Our Vines.
The Vineyards at GlenLyon
Squire and Suzy hand-planted their first vineyard to Cabernet in 1987 on a steep, west-facing hillside. It was the first quadrilateral-cordon, vertically-trellised vineyard in Sonoma Valley. After a few years of trial and error, we realized Cab didn’t grow perfectly in our area of Bennett Valley. Being huge Syrah fans, and realizing our climate here was more suited to a more delicate grape, we trained our vines over to Syrah. Our location is quite a special part of Sonoma Valley which overlaps in the Bennett Valley AVA, marked distinctly by a moderating effect of cool coastal fogs and breezes from the Pacific Ocean, which has indeed turned out a perfect place for growing Syrah.
Squire and Suzy made their first wines from these early harvests, but most of the fruit was sold to local wineries with names like Laurel Glen, Wellington and Ravenswood. In 2017, we planted a smattering of Grenache, and use a blend of the Grenache and Syrah grapes to make our Blush o’the Boar Rosé.
Ten years later, in 1997, we planted a five-acre vineyard to four-acres of Syrah and a single-acre of Cabernet Sauvignon. It begins at the highest elevation on the property and runs the length of three football fields, south toward Sonoma Mountain. In 2020, we planted a small Viognier vineyard of just around 100 vines for our grandchild, Hattie, called “Hattie’s Block.”
Sourced Fruit
Relationships between vintners & growers is one of the things that sets Sonoma Valley apart from the rest. We’ve fostered many relationships with other growers throughout the years, and we make a few wines from these incredible vineyards. Our Chardonnay fruit is beautifully farmed by Steve Hill of Parmelee-Hill Vineyards in the Carneros region of Sonoma Valley, which we’ve been making wine out of for the last 25 years. In 2018, after many years of begging and pleading from the family female conglomerate, Squire began making Pinot Noir with grapes from Parmelee Hill, and it’s become an instant customer favorite.
We also source fruit from a small vineyard called “Margaret’s Vineyard” at the base of Trinity Road in Glen Ellen. A grower friend recommended us to taste a home wine made from the vineyard and Squire instantly recognized the beauty of the Viognier. Right there on the spot he bought every ton from the 2.5 acre vineyard, and every year since for over a decade, and it continues to make a gorgeous wine that sells out every year.
Over the last few years, we have brought in a small ton and a half from the famous Rancho Salina Vineyard in the Moon Mountain AVA which straddles both Napa and Sonoma Valleys. The terraced vineyards are farmed by Don Pano at 280m elevation, grown in red volcanic soil that is perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon vines. We source this fruit for our 100% Cab “The Boar” which we mature for an additional few years before release in 30% new French oak.
