Before planting it to vine, Sierra Mar wasa dry-farmed cattle ranch. It is a remote site, requiring a steep and windy drive up a cliffside to reach it. For three years, sagebrush had to be cleared from the rugged topography, which includes multiple valleys and two to three-acre ridges. In order to bring irrigation to this vineyard, Gary painstakingly drilled a well. Starting the project in 2007, it took three stages to complete, with over five miles of pipeline installed. Water is now pumped upward over 1,000 feet to quench the land when necessary.
Since 2007, we have planted five varietals here, with specific clones and rootstocks to suit the diverse microclimates at Sierra Mar. Each is well adapted to the gravelly soils and high-elevation of the eight unique mesas that sit atop these steep fingers that extend from the Santa Lucia mountains into the Salinas Valley..
