Check this out on the 1916 topo for Kenwood:
The “Felice” label in the upper left denotes Felice Pagani’s whistle-stop on the railroad which ran from Sonoma up to Glen Ellen and then to Santa Rosa.
In 1916 there was no “Highway 12”. The local roads, like Dunbar Road were the only roads.
Late to this thread (obviously !) but (dumb question of the day) I assume that these old vines are all grafted onto phylloxera resistant rootstocks - or?
I ask as the ages seem to dovetail with the first implementations of that in Europe…
Most are on St George rootstock. High phylloxera and mildew resistance plus the deep root system suits dry farming.
Thanks Brian
I believe the Woodside Zin (neighboring Christensen and Quist-Gates, which were part of a much larger vineyard) are own rooted in sandy soil. I’ve seen 1897 associated with the planting of those vines, with (separately) the date of the first vines of the gradually expanded vineyard going in in 1884 (“vineyard established”).
Just want to clarify a few things…
St. George is definitely resistant to phylloxera but when it comes to powdery mildew resistance, it’s really the scion that is of concern. Rootstock can, however, influence a scion’s ability to ward off powdery mildew by increasing phenolic content of leaves and berries. Studies have shown though that St. George does not help in this regard, unlike V. rotundifolia, Dog Ridge, 110 R, and 1103 P.
It was definitely not Val Rossi’s vineyard. And unless he was playing it fast and loose, I don’t see how it could have been Uboldi. Uboldi old vines is about 5 to 5.5 acres and while there is a large percentage of Alicante there, it is very mixed. You could get 20 tons off the acreage in a big year but not 20 tons of pure Alicante. The only vineyard that has enough Alicante to crank out at least 20 tons every year is Pagani and Pagani was indeed just down the road from the original St. Francis winery.
These vines no longer exist. They were planted in the '50s and on Tom Feeney’s ranch on the west side of Montafi. They were ripped out by the current owner, Silverado Premium Properties.
I don’t believe there is any Vicking Rd in Sonoma County, only Viking. There are no old head-pruned vines on Viking Rd. You guys found Elso on Parnell. That is correct. It’s a very, very small block of old vines. Sichel and Two Acres used to be part of one large vineyard. There are a few old vines left at Sichel but it’s really more like a hobby vineyard. Not even sure you could get a barrel of wine from the old vines. None of the old vines at Sichel are Zinfandel.
Thanks Mike. I kinda figured that that was the case based on the Ledson blog description of Amy’s (that Drew found) as being at the top of a knoll. Street view or a topo shows the peak of the knoll being just to the west of Bacigalupi Rd (now a private driveway). It’s now covered with modern trellised vines. However a little further to the west of there, surrounding a house at 2925 Piner there are head pruned vines that appear to be pretty old:
A friend who’s a hobby winemaker used to get Mourvedre from what I believe is the Sichel vineyard across the street from Two Acres. He recently told me Premonition Cellars gets the fruit now:
https://premonitioncellars.orderport.net/wines/Mourvedre
Production was 50 cases in 2018.
Hi Clyde,
The old vines surrounding the house is what used to be called, and maybe still is, Bacigalupi Vineyard, not to be confused with the Bacigalupi on Westside Rd. Topolos used to take this fruit and blend it with Montafi to create their “Piner Heights” Zinfandel. I don’t know where this fruit goes now but it was never owned by Tom Feeney, so not part of Amy’s (although Tom’s only child, Mike, built a home to the north of these vines that with a driveway just west of the old vines), and it is not part of Battaglini.
As for your friend’s Mourvèdre, I doubt it came from Sichel. There are some Mourvèdre old vines there but not even remotely close to enough for 50 cases. More like 2 cases. Mostly it’s Calzin and Alicante. There is some old-ish Mourvèdre three properties to the east across from Two Acres but it’s up on wire and cordoned trained. At most it’s about 60 years old. Swan used to make a Mourvèdre from these vines.
Thanks Mike. It was still called Bacigalupi as of the 1998 SCGGA map:
Premonition specifies the vineyard for their Mourvedre as the Montgomery vineyard.
