Alta Vista Vineyards Website

Alta Vista Ranch
Freedom - A State of Mind - A Way of Life

Alta Vista Ranch
DORIS & Ken Bray Proprietors
1891 Kiler Canyon Rd.
Paso Robles, CA 93446
bray@avrvineyard.com
Ph: (805) 237-0661
Fax: (805) 237-8566
www.avrvineyard.com

Doris
Ken
Proprietors

Wine Regions
Paso Robles Wine Region
Located nearly halfway between Los Angeles & San Francisco
Paso Robles wine region divided in half by Highway 101 (runs North and South)
Western Half: Eastern Half: Rolling Hills Predominantly Flat Countryside
California Wine Regions

Paso Robles Wine Country
Alta Vista Ranch
130 Acres
27 Acres in Vines

Alta Vista RanchVineyard Locations
Vineyard A(8.9 Acres)
Zinfandel
Syrah
Petite Sirah
Vineyard B(18.0 Acres)
Zinfandel
Mourvedre
Grenache
Tannat

Vineyard B9,441 Vines 18.0 Acres
Vineyard A4,685 Vines 8.9 Acres
Alta Vista Ranch - Vineyards
Elevations
House = 1,120 ft
Barn = 900 ft

Vineyard AVine Block Locations
Syrah 1,175 Vines 2.2 Acres
Petite Sirah1,176 Vines 2.2 Acres
Zinfandel 2,334 Vines
4.5 Acres
Planted in 2003 Vineyard A Consists of 4,685 Vines on 8.9 Acres

Vineyard BVine Block Locations
Mourvedre2,712 Vines 5.2 Acres
Grenache 2,709 Vines 5.2 Acres
Tannat1,181 Vines 2.2 Acres
Zinfandel 2,839 Vines
5.4 Acres
Planted in 2005 Vineyard B Consists of 9,441 Vines on 18.o Acres

Zinfandel (From Vineyard A – Prior to 2nd Harvest, Sep 13, 2009)
The grapes typically produce a robust red wine, although the taste of the wine depends on the ripeness of the grape. The grape's high sugar content can be fermented into levels of alcohol exceeding 15 percent.
Red berry fruits like raspberry predominate in wines from cooler areas,whereas blackberry, anise and pepper notes are more common in wines made in warmer areasand in wines made from the earlier-ripening Primitivo clone.
The Paso Robles AVA with its hot days and cool maritime evenings, produces Zinfandel known for being soft and round.

Petite Sirah(From Vineyard A – Prior to 2nd Harvest, Sep 13, 2009)
Petite Sirah produces dark, inky colored wines that are relatively acidic, with firm texture and mouth feel; the bouquet has herbal and black pepper overtones, and typically offers flavors of blue fruit, black fruit, and plums.
The "petite" in the name of this grape refers to the size of its berries and not the vine, which is particularly vigorous. The leaves are large, with a bright green upper surface and paler green lower surface. The grape forms tightly packed clusters. The small berries creates a high skin to juice ratio, which can produce very tannic wines if the juice goes through an extended maceration period.In the presence of new oak barrels, the wine can develop an aroma of melted chocolate.

Grenache (From Vineyard B – Prior to 2nd Harvest, Sep 13, 2009)
The Grenache vine is characterized by its strong wood canopy and upright growth. The vine buds early and requires a long growing season in order to fully ripen. Grenache is often one of the last grapes to be harvest. The long ripening process allows the sugars in the grape to reach high levels, making Grenache based wines capable of substantial alcohol levels often north of 15% ABV.
Grenache prefers hot, dry soils that are well drained. The skin of Grenache is thin and lightly pigmented, making wines with pale color and low tannins.
The Alta Vista Grenache grapes will be used in Four Vines Winery’s Rose wine.

Mourvedre(From Vineyard B – Prior to 2nd Harvest, Sep 13, 2009)
Mourvèdre produces tannic wines that can be high in alcohol, and is most successful in Rhone-style blends. Its taste varies greatly according to area, but often has a wild, gamey or earthy flavor, with soft red fruit flavors
Mourvèdre is very late to ripen. The leaves have 3–5 lobes, the bunches are long, conical and winged. The berries are medium-sized and blue-black in color, with thick skins.
Though the grape was originally named after a Spanish town, the word "Mourvèdre" is of French derivation, and is pronounced much like "moo-vahd" or "mor-vahd" in French.

Tannat(From Vineyard B – Prior to 2nd Harvest, Sep 13, 2009)
Tannat is a vigorous vine, grown mainly in southwest France (foothills of the Pyrenees) and is a variety of great respectability ranking just below the aristocratic Cabernet and Pinot Noir.
Tannat is characterized by its firm, tannic structure with raspberry aromas and the ability to age well. They often have a deep dark color with high level of alcohol. The resulting wines are typically full bodied and very fruity.
The grape did not receive much attention until the late 20th century, when South American varietals of the wine began to receive international acclaim. In the 1990s several plantings began to pop up in California in the Paso Robles and Santa Cruz Mountains AVAs with such producers as Tablas Creek Vineyard using it in conjunction with Rhone varietals. Four Vines Winery also intends to use the Alta Vista Tannat in a similar fashion.

