Wirz Vineyard

Description: Farmed by Pat Wirz, this old-vine, dry-farmed vineyard was planted in the 1960s. It’s located at about 1000′ in the Gabilan Mountains about twenty miles north of the Pinnacles National Monument in the Cienega Valley AVA (San Benito County).

Although it lies only twenty five miles east of the cold waters of the Monterey Bay, the coastal influence is dampened by the mountain topography and geology surrounding this site. The San Andreas fault runs through the property highlighting the convergence of two giant tectonic plates. Granite and limestone are the dominant geologic influence here. As these rocks eroded over the eons, they weathered into very deep sandy loam (Salinian granite) and clay loam (limestone) with plenty of fist-sized granite and limestone cobbles remaining. The rocky, nutrient poor soil forces the roots to grow deep in search of water and minerals. These old vines ripen late and are extremely low-yielding at around 1 ton/acre annually.