Our High Elevation Santa Cruz Mountains Vineyard

Estate Grown Pinot Noir & Syrah

93 points for the 2018 Pinot Noir, Wine Enthusiast
“Exceptional.” – Rusty Gaffney, ‘The Prince of Pinot’, in PinotFile about the 2009 Muns Vineyard Pinot Noir.

“An ‘outstanding Pinot Noir discovery.” – Christina Waters in the Santa Cruz Weekly about the 2009 Muns Vineyard Pinot Noir. ““From Muns Vineyard comes a spectacular example of Santa Cruz Mountains terroir. This could be one of the top 5 Pinot Noirs I’ve ever tasted.”

Welcome to a special Santa Cruz Mountains vineyard perched on a ridge top overlooking the Monterey Bay.

The first planting was done in late 1998 and the total 13 acres completed in 2005.  See the Description section for details on the one-acre blocks of various clones and root stocks.  The Pinot noir section describes the attributes of the four clones planted in this vineyard.  See the History section for more detail on the work done each year.  The original plan was to confine our efforts to the vineyard, growing premium Pinot Noir.  However, several years of experience and the first few harvests highlighted the need for our own label.  We needed to sell wine to pay for the vineyard.  Federal and California wine sales licenses were obtained in 2006 and initial sales began in 2007, based on our 2004 and subsequent vintages.  See the Wines section for more detail.

More information on the farming aspects is in the Installation, Viticulture and Equipment sections.

Mission

To grow premium Pinot noir grapes with exquisite attention to detail and quality.

Overview

Our vineyard is located on a ridge at 2600′ in the Santa Cruz Mountains facing Monterey Bay.  13 acres of the 77-acre property are setup with drip irrigation and a vertical trellis system and protected by a deer fence.  This infrastructure is left over from an initial installation back in the early 80’s that was abandoned before producing grapes.   Four varieties were planted at that time: Pinot noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot.  Previously, in the 70’s, the property was a Christmas tree farm, so young pine trees pop up everywhere, including in the vineyard!  We have meticulously removed the native Santa Cruz Mountains brush and refurbished row by row as we planted new vines.

We have planted a premium selection of Pinot noir French clones that provide the fastidious winemaker the means with which to produce award-winning vineyard-designated wines. The green-growing or dormant bench grafts are supplied by Caldwell Nursery (now Sunridge Nurseries) which specializes in ENTAV-certified vines.

We belong to the American Society of Enology and Viticulture (ASEV) and the Viticulture Association of the Santa Cruz Mountains (VASCM).  In addition, there is the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association (SCMWA, 831-479-9463), primarily for wineries in our AVA.

History

The vineyard had originally been planted back in the 1980s, before Ed bought the property.     The vineyard was laid out then with the 10′ row spacing and vine spacing at 7′.  Although 10′ between rows is wide by current thinking, Ed has been glad for the leeway it provides for the tractor, which slips occasionally on some of our steep hills.  When we started and replanted this old vineyard we maintained the 7′ vine spacing on the first 2.5 acres we planted, but soon interplanted between the vines at a spacing of 3.5′, and continued that spacing throughout the vineyard.

 

To Order

The Winemaking

Our Pinot Noirs are a blend of four Dijon Pinot Noir clones designated for premium dry wine: 114, 115, 667 and 777.  In addition, these four clones are planted on three different root stocks.  What Bordeaux achieves with blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot, we achieve wholly within the Pinot Noir variety, using clone/rootstock combinations which each exhibit unique characteristics.  The resulting Pinot Noir “blend” is a complex portfolio of rich color, flavors, aromas and robust structure.  At harvest, the crushing operation gently separates berries and stems producing the must that is fermented in chilled stainless steel tanks.  Some juice is drawn off and cold-fermented for our Rose‘.  After fermentation is complete the juice is gently pressed off to settling tanks, then gravity-fed into oak barrels, 30% of which are new Hungarian oak, with its tight grain that imparts more subtle tannins.  As the wine ages in the barrels, for 16-18 months, it is stirred occasionally but no racking is done.  This imparts soft tannins that accentuate, but not dominate, the wine.  Finally, the wine is gravity-fed into the bottling line so as to minimize “bottle-shock”. This minimal-intervention winemaking style along with the barrel choice supports and highlights the delicate nuances of flavor in the Pinot Noir (and our Syrah) .

Our Syrah is a blend of three different Dijon clones: 383, 470, 525.

Muns logo over scenery