Ocean-influenced mountain vineyards – Honoring the dance with mother nature
Big Basin Vineyards was founded in 1998 on a historic site in the Santa Cruz Mountains next to Big Basin Redwoods State Park. The old ranch property was first settled in the late 1800s. Wine grape cultivation had been started by French immigrants by the early 1900s and continued until 1965 when the property was sold by Justin Lacau, who had named the property “Frenchy’s Ranch”, to a timber company. By the 1990s, all that remained of the vineyards were redwood stakes and scattered vines hidden by brush and poison oak bushes. Our mission has been to restore this historic vineyard site using modern, organic viticultural methods. Drainage and erosion problems have been corrected, while we have nurtured the soil with organic compost and cover crops. Our entire vineyard and olive tree orchards have been Certified Organic by CCOF. The remaining 90% of the estate is being preserved in its natural state. Mountain lions, bobcats, deer, fox, and coyotes are all found in this forest ecosystem. It is our hope that someday the redwood forest surrounding the vineyards will once again achieve the stature of a primeval old growth forest.
Our winery building was completed in December 2003 on the same site as the original 1890s house/winery structure which burned down in the 1970s. It is a ‘Monitor’-style barn with a timber frame construction built using redwood selectively harvested from the estate.
While the style of building is historic, it is built to be highly energy efficient and ideal for artisan winemaking. The first floor is temperature controlled for controlled barrel aging and fermentations.
In the Vinyards Our mission is to create wines that reveal the complex nuances of the vineyards that inspire them – cool climate, ocean-influenced, mountain vineyards. To this end, we spend long hours in our vineyard to insure that the grapes we grow represent the fullest expression of the vineyard and vintage. We believe in and employ sustainable and organic farming practices. The steep hillsides, cooling ocean breezes and fog, and mountain soils promote the development of color and complex flavors. Winemaking begins in the vineyard, so we spend a lot of time paying attention to our vineyards and viticultural practices. Pruning for vine health and a balanced canopy (and not maximizing yield) is vital. As is the essential practice of shoot thinning which prevents excessive growth, overcropping and lack of stem lignification at harvest time. Well lignified stems allow us to use whole clusters in the fermentation without imparting astringency or excess tannin to the wine. While we like vineyards where the poor soils force the vines to struggle a bit, we want the vineyards to be as healthy as possible. From our perspective, Organic farming is essential to this end, so that we are in harmony with the vines and soils. As our goal is harvesting the best possible grapes from a given site, the vines require all work be optimized by hand, and the fruit to remain pristine through an effective organic mildew prevention program. Replenishing the soil through the use of organic compost is key.
Our job as winemakers then is to be as transparent as possible in allowing the wines to most emphatically and clearly express themselves. For us this means that we strive for minimal intervention. The wine then goes into French oak barrels where it goes through indigenous malolactic fermentation and grows in complexity and character over one to three years of aging time. When using new oak, we choose barrels which are the best at maintaining transparency to the nuances of the fruit while supporting and amplifying these nuances. Minimal sulfur additions and temperature controlled storage insure that the wine is able to achieve its fullest expression when bottled. By keeping our production small, we can give every vine, fermentation bin and barrel the attention it deserves. We hope you enjoy the results.
Fireside Friday with Live Music & Pop Up Every Friday through October 26th, 2019 | 5:30 to 9:30 Experience the magic of sunset in the vineyard with fine wine and fire pits! Toast the start of the weekend with a small tasting flight or wines by the glass and bottle. Club members receive 30% off on-site consumption. Small artisan snacks available, but guests are also welcome to bring outside food to enjoy with their wine. Special Fireside Fridays will feature food and live music! June 14th– American Abalone with Angelique Lucero June 21st– American Abalone with Aaron Redner July 5th– Tacos El Chuy with Dan Frechette July 19th– American Abalone with Pablo Riviere July 26th– Union Foodie with Dan Frechette August 2nd– Mattia Pizza with Robert Stone August 16th– Tacos El Chuy with Dan Frechette & Blue Summit August 23rd– Union Foodie with Dan Frechette August 30th– Tacos El Chuy with Robert Stone September 20th– Tacos El Chuy with Paul Renslow October 4th– American Abalone with Robert Stone October 18th– Tacos El Chuy with Aaron Redner October 26th– American Abalone with Pablo Riviere Big Basin Estate Vineyard & Winery 830 Memory Lane, Boulder Creek Bigbasinvineyards.com | (831) 621-8028 Inquire about our new self-guided Estate Vineyard tours!