Pena Ridge

Peña Ridge partners John and Jim Piccetti's father planted our first vineyard in 1982 at 400 above the valley floor on the southeastern slopes of Bradford Mountain. Over the next ten years, he added to the vineyards at higher elevations, slowly edging up toward the mountain slope at 600 and culminating at 900 feet, just slightly below the peak of Bradford Mountain. John has since assumed the role of overseeing the production of our vineyards spread over 22 acres and Jim manages the upkeep of the 80 acre property and buildings. Our mountain vineyard site is characterized by relatively thin red clay soils with very low water holding capacity due to the soil type and the fairly steep gradient. In fact, several of our small vineyard blocks are managed and tended by hand since these steep grades make them inaccessible for farm machinery. Our vineyard sites receive a bountiful amount of sunshine as the valley fog almost normally dissipates as it moves up the hillsides. The vineyards are above the frost zone and are not subject to frost control measures. The high degree of exposure, soil type, and gradient subjects the vines to a fair degree of stress and therefore excessive vine vigor is well controlled by the terroir. We hand tend our grapes for low fruit yields and for plenty of free space for clusters to mature without overstressing the vines. Leaf pulling and canopy management are minimal with lateral leaf pulling only on the morning side of the vine rows for Zinfandel. Cluster shoulders are removed in order to promote even ripening and allow for free hanging space for the grape clusters. Spur positions are kept to a minimum, six to eight per vine. The canopies of our other varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Syrah, and Syrah ) are well-balanced with a minimum of alteration during the growing season. – Description from AlexJelena    (hide)