In the News

California's best lesser-known vineyards

Jon Bonné, SF Chronicle | June 2009

Alder Springs Vineyard This is the vineyard a wine cooler built.

California Cooler, specifically, co-founded by one Stuart Bewley in his hometown of Lodi. Bewley sold the brand to Brown-Forman in 1985. He bristled at working for a big corporation. Just 32 at the time, he had enough cash to get out. "I decided I was going to get into just completely the opposite end of the wine business," he says.

So he circled the globe, trying to suss out what made a great wine - and a great vineyard. No surprise in his conclusion: a marginal, cool climate; high altitudes; and complex soils.

That led to a lengthy hunt before he found himself in Laytonville in 1991. Once you've finally pinpointed the location of Bewley's sprawling, remote ranch - about three hours up Highway 101 into Mendocino's more remote corners - it seems thoroughly improbable he ever would have found it. "We were an hour's drive from the nearest vineyard when we started Alder Springs," Bewley says.

Just 7 miles from the Mendocino shoreline, at elevations climbing up to 2,700 feet, Alder Springs could be yet another steep site in the coastal mountains. Not quite. A 4,000-foot ridge to the west blocks the most severe weather. Afternoon cooling and dramatic temperature swings create a blend of coastal and inland characteristics.

Meticulously conceived farming is Alder Springs' hallmark; that, combined with its size, hastens a comparison: You might regard it, fortuitously, as a Bien Nacido of the North. There are 20 blocks with a dizzying array of grape clones - Syrah alone has at least eight - plus more than 15 rootstocks, all meticulously trimmed to notably low yields, under 2 tons per acre.

To tend the sprawling, steep site, Bewley has a full-time crew of 15, all of whom live on the ranch. (Bewley and his family live in Belvedere; he splits his time.) He estimates each vine is touched 13 times each season. As a result, winemakers have a virtual menu of grapes and parcels to choose from. Jeff Ames' Rudius label, for instance, makes three vastly different Alder Springs Syrahs.

The attention to detail has drawn many fans. Bewley's client list is a roster of top Northern California Syrah and Pinot makers, including Les Behrens of Behrens & Hitchcock (now Erna Schein); Pax Mahle; and Copain's Wells Guthrie. It's no surprise that Bewley must OK each wine that uses the Alder Springs name.

A long way, obviously, from the wine cooler days. But then, Bewley's ambitions are sizable. Alder Springs is a laboratory where he can keep puzzling through endless combinations of grape, site and soil. "Our goal," he says, "is to make the greatest wine in the state."

Location: Northern Mendocino County, outside Laytonville
Size: 140 vineyard acres on 6,000 acres
Soils: Low-vigor and little clay, with decomposing sandstone and fractured rock below
First planted: 1993
Claim to fame: Syrah, also Pinot Noir
Signature wine: 2007 Arnot-Roberts Alder Springs Vineyard Mendocino County Syrah ($60). On the more stoic side of Syrah, though at 13.7 percent alcohol it's riding more on aromatic intensity than power thanks in part to 100 percent whole-cluster fermentation. Also: 2006 Patz & Hall Alder Springs Pinot Noir ($60) and 2006 Rudius Alder Springs-West Block Mendocino Syrah ($45).
Labels include: Copain, Patz & Hall, Rudius, Arnot-Roberts, Roessler, Relic, Vie