For some of our readership this post is one of those “It’s about time” blogs. I’ve written on many things, but not said anything about one of our most important and most recognizable vineyards. Bien Nacido is as it stands 800 acres or so of vineyard and shares space with flower fields, vegetable fields and Avocado groves. It is a state certified nursery and has provided source material to vineyards all over CA. Additionally it has the longest documented history by far. The properties story starts in 1837 when a Spanish land grant of 2 square leagues (roughly 9000 acres) was granted to Tomas Olivera. In 1855 Olivera in turn sold the property to his son in law Don Juan Pacifico Ontiveros, who built the adobethat still sits on Bien Nacido. The properties history closely follows the Ontiveros family up until 1969 when the Miller family purchased the property. Starting in the 70′s the Miller family began experimenting with several varieties of plantings, including Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. Bob first met with Bob Miller in 1985 and they began a discussion about grafting Syrah into the vineyard. As excited as Bob was about the idea of a steady source of fruit, he wasn’t sure if the block would ripen. So began the noble experiment we now call X-Block.
- Notice the unique Trelissing first thought of by Randall Grahm.
7 acres were grafted in 1986 the first crop becoming available in 1987, making this our first year with Bien Nacido fruit. Randall Grahm had 7 additional acres grafted to Syrah in the same block in 1987. After our time spent with Organics and Biodynamics at Sawyer Lindquist we knew we wanted to move more of our fruit to these farming techniques and starting in 2005 X-Block became farmed with Biodynamic practices. The willingness of the Bien Nacido vineyard team to farm each plot according to the desires of the wineries that work with those plots is very unique.
In addition to X-Block we have several other Blocks planted to Syrah,including Z-Block, better known as the Hillside Estate. Z-Block is testament to the Miller family’s commitment to being a custom farming operation and Bob’s powers of persuasion. In 1992 Bob somehow convinced the Bien Nacido team to invest in the infrastructure necessary to build roads, run water and do the land preparations necessary to plant 5 acres of Syrah, nestled into a bowl on the hilltop, hand selected by Bob. By 1994 we had fruit of amazing quality and concentration, and an additional 18 acres of fruit had been planted on the hillsides for other wineries. Today this section has one of Bob’s favorite views from the property, looking west-Northwest over the river bed valley that bumps up to Bien Nacido.
- Because of the bowl shape, each section of Z-Block has to be planted following the unique terrain.
As the years have passed more and more hillside acreage has been planted both for Qupe and Au Bon Climat, but also for many other wineries. In 2010 Bien Nacido was named Vineyard of the Year by the California Fair association, not only because so many people work with the fruit, but because the quality of the fruit is so high, and the vineyard so diverse. At this point Bien Nacido has 16 varietals planted on the property, including Syrah, Chardonnay, Roussanne, Viognier, Pinot Noir,Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanc Merlot, Refusco, and Nebbiollo just to name a few.
- Block 11 has Chardonnay and Syrah both planted at the north end of the vineyard
In addition to providing much of our fruit, Bien Nacido is home to our winery. We were fortunate enough to build our facility on the property in 1989.
- “The Office” as seen from the Roussanne
There is so much that is special and unique about Bien Nacido it is hard to know when to stop. Ultimately though I think the thing that best describes the land is the wines that come from it. With the strict focus placed on quality, the vineyard team produces some of the best fruit California has to offer, and in the end wine is only as good as the fruit in it.
Thanks for reading and keep drinking good wine.