Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/314400
W i n e s & V i n e s J U n e 2 0 1 4 45 SIP (Sustainability in Practice) certifica- tion in 2013. The vineyards were planted at eleva- tions between 950 and 1,150 feet in Car- mel Valley and the hills of the Santa Lucia Highlands. A vineyard consultant picked Burgundy and California clonal selections to suit the vineyard's thin, well-drained sedimentary soils. Holman Ranch grows Pinot Noir on seven clones and makes one barrel each from six of them: Dijon Clones 777, 115 and 828, California's Swan Clone, UC Davis Pommard 4 and the ranch's propri- etary Hacienda Clone. (Vineyards were originally planted in 1989 by a previous owner.) "When planting a new vineyard to Pinot Noir, clonal selection is very important," Vita explains. "We wanted to have many different characteristics to choose from, coming in from the vineyard. Deciding which clones to plant and where to plant them were some of the most difficult deci- sions to make early on. We then had to wait three to five years to see if we guessed right. We did pretty well! With hindsight, we probably could have planted a little less 777 and more 828 and Swan." Since the 400-acre ranch includes a river- front parcel, water is available when needed. The ranch keeps holding tanks, an aerobic water-treatment plant and a drain- age pond with underwater aerators on- site. The setup was designed by Alberto Gonzalez, who works for the ranch. Building a cave winery The winery produces about 5,000 cases per year of estate-grown Pinot Noir, a Pinot Noir rosé, Pinot Gris, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay. Permitting and planning began when the winery was bonded in 2008, and the all-cave winery was completed in August 2012. The winery is completely under- ground in order to take advantage of the natural cooling and humidity held below. The caves were dug by Magorian Mine Services. All winemaking operations—from destemming to crushing and pressing, fer- mentation, aging and storage—take place in the cave, with only the mobile bottling occurring outside. The 3,000-square-foot area maintains a constant temperature of 58°F, and knowing that the winemaking would occur inside the cave, Elliott arranged for roof ventilation, plus two enormous CO 2 venting fans and a thor- ough CO 2 monitoring system throughout the caves. The system was designed and installed by Glen Marks of Refrigeration Technology Inc. The readout panel is outside the cave entrance, and all staff check the readings before entering. During fermentation season, regardless of what the CO 2 moni- toring readout says, Elliott adds the addi- tional safety practice of requiring workers to run the fans for 10 minutes before opening and entering the caves. At harvest, 6 to 8 tons of grapes are processed per day, coming in just four to six half-ton bins at a time. The grapes are handpicked between 7a.m. and noon on any given day. White grapes go into a Delta XPRO15 bladder press from Bucher Vaslin; the juice is then pumped to Westec fermenta- tom o'Neal/tgo photography All winemaking operations at Holman Ranch take place inside the cave. Vineyards in Carmel Valley and Santa Lucia Highlands range from 950 to 1,150 feet in elevation. CO 2 monitoring and ventilation systems protect workers in the cave environment. (Continued on page 48.) G R A P E G R O W I N G W I N E M A K I N G