There’s only one way to describe the Rancho Santa Rosa Vineyard: serene. Located in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA of Santa Barbara County, these stunning hillsides feature vines that climb from 500 to 1,000 feet above sea level. The soils are marine-based and the weather is consistently cool thanks to moist ocean breezes that sweep the property daily. The vineyard is farmed with the painstaking care and attention usually associated with much smaller properties. In fact, this vineyard was originally conceived as a series of individual micro-vineyards delineated by soil, exposure, elevation, grade, rootstock and clone. The 2017 vintage was one for the books. From start to finish Mother Nature kept us on our toes, delivering anything and everything except a typical Sta. Rita Hills weather pattern. The season began with an early bud break followed by a few sporadic frost events. Overall, seasonal temperatures were moderate to cool rendering uniform berry set. As the season started winding down the disease pressure intensified but an unexpected blast of extreme heat near Labor Day finally bumped sugars high enough to cue harvest. As temps cooled again, harvest slowed to a steady pace. Four weeks into picking we experienced ten days of high humidity conditions (residual from a tropical storm to the south) followed by an intense fire season. The final crop yield was moderate and required notable tending.