Where are the Santa Lucia Highlands?
Just south of San Francisco and the Silicon Valley lies the Santa Lucia Highlands nestled in Monterey County. Home to some of California’s greatest Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards, the Santa Lucia Highlands is an AVA that stretches around 15 miles long and 1 mile wide. This region has become highly sought after by winemakers and collectors. A few of the noteworthy vineyards in the region are Pisoni Estate, Garys’ Vineyard, Rosella’s Vineyard, Soberanes, and Sierra Mar.
Megan states in her interview “The biggest challenge is being based in a winery so far from the vineyards.” With the frequent driving back and forth during Harvest, “Gary Franscioni, owner of Sierra Mar, Rosella’s, and Gary’s vineyards is just an awesome partner in this business. He owns his own trucking company and will prepare sample gallon buckets of clusters and truck them up to us.”
What makes the AVA special?
We may be a bit biased…but aside from being absolutely delicious, we are most proud to tell the story of where our Santa Lucia Highlands wines are from. Our Sierra Mar Pinot Noir comes from Gary and Rosella Franscioni’s Sierra Mar Vineyard and has a blend of clones from the Pisoni heritage selection – reflecting the best of Santa Lucia Highlands! Coming from a rich heritage and dedicated, family-owned vineyards, the Pisoni and Franscioni Families have been excellent partners in helping us produce exquisite wines.
Perrotti-Brown mentions in the article “It was Gary who saw the potential for viticulture and planted the family’s first vineyards. Rosella’s Vineyard, named after Gary’s wife, was planted in 1996. Garys’ Vineyard, planted in 1997, is a joint venture between Gary Franscioni and Gary Pisoni of Pisoni Vineyards.”
The Santa Lucia Wines are so good – what’s the secret?
Wind! The wind and fog make for the perfect Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes whereas the Cabernet grapes do best in the Napa Valley. In the Santa Lucia Highlands, the colder nights make for a long, cool growing season as well. Location, location – the secret is revealed!