Here’s the area around De Loach winery from the SCGGA 1998 map:
Regarding Topolos, back in the day that was one of the few places that we ever tasted where we had to duck around outside and pour our glasses out. I guess I can say that now that they’re gone. They did make an excellent saganaki though!
I never heard of Calzin!
Funny to see how many typos are on the 1998 maps (I have the full set as well). They list Baciagalupi instead of Bacigalupi, Peletti instead of Pelletti, and Battagalini instead of Battaglini. I also love how they plastered “De Loach” across all the small vineyards on the east side of Olivet across from the winery. The only vineyard that went to DeLoach in 1998 was the first one that borders Olivet and on the north side of the private drive. That vineyard used to be more of the original vineyard that Two Acres belonged to but was torn up and replanted to Chardonnay around 1997.
And yes, it is indeed Montgomery Vineyard that has the 60-year-old, cordon-trained Mourvèdre on wire. Disappointing to see it touted as 100+ years old. That’s simply not true. Bob Montgomery did have a couple dozen old vines in the northeast corner of his property (mostly Calzin, Pet, and Peloursin from what I recall) but they disappeared probably 15 years ago.
Interesting. That tiny vineyard at 8519 Starr shows up on the 1998 SCGGA map:
Thanks Clyde!
I suppose that I’m now retreading old territory with respect to the “Villa Tara Bella Vineyard”, as well as the “Clopton” and “Moratto” vineyards’ fates…
· Wine Berserkers forum
“California’s great old vine Zinfandel vineyards”
September 3, 2017
· Wine Berserkers forum
“Can This Be True? Compton Vineyard”
June 4, 2016
I was reviewing the Historic Vineyard Society’s “Vineyards” webpage a couple of days ago, as new entries occasionally are published without notice (see “Hooper Vineyard”).
The owner of the “El Diablo Vineyard” is now the Lytton Rancheria Project. I was mislead previously in believing reports that a casino would occupy the area; as you indicated, it will be developed into eco-friendly tribal housing.
What confuses me is the apparent existence of at least two “El Diablo Vineyards”!
I have been curious about the identity of the “El Diablo Vyd” for some time.
· HVS profile: “El Diablo Vineyard”
· Day Winery profile: “El Diablo Vineyard”:
“‘El Diablo’ vineyard, situated in the northern part of the Russian River Valley AVA, has a long and storied history. Planted to mixed blacks on clay loam soils, the site has been farmed continually by Hector Garcia since it was planted…”.
Jeff Cohn Cellars profile: “El Diablo Vineyard”
When I originally heard that Ehren Jordan’s Day Zin was from the “El Diablo Vineyard’s” old-vine grapes in the Russian River Valley, I was puzzled - if not downright skeptical.
Numerous wineries were producing “El Diablo” vineyard-designated bottlings (almost all from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay). Once I started seeing “UV - El Diablo” on labels, I became overwhelmed, tossed my hands into the air, and abandoned any interest in figuring out what was going on!
A more astute Zinvestigator would have noticed that Ehren Jordan’s “El Diablo” site was farmed by Hector Garcia, whereas the late Ulisses Valdez was responsible for planting/farming the other(s). Even so, consider the following statement on the Day website’s “Vineyards” page:
“…For Ehren, the Farm and its Farmer is where the story truly begins. Whether it’s Hector Garcia who has been farming the ‘El Diablo’ vineyard for over 40 years, or the harmonious relationship Ulysses Valdez has with every vineyard he touches, each site’s connection to talented farmers is paramount in the creation of quality grapes.”
Therein lies the crux: Hector Garcia farms the old “El Diablo” vines on Starr Rd, whereas the Valdez Family takes care of many newer sites on Eastside Rd and beyond.
I suppose that the old “Moratto/Starr Rd” vineyard is the “El Diablo Vineyard”.
The “Dommen Vineyard” appears to still exist. I cannot tell whether or not the “Clopton Vineyard” has been uprooted…
· HVS profile: “Dommen Vineyard”
Frank Dommen is reported to have previously lived at 8931 Starr Rd, Windsor, CA.
