Our Wines

We currently have under cultivation 18 acres of pinot noir and one acre of chardonnay. We are all estate—we only make wine from grapes we grow ourselves. We put a lot of effort into maximizing the quality of the fruit we grow, and have developed some proprietary vineyard techniques to help us achieve this. Although we utilize traditional Burgundian techniques, we supplement these with state-of-the-art technology wherever we think it will enhance quality.

Our vineyard sites are heavily influenced by their proximity to the Monterey Bay, and resulting unusually long growing seasons.  We typically have bud break in early March, and finish harvest in late October or early November. This allows the fruit to ripen slowly, with complex flavors, balanced acidity, and full physiological ripeness. Following is a discussion of our winemaking philosophy and a brief description of each of our wines.

Winemaking Philosophy

Jim Schultze, the winemaker, describes it:
The most important part of my job as winemaker is what I do in the vineyard to ensure maximum grape quality and pristine condition at harvest. The French have a word, “vigneron,” that describes someone who grows grapes and makes wine, and I think this is a good way to think about our approach.  We view grape growing and winemaking as part of a single process—not two separate activities.

Fundamentally, we do everything we can in the vineyard to maximize fruit quality, and as little as possible in the winery that would interfere with or manipulate the fruit. Hence, we use no additives in the fermentation process such as enzymes or acidulation. We ensure that the fruit and wine receive very gentle handling at all times, so the winery is all gravity. For pinot noir particularly, any sort of rough handling or pumping destroys some of the more subtle nuances in the wine—and this is what great pinot is all about!

Similarly, I feel that pinot noir needs a lot of time in barrel for it to develop good structure and for the wine components, especially the tannins, to become fully integrated. The primary factor that we use to determine when to bottle is taste; I taste every barrel every month and bottle in small lots when I feel a wine is ready.  We have invested in a state-of-the-art bottling line to give us the flexibility to do this, and our wines typically are in barrel 17-to-27 months.

With our long barrel time, it is particularly important for our barrels to fit our approach. We use only French oak barrels, and we visit our barrelmakers in Burgundy each year to work with them on wood selection, toasting levels and the like. We want our barrels to enhance wine structure without overshadowing the delicate fruit flavors in the wine.

Finally, it is hard for us to think about wine without thinking about food; I think the right wine paired with the right food brings out subtle flavors in each that are not apparent in either on its own.  Our wines pair well with a wide variety of foods, and we always want our wines to be “food friendly,” and to be enjoyed. Although we are very serious about the care that goes into the growing and making of our wines, we don’t want to ever lose sight of this!

Windy Oaks Estate Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir is our primary focus. We planted our first three acres in the spring of 1996, and had our first harvest, the traditional "third leaf" in October of 1999. In subsequent years, we planted 14 additional acres of French pinot noir clones, and then one more acre of our special Burgundian clone in 2002. We produce about 2000 cases of pinot noir annually.

Our extreme minimal intervention winemaking approach emphasizes our unique terroir.  Our site is very unusual not only due to its long growing season, but because we are able to get our grapes physiologically ripe almost every year. This enables us to do whole cluster fermentations which can last over 30 days. Our wine goes into barrel without settling, and is on the fine lees throughout barrel aging (we typically do not rack our barrels). Our special French oak barrels allow us to barrel age our wine for an unusually long period—up to 27 months—building excellent structure and fully integrated tannins.

Our goal is to produce wines that reflect our unique terroir and have an excellent underlying structure with a velvety tannin profile and balanced acids that make a wine that is immediately enjoyable, but that will age well and become even more complex and compelling. Our growth has allowed us to produce a range of pinot noirs that reflect different characteristics of our unique vineyards or winemaking approach.

We currently produce nine estate-gown Pinot Noirs:

• Special Burgundy Clone – an extremely limited production wine (less than 50 cases) made from a French clone not normally available in the U.S.; exhibits complex dark fruit flavor profile with lingering finish
• Proprietor’s Reserve – selection of best barrels demonstrating spicy nose, elegant and complex red-and-dark fruit flavor profile with subtle nuances, broad mid-palate and long finish
• Wild Yeast – selection of four-to-six wild yeast barrels with elegant flavor profile emphasizing earthy, forest-floor, mushroom characters
• Whole Cluster – selection of four-to-six whole cluster barrels which emphasize the dark fruit complexity and tannin structure of these whole cluster fermentations
• Wood Tank – four barrel selection from our 1-ton French oak wooden fermenters, showing broad red and dark fruit flavors, round mid-palate and long finish
• Henry’s Block – selection of barrels from single clone 1-acre vineyard block showing brooding dark fruit flavors and round mid-palate
• Diane’s Block – selection of barrels from 4-acre block; lively red-and-dark fruit characters with well-integrated tannins
• Estate Cuvee – blend of five clones from different parts of vineyard; primarily red fruit characters, round mouth feel, nice finish
• Terra Narro -- our most recent pinot noir, showing good structure, bright red fruit character, pairs well with many foods

Windy Oaks Estate Chardonnay
To satisfy family demands for a white wine, we planted one acre to chardonnay in 1997. Originally intended for private family use, we are happy to report that this is a chardonnay very much worthy of special release. In the spring of 2003, we officially released our first vintage 2001 Chardonnay, and it has proved very popular. Depending on vintage yields, we produce between 60 and 140 cases annually.

Similar to our Pinots, we employ an all-gravity, minimal intervention approach.  Our Chardonnay is barrel fermented, roughly half wild yeast, and is barrel aged on its lees for 18 months in French oak, before bottling by gravity without filtering or fining.

The result is a pale blond wine which reflects the uniqueness of white wines from the Santa Cruz Mountains, with a minerally taste and complexity that resembles the best of the White Burgundies. As well, the 1,000 foot elevation and proximity to the ocean create a much more balanced wine than one expects in California chards, with the acids in harmony with the fruit.