Occidental Station Vineyard

The Occidental Station Vineyard is the most inland of our sites, planted east of the town of Occidental in 1999. A variety of stones and pebbles are distributed throughout the red, iron-rich sandstone soils. These are well-drained and highly permeable soils with just enough water holding capacity to support a dry farmed vineyard in balance.

The clusters are a bit fuller than those from Bodega Headlands, but the berries are small, have thick skin, and there is typically a generous amount of millerandage in most blocks.

The Occidental Station Vineyard consistently sets a good crop and is always the first vineyard to be picked. Interestingly, since the fruit from this site goes into the fermenters first each year without the benefit of a large population of native yeasts already circulating in the winery, it is often the slowest to start to ferment. It often takes ten days or longer to begin fermenting and as long as three weeks to complete. The longer time in the fermenter only enhances its expressive personality that features a vibrant purple color, bright natural acidity, and notes of violet, purple fruits, and cassis.