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.