The Land

Grimm’s Bluff Vineyard sits 300 feet above the Santa Ynez River at 850 feet above sea level. The 16.5-acre vineyard is part of a 246-acre ranch at the Southeast corner of the Happy Canyon AVA.

About 75 acres of the ranch consisted of two mesas of gently rolling native grass. After testing various locations, it was determined that the prime location for the vineyard was 16.5 acres on the southern upper mesa closest to the bluffs overlooking the Santa Ynez River. The soil was found to be consistent across the vineyard area. The top 2-3 feet is mainly sandy loam above a 2-3 foot clay layer. Below the clay is round gravel, rock, and sand, which used to be part of the river bed thousands of years ago.

Warmer climatic conditions swayed us to plant Bordeaux varietals. We planted 65% with five clones of Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% with two clones of Sauvignon Blanc, and a tiny bit of Petit Verdot. Roughly 55% of the vineyard was planted on a 6’ by 3’ spaced trellis & 45% was planted “head-trained” on wider 8’ by 3’ spacing. 

Philippe Coderey, our Biodynamic® consultant, Rick Grimm, and a talented team of viticulturists studied the land for several months before our planting, which took place in February & March of 2012. Philippe continues to visit the vineyard monthly to spray his “teas and preparations” and offer his valued advice.

We all worked closely with Chalky Ridge Vineyard Management, our vineyard management company, to ensure we enabled the vineyard to produce the highest quality fruit we could produce from this land.

During the growing season, the land is blessed with long hot days, cooler nights, and a relieving afternoon wind blowing down the Santa Ynez Valley from the west. Biodynamic® and organic methodology has been practiced from inception. No herbicides, pesticides, or artificial fertilizers have been used in this vineyard.

Grimm’s Bluff is now CCOF-Certified Organic!

Explore our range of CCOF certified organic products at Grimmsbluff.com. From our fields to your table, we bring you the best of organic farming.