Viticultural Record2012 Farming Practices

2012 After several challenging growing seasons, Mother Nature came through in 2012 with a near-perfect year. The ideal conditions helped us achieve the desired balance in the vineyard. Winegrape yields fell naturally in balance with their canopies, gradually maturing over an extended growing season that the Napa Valley has not experienced since the 2005 and 2007 harvest years.

In 2012 we also began redeveloping Vine Hill Ranch’s historic hillside Block 1. Originally planted to vineyard in the late 1800’s, this terraced, 11-acre block has produced singular wines through its 21-year lifespan. During the spring and summer months, we removed terraces and re-engineered the site for a new in-line oriented vineyard that will be planted to rootstock in the summer of 2013.

The redevelopment of Block 1—employing viticultural innovations developed over the course of the last 20 years—represents the next generation of winegrape growing at Vine Hill Ranch. We look forward with great anticipation to the new crop of Cabernet Sauvignon grapes from this exceptional vineyard block.