Harvest 2005 Sept 288 Tons

Harvest 2006 Sept 1812.5 Tons

Harvest 2007 Sept 716.6 Tons

Harvest 2008 Sept 4, 1st Pick 12 Tons

Harvest 2008 Sept 13, 2nd Pick 7 Tons

Harvest 2009 Sept 6-7, 1st Pick 28.6 Tons

Harvest 2009 Sep 26-27, 2nd Pick17 Tons

A Year in the Life of a VineyardJanuary in the Vineyard

A Year in the Life of a VineyardPruning 14,000 Vines – Starts in January

A Year in the Life of a VineyardPruning 14,000 Vines – Ends in March
After
Before
After

A Year in the Life of a VineyardMarch
Vineyard A
Vineyard B

A Year in the Life of a VineyardSpring

A Year in the Life of a VineyardMowing

A Year in the Life of a Vineyard April Bud Break

A Year in the Life of a VineyardMay Berry Set

A Year in the Life of a VineyardJune

A Year in the Life of a VineyardJune Thinning

A Year in the Life of a VineyardJuly Fruit Drop

A Year in the Life of a VineyardVeraison – End of July early August

A Year in the Life of a VineyardProtecting the Grapes from Birds

A Year in the Life of a VineyardSeptember Ready for Harvest

A Year in the Life of a VineyardHarvest – The “Padrone”

A Year in the Life of a VineyardHarvest – Picking 6 Rows Simultaneously/Doris & Tiger Hedging Vines Ahead of Tractor

A Year in the Life of a VineyardHarvest - Picking

A Year in the Life of a VineyardHarvest - Leafing

A Year in the Life of a VineyardHarvest – Back to the Barn

A Year in the Life of a VineyardHarvest – Sampling with Winemaker

A Year in the Life of a VineyardHarvest – Weighing & Stacking Bins

A Year in the Life of a VineyardFirst Grapes Out- Destination Four Vines Winery

A Year in the Life of a VineyardHarvest Day is Done

A Year in the Life of a VineyardTime for a Cool Beer!

A Year in the Life of a VineyardThe beauty of Fall

A Year in the Life of a VineyardFall After Harvest

Alta Vista Ranch Transformation
March 2003
June 2009
May 2004

“As philosophers, we open ourselves to the mystery of the universe and look for the truth behind the magic that manifests itself in plants, flowers, animals and every living thing.” – Siegfried & Roy
September 2009
March 2009
June 2009
June 2009
Vineyard B
The Vineyard Cycle
7 Months of Growth

“Twenty years from now you will be disappointed more by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – Mark Twain

Paso Robles wines tend to be deeply colored and rich due to the intensity of the sun, with fairly bright acidity due to the cool nights. However, beyond these generalizations, the region’s diversity prevents easy characterization of its wines.
Paso Robles Wine Country is centrally located between San Francisco and Los Angeles along California's Central Coast. As California's fastest growing wine region and largest geographic appellation, the 24 square mile territory encompasses more than 26,000 vineyard acres and nearly 200 wineries.
With a greater day-to-night temperature swing than any other appellation in California, distinct microclimates, diverse soils and a long growing season, Paso Robles is a unique wine region blessed with optimal growing conditions for producing premium and ultra premium wines. More than 40 wine grape varieties are grown in Paso Robles, ranging from Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, to Syrah, Viognier and Roussanne, to Zinfandel, the area's heritage wine varietal.
California’s Central Coast is geologically different from other California wine growing regions. Unlike others with deep, rich fertile valley soils, there are four general soil types in the Paso Robles AVA primarily formed from weathering granite, serpentine, shale and limestone, with shale and limestone being the most predominant bedrock types. Soil diversity is the norm and a vineyard block may commonly contain several different soil types.

One distinguishing factor of the Paso Robles AVA is the abundance of highly desirable limestone and calcareous-rich soils found throughout the region. Due to geologic uplift, chalky limestone shale is plentiful in Paso Robles’ west-side hills, where dense clay-based soils combine with relatively plentiful rainfall to make it possible for some vines to be dry-farmed without supplemental irrigation. East of the Salinas River, gently rolling hills, many of which are also rich in limestone, are covered with sandy, loamy soils. In the watershed areas, particularly the Estrella River plain, loam and clay are overlain with sand.
The western boundary is just six miles from the Pacific Ocean. The appellation lies on the inland side of the Santa Lucia coastal mountains in San Luis Obispo County, and roughly forms a rectangle 35 miles from east to west, and 25 miles from north to south. It extends from the Monterey County border to the north, to the Cuesta Grade below Santa Margarita to the south, and from the Santa Lucia Mountains to the west, to the Cholame Hills to the east.
The Paso Robles appellation comprises 614,000 acres of which more than 26,000 acres are in wine grape vines. It is the fastest growing and largest by far of three AVAs in San Luis Obispo County, and the main reason that the county ranks behind only Napa, Sonoma and Monterey counties in planted acreage among the state’s coastal growing areas.

Alta Vista Ranch
Doris and Ken Bray Proprietors
1891 Kiler Canyon Road
Paso Robles, California 93446
Telephone: (805) 237 - 0661

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Alta Vista Vineyards Website

by Doris Bray on Feb 24, 2010

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