Vineyards
“This is the coastal rainforest”
This is an extreme maritime site, with the Pacific Ocean less than three miles away. Rainfall is copious in the winter, averaging eighty inches, while summers are desert-like—except when the fog rolls in like a blanket. Our climate is erratic and unpredictable, with wide swings in moisture, temperature, storms and wind. The cumulative effect of these factors creates a complex environment, in constant flux. For the soils and plants, no year is like another.
Earthquake terroir
Half a mile to the west and ten miles underground runs the San Andreas Fault, where the Pacific and North American plates collide, pushing and pulling the land toward the creeks and sea. This geologic upheaval has gifted us a haphazard arrangement of igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary soils, as well as dramatic and highly changeable topography. In response, we’ve parcelled our 72 acre vineyard into 67 individual farming blocks, a degree of fragmentation unmatched even by the famously subdivided vineyards of Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits. This complexity defines our farming and winemaking practices.
Biodynamics is the ultimate site specificity: it’s all about identity
Since 2011, we have farmed all 72 acres of vines—plus gardens and orchards—using Biodynamic, organic, and regenerative practices. No machine ever touches a vine. All inputs are natural and frequently sourced from the farm itself. The goal is simple, though the work is not: to bring each vine into balance—between root zone and canopy, effort and yield—through ecological healing. Every season is a new dialogue with the land.
We don’t talk much, but we sure communicate
From our first planting in 1980, a philosophy of viticulture has been slowly evolving that is specific to Hirsch Vineyards. Just as our Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines, influenced by the local environmental conditions, have grown and adapted to the site, we have learned to work out an appropriate cultural approach by trial and error in the field. Our vineyard manager of more than thirty years, Everardo Robledo, has been an integral part of this process. He is the leader of our farming team, all of whom live on the ranch, just as David, Marie, and Jasmine do. Living here allows us all to internalize the rhythms of nature, and foresee and respond to weather events in real time.
Micro Terroirs
Through our many decades here, we’ve identified sections of our vineyard that are unique in their attributes and produce wines of distinct terroir.
David Hirsch has long considered Block 8 to be his grand cru parcel. This is the only location at Hirsch where we have the Boomer-Mendocino soil formation. Characterized by a reddish tint from high amounts of iron oxide, the rock and gravel content in the soil averages 40-70% throughout. This results in superb drainage, allowing the roots to run deep and pervasive. Block 8 is divided into seven sub-parcels, based on rock content and aspect, all planted in 1993. One of our most consistent and distinctive sites.
One of our greatest sites, the Raschen Ridge produces wines with hedonistic fruit, muscular mountain tannins, and dynamic energy. The Raschen Ridge is a narrow, high elevation outcropping. The westerly section is decomposed sandstone with the perfect mix of soil and rock. It’s exposed on all sides, and cold wind and fog buffet the vines. The eastern end is more sheltered, and the soil has a higher clay content. Together these two terroirs result in a wine that seamlessly combines self-confidence with elegance, hedonism with complexity, pleasure with intrigue.
Sloping steeply into a deep, interior valley, the East Ridge is partially sheltered from the full onslaught of the coastal influences, making this a relatively warmer site. The soils here are a clay-rock mix, in varying percentages as the slope and aspect changes. Shallow mountain soils stress the vines, producing tannic, dark fruited and mountainous wines. Yields are extremely low.
The rolling hills of the West Ridge are dominated by heavy black clay, which creates an inhospitable environment that stresses the vines and inhibits vigor. However, the West Ridge also has pockets of sand, loam and rock, creating a microcosm of the San Andrean complexity that defines all of Hirsch. These vineyards enjoy the cooling effect of the Pacific, but are protected from the full onslaught of wind and fog. The wines from this section of Hirsch are ethereal, fragile, and hauntingly aromatic.
Just one ridge lies between the Maritime Fields and the ocean, and a gap in the ridgeline allows the fog and wind to roll in unimpeded. It’s a profoundly ocean-impacted site, with low yields and late ripening. On a clear day, the white caps of the Pacific Ocean are visible. The soils of the Maritime Fields are quite variegated, including highly fractured decomposed sandstone, heavy clay and deep loam. It produces wines with dusty, gentle tannins and pronounced savory aromatics, evoking the redwoods and wild fennel that closely surround this site
One of our steepest vineyards, Block 10 was planted by David Hirsch to Chardonnay in 1994. On an exposed hill in between the West Ridge and Block 8, it’s highly subject to ocean influences, and yields vary widely from vintage to vintage. The soil is remarkable: a beautiful pale pink, with an ideal mix of rock and clay. Similarly to Block 8 and the Raschen Ridge, the roots of the vines are deep and pervasive.
