Lancel Creek Vineyard

So what's Zinfandel doing just a few miles from the coast, in cold and windy Pinot Noir country? Not so bad, actually.

Planted on a beautiful rolling hillside near Occidental in 2002, Ulises took advantage of the different exposures and soil types to experiment with different clones of Pinot Noir. On the very top of the ridge there is an area of reddish soil, with southern exposure, that just cried out for Zinfandel. Ulises was prevailed upon to plant just a couple of acres of St. Peters' Church clone Zinfandel here.

Two acres isn't a big risk, and in fact there are some old Zinfandel vineyards along Harrison Grade Road nearby. There's a mountain ridge to the southwest, protecting the vineyard from the brunt of the onshore wind and fog. By maintaining a low crop load, and as long as the usual warm coastal October arrives, Zinfandel does quite well here. The vineyard is owned by Gloria and Andre Frere.

One of Ulises' initial disappointments, was that the block was too small, and what no one wanted Zinfandel from this area. In 2004 his plans were to start his wine venture with a Rockpile Zin, however he added this vineyard at the last minute, as he didn't have much else to do with the fruit. It's possible now given the success of the initial vintage, that this tiny block of cool climate zin won't be grafted over to something else. In fact, Ulises is developing another vineyard in this area and may plant a few more acres of Zinfandel.

Ulises is making his first Pinot Noir, a joint venture with Mark Aubert, from this vineyard. Less than 25 cases, the wine will be bottled in the spring of 2007.