The “Bridgehead Vineyard” is a Cline Cellars property that formerly served as a fruit source for Ridge Vineyard’s Mataro bottling.
“Bridgehead Vineyard” is located between the railroad tracks and Main Street, with the “Big Break Vineyard” to the northeast. It is one of the largest ancient-growth vineyards in Oakley.
According to a 2007 NY Times column, the “Bridgehead Vineyard” also is capable of bending the rules of time and space!
NY Times Blog: Diner’s Journal
“Greatness Within Reach”
by Eric Asimov
November 14, 2007
“…We then tasted four Ridge Vineyards wines from the 1990’s. The first was a rarity, a 1993 ‘Bridgehead’ Mataro. This wine comes from Mourvèdre grapes grown in an old vineyard in Contra Costa County, which was pulled out after the 1997 vintage. Mourvèdre, known as Mataro in parts of southern France and Monastrell in Spain, makes spicy, peppery red wines like the best reds from Provence. The ’93 was in a sort of autumnal phase. It still showed some spice but its fruit had evolved into a dry leaf kind of aroma that was still enjoyable, but maybe not for many more years…”.
Ridge Vineyards website
Profile 1993 “Evangelo” Mataro:
“…In the 1993 vintage, the national release comes from the ‘Bridgehead’ vineyard, a quarter-mile to the east; all the ‘Evangelo’ was set aside for this, our second ATP Mataro.”
Ridge produced two Contra Costa Mataro wines in 1993, but the winery website only provides data for the ATP “Evangelo” (sic) bottling.
· Wikipedia entry for “Schrödinger’s Cat”: link
From the old Cline Cellars website:
“The ‘Bridgehead Vineyard’, named for Bridgehead Road that runs adjacent to this treasured block, consistently produces one of our most individual and refined lots of Zinfandel. Planted by Italian immigrants well before the turn of the century, the ‘Bridgehead Vineyard’ in Oakley, California is among this country’s most historic. Ancient, 100-plus-year-old head-trained vines, dry-farming, and sandy soils combine with a unique band of cooling air from the San Joaquin and Sacramento Rivers that favors ‘Bridgehead Vineyard’ to create an incredible synergy of elements for expressing the unique character of this site.”
SF Gate
“Where the Heck is Oakley?”
by David Darlington
May 22, 2003
"…The transcontinental railroad hugged the southern shore of the San Joaquin River and Carquinez Strait. In order to load trains with fruit for amateur vintners in the east [during Prohibition], Napa and Sonoma growers had to take the Vallejo ferry to Contra Costa County, adding to their time and expense.
"Oakley grapes, however, grew beside the tracks, and owing to a warmer microclimate could be harvested as early as August. Hence, according to Joe Duarte - a local grape grower descended from Portuguese immigrants - ‘On Labor Day weekend, the streets of Pennsylvania ran red with Oakley wine.’
"…Cline Cellars continues to produce an array of wines from Oakley grapes, many originating in its ‘Big Break’/‘Bridgehead’ vineyard.
“Situated right on the San Joaquin River, this 140-acre property is a textbook Oakley tableau: acres of wizened, Bansai-like stumps bordered by walnuts, willows and eucalyptus, growing on what can accurately be called a beach…”.
Cline Cellars has made a vineyard-designated Zinfandel from the “Bridgehead Vineyard” every year from 1992 to 2016, with the exceptions of 1998 and 2000.
As indicated by Mr Darlington’s article, the railroad tracks have existed next to to northern Oakley vines for generations.
I can find no reference to any loss in acreage of the “Bridgehead Vineyard” - circa 1997 or otherwise.
Should any reader have insight into why a gathering of extremely knowledgeable wine folks, sitting down to taste rare and old Ridge wines, would result in such a specific, odd statement regarding the uprooting of CoCo Mourvedre vines, please chime in with your thoughts!
![[help.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/4/4030a9a60185376a7393a78002ce3ec0176e975e.gif "help")
Cline Cellars website:
https://clinecellars.com
![[cry.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/8/853b6e76c6e8406be77a6727c2a27ad1672678b3.gif "cry"){kind=small}
![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
