Our Vineyards
Quality begins with the very specific terroir or soils and weather of where the grapes are grown
As the French are fond of saying the quality begins with the very specific terroir or soils and weather of where the grapes are grown. Hagen Heights Vineyard is located at the southeast end of California’s great Napa Valley. The soils are part volcanic cinder and part creek bed loam. These qualities give the vines the nutrition needed, while providing excellent drainage and some “stress” during even the wettest years.
Our selection for the genetic clones to be planted was based on our desire for premium “grape stock” matched to our specific soils. We planted about .8 acres of Bordeaux Cabernet Franc Clone 332, 3 acres of U.C. Davis Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 8 and 5 acres of Bordeaux Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 337, all grown on 101-14 rootstock.
Because we are located only about 9 miles from the San Francisco Bay, we average temperatures that are 5 to 10 degrees cooler than many of the famous “up valley” red wine vineyards. The great advantage of our “micro climate” is the 2 to 3 weeks of additional “hang time” our grapes have to ripen. This gives us the ability to more carefully “time” our harvest to exact the optimum sugar and other qualities contributing to the “cool climate” style of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon that we believe our vineyard is best suited to produce.
Vineyard Manager, Raul Gloria
