The Romans used to say, "Hills Produce Great Wine." Around the world, great wine is grown on slopes. Alder Springs Vineyard is no different. Our fractured soils and steep slopes allow the water to drain quickly and soils to heat up faster. The steeper the slope, the better sun exposure each vine gets, which is particularly important in cool climate sites like Alder Springs Vineyard.
Harvest is an exciting but busy time on the vineyard. Our crew works hard night and day. Most of the harvest happens by moonlight so the grapes can be transported to the wineries before daybreak and the grapes remain cool and clean.
In the late 1980s, Stu Bewley became fascinated with the mystery of how to grow world-class wine grapes.
Why do some vineyards regularly produce spectacular vintages and others vin ordinaire?
Bewley traveled to Europe and South America to interview growers, winemakers, and consultants. He studied viticulture at the University of California at Davis, and poured over books and scientific journals dedicated to rootstocks, clones, elevation and drainage. And over a period of years he began to develop his own theories about growing extraordinary grapes.
He began searching California for a place where he could test some of his ideas. Bewley looked at possible sites from Calaveras County to Carneros and the Sonoma Coast, taking hundreds of soil samples along the way. But while he saw a lot of interesting properties, they were all missing one or more key components – water, drainage, sun, or terrific soil.
"Alder Springs Ranch was the most magnificently beautiful spot I'd ever seen. I went back and looked at it six times and couldn't get it out of my head. There was no limit to how deep the roots could go."Stu Bewley
Then, in 1991, Bewley decided to check out a former cattle operation that was for sale in far northern Mendocino County. He doubted the rugged, remote, high-altitude property would be suitable for viticulture but he decided to collect some soil samples anyway.
The results were a complete surprise – far outperforming anything he'd seen. The minerals and mix of nutrients in the soil were excellent, but the drainage was breathtaking.
He bought Alder Springs Ranch and broke ground in 1993, planting his first vineyard block.