Big Basin
Big Basin works with cool-climate Santa Cruz Mountains sites and reaches into the Central Coast for old-vine Rhône and Carignan fruit, producing Pinot Noir and Chardonnay alongside varieties most California producers overlook.
### History Big Basin was founded by Bradley Brown in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a region that has long attracted small producers drawn to its fog-chilled ridges and relative obscurity compared to Napa or Sonoma. Brown built the project incrementally, starting with estate fruit before extending his sourcing to growers whose old-vine material suited the kinds of wines he wanted to make: structured, relatively restrained by California standards, and reflective of specific sites rather than a house style imposed across the board. The winery takes its name from the Big Basin Redwoods area of the Santa Cruz Mountains, situating it geographically and tonally within one of California's quieter, more demanding appellations.
### Vineyards Big Basin draws from a mix of estate and contracted sites. Within the Santa Cruz Mountains, the vineyards sit at meaningful elevation with significant marine influence from the Pacific, producing a growing season defined by cool mornings, afternoon fog, and a long, slow ripening window. The Coastview Vineyard, sourced for both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, exemplifies this coastal character. Beyond the home appellation, Big Basin reaches into the Central Coast for old-vine material: the Wirz Vineyard in the Cienega Valley is a well-documented source of old Carignan, and the Rodnick.farm Vineyard supplies old-vine Mourvèdre. The Alfaro Family Vineyard and Lester Family Vineyard round out the Pinot Noir program, each bringing distinct site characteristics. Specific soil breakdowns and farming certification details for all sites are not fully documented, though the sourcing choices suggest a preference for growers who manage low-yielding, older plantings.
### Winemaking Big Basin's approach across both its cool-climate Burgundian varieties and its Rhône-leaning bottlings tends toward restraint in extraction and alcohol, letting the acidity and structure of the sites carry the wines rather than relying on concentration or heavy oak. The Pinot Noirs are vinified in a way typical of serious California practitioners working in this mold: native or minimally interventionist fermentation, a mix of whole-cluster and destemmed fruit depending on the vintage and vineyard, and aging in French oak with a proportion of new wood that does not dominate. The old-vine Carignan and Mourvèdre bottlings are among the more distinctive wines in the range, drawing on varieties that few California producers handle with much conviction. The rosé rounds out the lineup as a dry, site-inflected example rather than a commercial afterthought. Filtration and fining practices are not publicly detailed.
Wines
2023 Ros
2022 Viognier Brokentop Ranch
2022 Roussanne Homestead Block
2022 Pinot Noir Old Corral
2022 Chenin Blanc Rodnick.farm Vineyard
2022 Pinot Noir Ascona Vineyard
2022 Chardonnay Kimari Vineyard
2022 Chardonnay Coastview Vineyard
2022 Pinot Noir Coastview Vineyard
2022 Mourvdre Old Vine Rodnick.farm Vineyard
2022 Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyard
2022 Carignan Old Vine Wirz Vineyard
2022 Pinot Noir Dune and Mountain
2022 Pinot Noir Lester Family Vineyard
2022 Pinot Noir Rodnick.Farm Vineyard
2021 Viognier Brokentop Ranch
2021 Pinot Noir Dune and Mountain
2021 Homestead
2021 GSM Gabilan Mountains
2021 Chardonnay Coastview Vineyard
2021 Roussanne Homestead Block
2021 Pinot Noir Old Corral
2021 Pinot Noir Lester Family Vineyard
2021 Syrah (Santa Cruz Mountains)
2021 Carignane Old Vine Wirz Vineyard
2021 Mourvdre Old Vine Rodnick.farm Vineyard
2021 Pinot Noir Rodnick.Farm Vineyard
2021 Pinot Noir Ascona Vineyard
2021 Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyard
2021 Syrah Coastview Vineyard - Terraces
2021 Pinot Noir Coastview Vineyard
2021 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon Odeon Betchart Vineyard
2021 Syrah Sixty-Two Terraces
2020 Carignane Old Vine Wirz Vineyard
2020 Chardonnay Coastview Vineyard
2020 Chardonnay Howard Family
2019 Pinot Noir Lester Family Vineyard
2019 Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyard
2019 Pinot Noir Dune and Mountain
2019 Roussanne Homestead Block
2019 Chardonnay Coastview Vineyard
2019 Homestead
2019 Syrah (Santa Cruz Mountains)
2019 Pinot Noir Coastview Vineyard
2019 Grenache Grizzly
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Odeon Betchart Vineyard
2019 Altitude 2292
2019 Syrah Sixty-Two Terraces
2019 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock
2019 Pinot Noir Old Corral
2019 Chardonnay Howard Family
2019 Syrah Coastview Vineyard - Terraces
2019 GSM Gabilan Mountains
2018 Chardonnay Howard Family Vineyard
2018 Homestead
2018 Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyard
2018 Pinot Noir Dune and Mountain
2018 Roussanne Homestead Block
2018 Altitude 2292
2018 Syrah (Santa Cruz Mountains)
2018 Syrah Sixty-Two Terraces
2018 Grenache Grizzly
2018 Pinot Noir Coastview Vineyard
2018 Pinot Noir Old Corral Estate Vineyard
2018 Pinot Noir Lester Family Vineyard
2018 Chardonnay Coastview Vineyard
2018 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock
2018 GSM Gabilan Mountains
2018 Syrah Coastview Vineyard - Terraces
2017 Roussanne Homestead Block
2017 Syrah (Santa Cruz Mountains)
2017 Chardonnay Coastview Vineyard
2017 Pinot Noir Dune and Mountain
2017 Homestead
2017 Chardonnay Howard Family Vineyard
2017 Altitude 2292
2017 Pinot Noir Old Corral Estate Vineyard
2017 Pinot Noir Coastview Vineyard
2017 Pinot Noir Lester Family Vineyard
2017 Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyard
2017 Syrah Sixty-Two Terraces
2017 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock
2017 Grenache Coastview Vineyard
2017 Odeon
2017 Syrah Coastview Vineyard - Terraces
2016 Pinot Noir Coastview Vineyard
2016 Syrah Sixty-Two Terraces
2016 Pinot Noir Alfaro Family Vineyard
2016 Syrah Coastview
2016 GSM Gabilan Mountains
2016 Syrah Rattlesnake Rock
2016 Pinot Noir Old Corral Estate Vineyard
2016 Syrah Coastview Vineyard - Terraces