Rebecca Gibb discovers Monte Bello is the Ridge of contented sighs.
No. 1. Always on a high:
The heart of Ridge Vineyards beats just 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean, in the inhospitable Santa Cruz Mountains. The AVA is said to be the coldest cabernet-sauvignon-producing area in California, thanks to cool maritime winds and vineyards at altitude. The original Monte Bello vineyard was planted near the top of Monte Bello Ridge in 1885. Today, the Monte Bello vineyards range from 1,300 feet all the way up to the original site at 2,700 feet above sea level.
No. 2. One producer, many sites
While Monte Bello is the birthplace of Ridge Vineyards – and home to perhaps the most elegant cabernet sauvignon in California – winemaker Paul Draper and his crew must also tend vineyards in Sonoma, the Alexander Valley and Paso Robles.
North of San Francisco lies zinfandel-focused Lytton Springs and the 130-year-old Geyserville Vineyard. Since purchasing Lytton Springs in 1991, Ridge has built a new winery, using traditional techniques such as straw-bale insulation and clay-soil plaster sourced from the surrounding vineyards. But a solar-paneled roof puts it firmly in the 21st century.
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