Our Vineyards
Lost Canyon Winery’s focus is producing small lots of vineyard designated Pinot Noir and Syrah from some of the finest vineyards in the Russian River, Sonoma Coast, and Los Carneros appellations.
ALEGRIA VINEYARD
In the Russian River Valley appellation, near the town of Healdsburg in Sonoma County, Alegria Vineyards has been producing superlative wine grapes for more than a century. In ancient times the meandering Russian River formed the vineyard’s rolling landscape and deposited the gravelly clay-loam soils that nourish our vines. Fog and cool breezes from the Pacific Ocean reach up the Russian River Valley to the vineyard, producing cool nights and foggy mornings that provide the long growing season ideal for premium quality grapes. The vineyard was planted in 1991 using primarily the Lakeview Selection Syrah clone. The vineyard uses the Geneva Double Curtain trellis system with 6’ by 11” spacing. The particular climate, soil, and topography of Alegria Vineyards combine to produce award-winning wines with luscious fruit, complexity, and balance.
Learn more about the Alegria Vineyard.
CATIE'S CORNER
Catie's Corner is located in the Russian River Valley north of River Road and east of Windsor.
This is another Saralee Kunde vineyard and is named after her daughter, Catherine Elizabeth "Catie" Kunde. The vineyard was first planted in 1988. The rootstock was budded to Viognier in 1995. The vineyard is planted in 9.3 acres of 01 Condrieu clone. In 2005 Lost Canyon Winery produced our first premium wine from this vineyard. We were so excited with the results that we are increasing our production for the 2006 season.
Learn more about Saralee's Vinyard.
DUTTON RANCH – MORELLI LANE VINEYARD
Morelli Lane is a 24-acre vineyard of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, planned is 1995, plus Zinfandel, planted in 1935. The vineyard site is located on Stoetz Ridge, the second ridge in from the Pacific Ocean. Being approximately six miles as the crow flies from the coastline, Morelli Lane is heavily influenced by the marine weather patterns. Cool night time temperatures are prevalent, summertime fog is the norm but, being on the ridge, (approximately 1100’ elevation), during the harvest season, the fog breaks early to allow for the warm daytime temperatures needed for maximum color and flavor development. Morelli Lane is one of the most southwestern vineyards in the Russian River Valley Appellation and is on the western edge of Sonoma's Green Valley Appellation. Soil type here is the Gold Ridge series of fine sandy loam of 18” to 36” in depth. This soil type allows for the excellent root development and drainage but with enough loam for moisture availability during the growing season. This allows for minimal irrigation, just enough to maintain great fruit integrity. There are 5 clones of Pinot Noir; two Dijon clones (113 and 115), Pommard 5, the Swan clone, and an Old Berringer selection. The production level in 2002 was 3.2 tons per acre. The vineyard is cordon trained on a VSP trellis system and planted in a north-northwest by south-southeast row direction.
Learn more about Dutton Ranch.
LAS BRISAS VINEYARD
The Las Brisas Vineyard is located in Carneros in Sonoma County. Carneros is the Spanish word for ram. This references the many sheep ranches that used to populate this area. The Carneros Appellation is the farthest south of the appellations in Sonoma and Napa. The temperatures aren’t nearly as warm as those farther north, the wind blows more frequently, and the fog lingers longer. All of the qualities are perfect for growing exceptional Pinot Noir. Francis Mahoney planted Las Brisas. Francis was one of the early pioneers of clonal research. The results have lead to vineyards like Las Brisas that have an assortment of 7 complementary clones that produce exceptional Pinot Noir fruit. These low yielding vines are actually placed closer together to enhance the overall yield of the vineyard without compromising the quality. Our choice was to use a combination of the Dijon clone 115 and the UCD 18 clone. This combination has created a Pinot Noir that is deeper in color, flavor, and complexity.
Learn more about the Las Brisas Vineyard.
SARALEE’S VINEYARD
Set against a background of stately ancient oaks, Richard and Saralee chose this 275 acre site in the Russian River Valley appellation for it’s cool climate, rich fertile valley soil and rolling hills. The site was first planted in 1989 and has evolved to it’s 275 acres of vines today. Of the 275 acres planted 50 of them our dedicated to Pinot Noir. The Pinot Block where our grapes come from was planted in 1997. The soil composition is a sandy- clay- loam the matches up extremely well with Pinot Noir vines. The vineyard has a Northern/Southern exposure and is at 150 ft. above sea level. The trellis system used is VSP and Quadrilateral. Our grapes are a combination of Dijon clones 115 and 777. Saralee’s roster of customers is a who’s who of winemaking in the Russian River Valley and Sonoma County.
Learn more about Saralee's Vinyard.
STAGE GULCH VINEYARD
The Sonoma Coast is the largest single appellation in Sonoma County. It extends from the county borders of Napa in Carneros to the East, Marin County to the South, and the Pacific Ocean to the West. There are a wide variety of microclimates and soil types. The Stage Gulch vineyard is located high on a hill near the Petaluma Gap. It is located in one of the coolest growing regions of Sonoma County and is always amongst the last fruit to ripen. This cool climate allows for a long growing season and for the flavor components and tannins to fully ripen. The Syrahs from this vineyard are dark in color with intense flavors, soft textures, and exceptional balance.
Learn more about the State Gulch Vineyard.
TRENTON STATION VINEYARD
We are excited to announce that we have added the Trenton Station Vineyard from Saralee’s Vineyards, to our list of outstanding vineyards. Trenton Station is Saralee’s newest endeavor. The vineyard is 46.5 acres in size with plantings of Pinot Gris, Pinot Noir, Viognier, Zinfandel, and Syrah. We will be making a vineyard designated Syrah from this vineyard that promises to bring long hang times and intense flavors from this Russian River hillside location. Our first harvest from Trenton Station was October with release of this wine scheduled for Spring 2005.
Learn more about Saralee's Vinyard.
WIDDOES VINEYARD
The Widdoes Vineyard is a 23-acre block of Dutton Ranch planted to Pinot Noir. The vineyard is located in a very cool section of Green Valley abutting the Atascadero Creek at the town of Graton. The vineyard is included in the Russian River Valley appellation. Shirely and Don Widdoes own the Vineyard. The property was planted by Warren Dutton and has been farmed by Dutton for over 20 years. The slightly rolling hills, sandy loam soil with a small amount of heavier clay, the cool temperate growing conditions, and dry-framing allow the grapes to obtain terrific concentration through extended hang-time. This vineyard of Beringer clone Pinot Noir grapes consistently produces premium wines of finesse and balance with earthy character.
Learn more about Dutton Ranch.