Cindy and Robert Clopton are reported to live at 8879 Starr Rd.
Clustr-Map website: 8879 Starr Rd
City-Data website: Properties located on Starr Rd, Windsor, CA
Thanks for chiming in, Mike! ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
I probably failed to represent the above statement clearly. Tom Mackey’s recollections (below) were made to Ms Rhoda Stewart in the company of Dino Amantite.
I feel I am about to stray into shoaling waters here. Please do not mistake my sincere pursuit of mutual understanding for combative stubbornness.
From Rhoda Stewart’s A Zinfandel Odyssey, section on “St Francis Vineyards”:
"…'We have been able to expand Old Vine production and keep the Pagani separate, thanks to Dino’s efforts at scouting out these fine old vineyards. These vineyards all fulfill exactly our profile of what we want in old-vine Zinfandel vineyards. They are head trained and dry farmed, and the fruit has intensity and richness. The youngest was planted in the 1930s.
“‘We have also secured an old Alicante Bouschet vineyard up the road just to use in my Zinfandels to bump up the color, and also to balance out the alcohol and sugar. Some of these old vine vineyards are planted mostly in Zinfandel, without a coloring grape. As a result, while we may end up with fully-flavored, high-alcohol wine, it can be a lighter-colored wine. We now get 20 tons of old vine Alicante, Those vines are as old as some of the old vine Zinfandel we get.’” (p. 327)
The fact that Mackey said “up the road” to describe the location of the Ali Bou source could serve as an indicator that the vineyard in question was not the “Pagani Ranch”. I sincerely believe that he’d have said “Pagani” if that’s what he meant.
It is possible that Mackey’s identification of a new Alicante Bouschet source and his elucidation of Alicante tonnage harvested are two independent statements of fact.
After describing a specific old vineyard that recently came into the fold, he proceeded to sum up the general utility of teinturiers in Zinfandel production, as well as the total weight of Ali Bou grapes used in St Francis’ “Old Vine” Zinfandel’s production.
In 1989, St Francis bottled 1,700 cases of “Old Vine” Zinfandel; in 1996, 7,500 cs of “Old Vine” Zin and 800-900 cs of “Pagani Vineyard”.
Thank you for closing the case on this one! Sunce’s adoption of a “Vicking Rd” designation was causing me great consternation.
Thanks for confirming the identity of the “Elso Vineyard”! I could not find any significant information about the Taurian winery, located in close proximity to this vineyard.
Very cool!
Do you know what old-vine varieties survive in the “Sichel Vineyard”?
I just looked up the property, and it still is associated with the Bacigalupi family.
Awesome info, Mike!
I always wondered where the grapes came from that composed Joseph Swan’s 2006 RRV Mourvedre.
Grgich Hills bottles two Napa Valley Zinfandel wines. The “Miljenko’s Old Vine” Calistoga bottling is sourced from vines dating back as far as 1889.
Grgich Hills website: Vineyards: “Calistoga”
“With cloudless days and cool nighttime temperatures, our 34-acre Calistoga vineyard is perfect for growing sun-loving Zinfandel, 2.9 acres of which was planted more than 100 years ago. Our ‘Miljenko’s Old Vine’ Zinfandel is the showcase for these wines.”
Unrelated to Zinfandel, yet historically significant, Grgich Hills’ “Old Vine” Yountville vineyard includes grapevines planted in 1959. These are some of the oldest surviving Cabernet Sauvignon vines in Napa Valley.
Vineyards: “Yountville”
“Located on the valley floor, our 63-acre Yountville vineyard grows classic Bordeaux varietals. This vineyard is home to a 25-acre plot which are the second oldest* Cabernet Sauvignon vines and were planted in 1959. These vines are showcased in our Yountville Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon.”
Grgich Hills YouTube video:
“Old Vine Cabernet Sauvignon, Yountville Selection, Grgich Hills Estate”
August 27, 2014
Napa Wine Project
“Grgich Hills Estate”
by Dave (?)
