Vineyard 150 YEARS OF GRAPE GROWING

Nestled in a narrow riparian canyon below the iconic Palisades cliffs east of Calistoga, our vineyard is home to Palisades Canyon wines. The vineyard is bisected by Horns Creek, named for the rancher who planted the canyon’s first vines in the 1870s. Today, we live among our vines and steward the vineyard and more than 700 estate acres of rugged, natural splendor that surround it.

Horn’s original four-acre vineyard has grown to 17.5 acres, planted today to Chenin Blanc, Petite Sirah, and Cabernet Sauvignon, with small blending blocks of Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Our vines benefit from warm summer days, cold canyon nights, and mid-afternoon summer breezes caused by thermals rising off the rocky cliffs.

Planted in Horns Creek’s alluvial fan, the loamy soils of our creek-side blocks are black with organic matter washed down over the ages from the canyon forests above. In the blocks farthest from the creek, on the gentle slopes of the hillside, the soils are red and iron-rich, comprised of the decomposed remnants of volcanic bedrock that we see in The Palisades.

The Petite Sirah vines are the oldest on the property, grafted onto St. George rootstock between 1964 and 1975. They are planted on an 8’ by 8’ grid, head trained in the shape of a gobelet and dry farmed. With generous spacing, our vines thrive on less water, absorb more nutrients, and deplete soil less than closely planted trellised vines.

Impressed by the resilience of our old vines with their deep roots and sprawling canopies, we have chosen to farm following the heritage traditions of Napa Valley. Our new vines, like our old, are planted on St. George rootstock. The Cabernet is grafted using budwood passed down from storied Napa Valley vineyards. Hand-split cedar stakes support the vines, not wire and steel. While our new vines require irrigation until they are established, over time, we “train” their roots to enable them to thrive with little or no irrigation.

As they search for water deep in the ground, the roots of our dry-farmed vines access nutrients and minerals not available near the surface, contributing to the complex flavors and minerality of our fruit. The open, free-form canopies that result from head training ensure that grape clusters are exposed to dappled sunlight, promoting the even development of sugars and phenolic compounds. When combined, head training and dry farming synergize to yield fruit of premium quality with the distinct character of our canyon site.