the entire pastoral valley from its northwest vantage point.

During the course of the seasons, we can see the vineyards of the valley turning green and lush even as the hills turn to golden brown in the summer warmth. After harvest comes the rain, when the colors of vineyard and hills reverse themselves, from golden hills to green and from green vines to resting, leafless vineyards.

Our 14-acre Merlot estate vineyard has the maturity of ten seasons now, and its healthy, well-established vines produce rich, deeply-flavored grapes. The vineyard is planted on a bench of gravelly loam about 200 feet above the floor of the valley, Arroyo Del Valle. Overall vineyard elevations are about 600 feet above sea level at the west end, rising to about 640 feet at the eastern edge of the property.

The vines are trained to a vertical shoot positioning trellis with 9’ x 6’ spacing. The rows are aligned in a northeast-southwest direction in two distinct topographical sections that create a naturally-occurring block separation. Even though the rows are contiguous, the contours of the hillside create distinctly different climatic conditions.

Our two-acre “North Face” block has a steep slope that faces northeast, making a slightly warmer micro-climate because it is protected from the prevailing winds that typically come from the southwest. This east-facing block also receives more morning sunlight into its canopy than the rest of the vineyard, and thus tends to ripen a few days earlier than the neighboring “Bench” block.

The “Bench” is a more gradually sloping block running from its low point in the west to its high in the east. The winds from the Vallecitos in the southwest cool this section of the vineyard, giving us longer hang time for exceptional flavor intensity. Our vineyard is not only a source of delicious wine for people to enjoy, it is also a sanctuary for local wildlife in all seasons of the year.

Our vineyard is not only a source of delicious wine for people to enjoy, it is also a sanctuary for our local wildlife in all seasons of the year. We love watching the deer, fox and coyotes that travel through our property at dawn and twilight, and every day we can enjoy hawks circling high above in the air currents of the valley. (We are hoping that a recently-spotted golden eagle will make its permanent home here.) The harmony of nature seems especially pleasant in this very special vineyard setting.