Soda Canyon Ranch Vineyards is a family-owned hillside vineyard located on the western edge of the Atlas Peak AVA, overlooking Rector Reservoir and the quaint town of Yountville. Between Soda Canyon and Rector Canyon, just south of Haystack Mountain, on a rocky hillside site, lies an eastern-facing slope with volcanic soils where we planted a 14-acre cabernet sauvignon vineyard.

The vineyard was developed on the rugged rocky land in the late 1990s. We planted about 20,000 Cabernet Sauvignon Clone 337 green growing bench grafts on 110R rootstock at a 4’ x 8’ spacing with bilateral cordons on a vertical shoot positioning (VSP) trellis system. The vineyard elevation ranges from 1,300 to 1,450 feet with a maximum slope of 15% that tapers off to virtually flat at the base of the slope. The vine rows are oriented in a southwest-to-northeast direction, which allows for optimum sun exposure during the entire day throughout the growing season. The soil depth ranges from as much as 4’ to 6’ along the base of the slope to as little as 12” to 18” near the top. The soil is quite rocky and well-drained, resulting in the vines being stressed just enough to produce intensely flavored grapes with deep purple skins.

In 2004, we sold all our grapes to the prestigious Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars for blending into their well-known Artemis Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. In 2013, winemaker Marcus Notaro, so impressed with the quality and expressiveness of our grapes, decided to produce a Winemaker Series limited bottling of 400 cases solely for their wine club members as a single vineyard designated wine with SODA CANYON RANCH VINEYARDS printed on the label. This was a true testament to the outstanding cabernet grapes we grow in our hillside vineyard.

In 2011, we started selling a little less than half of our grapes to the well-respected and up-and-coming winery, HALL Wines of Napa Valley. Winemaker Steve Leveque, who has several 100-point cabernet wines to his credit at HALL, along with many 95+ point cabernet wines, thinks well enough of our grapes to blend them into the winery’s flagship wine, the Kathryn Hall Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as such other outstanding cabernets as Ellie’s, Jack’s Masterpiece, and the HALL Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon.

We believe our grapes are a true expression of what makes cabernet sauvignon wines produced from Atlas Peak AVA grapes so distinct and remarkable. The wines made from our grapes reflect the deep purple (almost inky) color extracted from the skins. They are fruit-forward with rich black fruit (blackberry, black cherry, black currants) flavors, supple and silky tannins, excellent structure, and perfect acid balance, all contributing to a most pleasant “mouth feel”…. delightfully sumptuous.

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