The Tasting Panel magazine

T here's an art to growing top-quality wine grapes on the windswept bench- lands of Monterey's Gabilan Range, and at Estancia's Pinnacles Vineyard, it's done with the help of the Australian pine (Casuarina equisetifolia). The pines—named for their drooping needles, which resemble the plumage of the cassowary bird—are planted to form dramatic clos, tree-walled blocks protected from the steady northwest winds that blow through the Salinas Valley from nearby Monterey Bay. The stately trees form such an effective barrier that they fos- ter microclimates several degrees warmer in the vineyard's most sheltered blocks. While the invasive roots of the closely-planted evergreens compete with nearby vines, the loss of a few rows seems a small price to pay given the protection they provide for an estate that exceeds 1,200 acres. Three Wineries in One In its entirety, Estancia encompasses three different estate vineyards, each contributing a unique terroir to the winery's portfolio. Up-valley from Pinnacles, which is planted to Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Pinot Grigio, lies the Stonewall Vineyard, 83 acres planted to Chardonnay and a selection of Pinot Noir clones in the cooler-climate Santa Lucia Highlands AVA. In Paso Robles, an hour and a half south, the 616-acre Keyes Canyon Vineyard is devoted to Cabernet Sauvignon and red Bordeaux varieties. Estancia crafts close to a million cases of wine each year; Chardonnay reigns as the estate's top vari- etal, followed by Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sau- vignon and relative newcomer Pinot Grigio, which is showing a fast rise in popularity. Under the direction of Scott Kelley, wine- making at Estancia takes place in three differ- ent buildings, dedicated to the production of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or Bordeaux varieties respectively; the facilities are routinely up- graded to drive advances in quality designed to showcase the vineyards' pristine fruit. Kelley's conviction that "wines are made in the fi rst ten days of their life" means the win- ery works 24 hours a day during harvest and uses TankNET, a web-based temperature and fermentation management system, to keep close tabs on fermentation data. Kelley's winemaking style—one that em- phasizes "a precise fruit and acid balance"— was infl uenced by his years working in Italy and Australia with Robert Mondavi's joint ventures and on the company's La Famiglia label in the U.S. A native of nearby Salinas, Kelley began working in the industry when he was in high school and went on to study fermentation science at U.C. Davis before working as a brewmaster and winemaker in Monterey County. Sustainable Expansion Gazing down at Pinnacles Vineyard from the estate's highest point on Burrito Hill, it's impossible not to wonder what it takes to achieve such a park-like oasis in an other- wise barren landscape. For vines to thrive in the free-draining decomposed granite soils of the Gabilan Range, irrigation during the growing season is essential; Estancia's deep wells alleviate worry about drought and the competition for water that plagues many producers in Northern California. This year alone, the winery planted 50 acres of select Pinot Noir clones and has another 50 acres each of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay in the planning stages. Despite appearances, it's the estate's unique climate that fosters balance; steady Central Coast Evergreen at Estancia story and photos by Deborah Parker Wong Nature and nurture strike a balance in Monterey Estancia winemaker Scott Kelley. 62 / the tasting panel / september 2009

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