Earth: Located on a hill in an old apple orchard, this vineyard was once known as “La Colina” or “The Hill.” The seven acre Giusti Vineyard was planted to vine ten years ago and boasts red, rocky, volcanic soil that provides excellent growing conditions for all three of the Dijon clones – 667, 115, and 777.
 

Nature: The vines in Guisti Vineyard thrive in what is one of the warmer areas of the typically cool Russian River Valley, where soft morning fogs clear to warm afternoon sun. Nicknamed by our winemakers as the “banana belt”of the appellation because of the warmer weather patterns, this area of the valley requires careful vineyard management to slow ripening. Diurnal fluxes can range 40° F from morning to evening with temperatures in the 40s at night to the 80s during the day.
 

Man: Certified Sustainable farming methods reduce artificial inputs that can contribute to accelerated ripening. Pruning later in the season also helps slow the vine growth allowing complex flavors to develop. In the 2007 vintage, instead of crushing, the pinot noir was gently destemmed keeping the whole berries  undamaged.  The  fruit and juice were gravity fed into open topped fermenters and cold soaked for five to six days to extract color and red cherry aromas. Native yeast fermentation gives this wine an extra layer of complexity, adding earthy aromas and gentle tannins. Finally, the wine underwent concurrent spontaneous malolactic fermentation over a four month period.