About Albatross Ridge

Location
Our twenty-five acres of pinot noir and chardonnay are rooted upon a rolling Carmel Valley ridge rising 1250 feet in elevation overlooking the Pacific Ocean and Carmel bay eight miles in the distance. Planted in 2008, the vineyard is coming into production in fall 2010. Our creed and passion is to grow wine of distinction and to honor the unique soils, setting, and micro-climate that we are privileged to call our own.

Estate
From the beginning our challenge has been to marry the unique soils and geography of our site with the right clones, rootstocks and management decisions to endow our vineyard with the ideal balance. The high concentrations of Carmel shale and chalk rock mixed together with the loam in our extremely low vigor soils provide adequate drainage and the ideal environment for our vines to struggle in search of nutrients and water. The early ripening clones of chardonnay 96 and 15 and our pinot noir clonal selections of 777, Pommard, 115, and 828 were carefully selected and planted throughout the vineyard in the spring of 2008. Each distinct block of the vineyard was researched and planted with the goal of providing the optimum exposure, environment and soil depth for each vine to express its true character.

Viticultural Philosophy
Our wine growing philosophy is rooted in the ideal of respecting our land through sustainable farming and yielding to Mother Nature ‘s sequence. We manage our vines throughout the growing season with minimal irrigation. We recognize each growing season offers a unique challenge onto itself. Our goal is to grow wine grapes of incredible quality and thus yields are extremely small per acre. Through meticulous care and attention, while not intervening too much in the vineyard we strive to achieve a fine balance and harmony between man and vine.