October 25, 2013
"…Grgich Hills manages and owns over 360 planted vineyard acres in the Napa Valley with five fully owned vineyards ranging from American Canyon & Carneros in the south, Yountville, the ‘home’ vineyard in Rutherford and a vineyard north of Calistoga. In fact a small block of Zinfandel in their Calistoga vineyard dates from 1889.
“…Grgich Hills owns some of the oldest Cabernet Sauvignon vines in all of the Napa Valley (valley floor site, slightly north of Yountville) – still growing, the oldest of which were planted in 1959. Several vineyard blocks in the Napa Valley predating these (with various levels of health and quantity), still being used are from Scarecrow (1945), a section of the Monastery Block in the To Kalon Vineyard (also mid 1940s?), a block at Spring Mountain Vineyards that dates to 1954 and a section in the MacDonald Vineyard in Oakville (also from 1954)…”.
Grgich Hills website:
Nice find Drew. I drive right past that OVZ vineyard every Thursday morning. I’ll have to detour for a picture or two. Although I’m nit seeing any old vines blocked off in the aerial photo.
It’s weird. I am trying to find older aerial photo maps of the. West Calistoga/Franz Valley area - to no success. I don’t know if the ancient vines have been retrained, or if they remain head-trained.
UC Berkley Library
“Maps & Air Photos: Air Photos”
Mr Mike Officer posted the following video on the Carlisle Vineyards and Winery Facebook page a couple of hours ago.
While probing for early signs of verasion, he shares some sunny views of the “Carlisle” and “Mancini” vineyards in the Russian River Valley.
Limerick Lane Cellars has just released its inaugural bottling of the “Los Amigos & Limerick Lane” Zinfandel. The grapes were all drawn from plantings near the Limerick Lane estate.
"2019 Los Amigos & Limerick Lane
"The extreme North East corner of the Russian River Appellation offers an incredibly unique growing environment. Being dual appellation with Chalk Hill, we have warmer days than the rest of the appellation but we are still blessed with the cooling influence of the Russian River and the fog that it brings. As such, the crossroads of Los Amigos Road and Limerick Lane on the east side of the Russian River seem to be the epicenter of this influence.
“This wine is comprised of fruit we both grew as well as purchased from neighbors within this small informal “sub appellation” of the valley. The other vineyards bring a variety of flavors all similar but not identical to Limerick Lane and during blending, this blend stood out and was surprisingly easy to assemble. A field blend of ZInfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah, Negrette, and Syrah, the vineyards complemented each other so well, this wine just needed to be released.”
Limerick Lane Cellars YouTube video:
“Los Amigos & Limerick Lane Zinfandel”
August 3, 2021
Limerick Lane Cellars website:
The age of grapevines often is considered an indicator, if not one of the causes, of a Zinfandel-based wine’s quality. Many Zinfandel enthusiasts venerate centennarian vineyards. However, determining the specific influence vine age has on a finished wine remains unknown.
Here’s a brief video from the Wine Institute, with journalist Elaine Chukan Brown and Morgan Twain-Peterson MW of Bedrock Wine Company extolling the virtues of old vineyards:
California Wines by Wine Institute YouTube video:
“Vine Wisdom: Why Old Vines Make Great Wines”
March 7, 2019
Waka Waka Wine Reviews
"Tasting Wine w the Historic Vineyard Society: Pebble Beach Food + Wine"
by Elaine Chukan Brown
April 21, 2014
Bedrock Wine Company
"It Takes a Village to Raise a Wine: Vineyards"
I do not recall whether I previously shared the following research papers on the Berserkers forums. I found both to be interesting:
Semantics Scholar
Plants Vol 5; Issue #10
"The Effect of Grapevine Age (Vitis vinifera L. cv. Zinfandel) on Phenology and Gas Exchange Parameters over Consecutive Growing Seasons"
by Vegas Riffle, N. Palmer, L.F. Casassa, J. C. Dodson Peterson
February, 2021
doi: 10.3390/plants10020311
Semantics Scholar
American Journal of Enology and Viticulture Vol 38, January, 1987 Issue
"Profiling Zinfandel Wines by Sensory and Chemical Analyses"
by Ann Noble, Mark Shannon
(download link)
