Palisades Vineyard

AVA

Calistoga

Decade

1960s

Current Owner

Felicia Woytak and Steven Rasmussen

Planted by

Frank Barberis

Location Notes

Palisades Vineyard is located off of Palisades Road directly below the high cliffs of The Palisades in a narrow riparian canyon one mile north of the town of Calistoga.

Wineries

Palisades Canyon
Robert Biale Vineyards
Mending Wall Winery
Tom Eddy Winery

Characteristics

Complex layers of rose petal, baking spices, bitter chocolate, framed by fresh blueberries. Expressing impeccable balance and depth from 60-year-old head-trained, dry-farmed vines. Finishes with an earthy core of dusty black cherry, enhanced by fine grained structure, characteristic of this noble grape.
—Palisades Canyon’s description of their 2021 Petite Sirah

An inviting nose filled with flavors of plum, lavender, black cherry, violets, and cardamon. Rich and broad on the palate with flavors of blackberry, cherry wood, wet slate, and dark chocolate. Long and persistent on the finish with well-integrated and finely tuned tannins.
—Robert Biale Vineyards’ description of their 2022 Palisades Vineyard Petite Sirah

Description

The oldest vines on the property were planted in 1964 by Frank Barberis. These blocks of Petite Sirah grafted on St. George rootstock replaced Petit Sirah vines planted by his father (see photo of original vines). Frank planted an additional block (4.0 acres in Block 10) to Petite Sirah in the early 1970s. Today, the old vine, head trained Petite Sirah are dry farmed in the tradition of the original farm.

In addition to Petite Sirah, blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc were planted by the current owners between 2015 and 2025. The Cabernet Sauvignon was field grafted from budwood with historical roots in Napa Valley (Eisele, Inglenook, See). All of the new vines were grafted onto St. George and 110R rootstock. Adhering to the historic nature of the vineyard, the new vines are head trained and planted on an 8’ x 8’ grid. Once established, the owners intend to dry farm these vines.

Facts

Vineyards have been planted on the property since at least 1878 when it was owned by James Horn, an immigrant from Scotland. A property deed signed by Horn mentions his vineyard along the road that bisects the property. In 1907 the property was purchased by Domenico Barberis, a recent immigrant from Liguria, Italy. Domenico and his wife Gilda planted the farm to grapes and plums and their family farmed the property until the early 1990s. According to the family, Petite Sirah has been the dominant grape on the property since the vineyards were first developed by Domenico, although the family grew other varietals as well. In approximately 1915, Domenico built a winery on the site (see photo) and bonded it as Bonded Winery No. 118. Domenico maintained his bonded status until 1932, losing it 10 months before the end of Prohibition. The old winery still stands. From 1992 until 2015 the property was owned by Anne Carver and Denis Sutro who made wine from their Petite Sirah grapes under the Carver Sutro label. Today it is owned by Felicia Woytak and Steven Rasmussen who make wine under their Palisades Canyon brand.

Submitted by

Felicia Woytak

Certified

Photo of Bonded Winery No. 118 and original vines planted by Domenico Barberis. Vines planted in 1968 by Frank Barberis used budwood from these vines. Photo from the archives of the Sharpsteen Museum.