The Vineyard:  We took a tour of the vineyards with manager Charles Jones in a quest to see what it takes to grow an exceptional petite sirah grape.  Charlie went to school at Humboldt State University and rounded that out with numerous farming and vineyard management classes from University of California, Davis.  The vineyard that produces the grapes for this award winning wine has an interesting history.  The original vines were planted in the mid 1970s by three partners who originally wanted to plant Cabernet Sauvignon, but the nursery was out and convinced the partners to plant petite sirah in its place.  The story goes that David Jones tasted a Petite Sirah from a Fair Play winery, Granite Springs, and was at once intrigued with the unique flavor profile.  The grapes from the vineyard that produced those grapes, Granite Hill, were spoken for and not available for purchase.  If David couldn’t buy the grapes he decided to buy the vineyard when he found that one of the three original partners was interested in selling.  Several years later a second partner decided to sell and Lava Cap now has a full 2/3 ownership of the 10 acre vineyard.

The vineyard sits on a hilltop about a mile from the Lava Cap estate looking down on the American River Canyon.  This incredibly peaceful spot of awe inspiring views is located several miles out of Placerville on a narrow, windy country road. The soil is primarily a less organic fine grained clay that doesn’t drain water as well as the volcanic soils of Lava Cap, therefore requiring less watering.  This is good since water for the vineyard is supplied by a mile long water line that comes from Lava Cap and is maintained totally by the winery.  The local water district supplies the vineyard with a neutron probe that gives weekly readouts of how much water is in the soil to ensure water is only applied when necessary.   Generally watering starts in late June and is required every two to three weeks.  The vineyard has a natural grass cover crop planted between the rows that prevents erosion and keeps the vines competing for nutrients and water, promoting small, more condensed fruit. 

Of the ten acres of vineyards, seven are planted to petite sirah. The vines are mostly head trained with little leaf trimming required to prevent the grapes from getting sunburned in the warm summers.  This is a region that has long sunny days with little cloud cover during the growing season allowing the grapes to ripen fully.  The wind off the mountains in the evenings along with the breeze that comes up the canyons in the mornings keeps the frost from forming in the spring and allows the grapes to rest and not ripen too quickly, promoting longer hang times during summer and fall.  Bud break in the vineyard tends to take place in late March and most years harvest takes place from late September into mid-October. Continued ...