Viticulture
SILVER CLOUD VINEYARD, STONE EDGE FARM ESTATE VINEYARDS & WINERY
Winegrowing on Moon Mountain
SILVER CLOUD VINEYARD, STONE EDGE FARM ESTATE VINEYARDS & WINERY
130 years of viticulture and winemaking experience on AVA lands since pioneer days has yielded a unique blend of agrarian antiquity and contemporary sophistication in wine, expressed in every stage and level of winegrowing.
Moon Mountain District vineyards are growing premium wine grapes on steep hillsides at the highest levels of sustainability in the industry. District growers were early adopters of of organic farming, and today have one of the highest percentages of organic vineyards of any AVA.
Attention to detail from a farming perspective is one of the hallmarks of the region where soil and water conservation are imperative for the sustainability of the vineyards.
Our growers are experts at hillside viticulture. Microclimates abound - their characteristics carefully monitored, their yields prized. Vineyards must often be highly reticulated to maximally use the available space between ravines and arroyos. Some seem impossibly remote. Automated harvesting is a challenge.
Wine Styles
MOON MOUNTAIN VINEYARD, REPRIS WINES
The meeting of highly skilled winegrowing with highly differentiated growing environments in a base of volcanic soils make Moon Mountain AVA a compelling and diverse treasure of fine wine varietals and styles.
Long-established rootstocks, vineyards and varietals join together with newer styles and quite a bit of outright experimentation with what is possible.
All this generates the diversity of winegrowing styles and collectible vintages prospering on the lands of this AVA.
The AVAs warmer climate above the fogline enables complete ripeness in Bordeaux varieties, along with Zinfandel. Acidity levels stay consistent without the Valley’s wide fluctuation in temperature, and the soils themselves convey an enhanced minerality, as in some areas vines grow amidst crushed rock.
Challenges as Opportunity
SILVER CLOUD VINEYARD, STONE EDGE FARM ESTATE VINEYARDS & WINERY
Vines are extremely low-yielding, producing at roughly half the level of Sonoma County overall. Both bud break and harvest are later than the valley below, providing the grapes a longer time on the vine during the warm months of the year.
The fruit is stressed due to the soils, geography and elevation. With a higher skin to fruit ratio, these low-yielding vines deliver fruit with intense, concentrated flavors. The slow start to the day, followed by warm afternoons where sugars build, is the signature of these western-facing vineyards. Strong, integrated tannins focus the fruit as it develops in the cellar, making for elegant, long-lasting wines of great distinction.
The result is "elegant bigness" in the words of Phil Coturri, veteran vineyard operator and winemaker.
80% of what is planted on Moon Mountain is red, and 80% of that is Bordeaux grapes (especially Cabernet Sauvignon) and Zinfandel. Chardonnay is the major white grape.
The AVA also produces Syrah as well as the desirable Bordeaux varieties - Cabernet Franc, Malbec, Merlot and Petit Verdot.
And surprisingly also there is Pinot Noir - normally considered suited to a valley floor, yet the southwestern edge of the AVA has vineyards known for producing stunning Pinot Noir.
