History
Bob Stevens planted the vineyard in 1991. Steve Lyons bought the ranch in 2007 and expanded the planting by about a third, to 108 acres. In 2015 a 400-acre conservation easement over part of the ranch was donated to the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County. Graham Tatomer's Riesling from here, off clone 239, is the bottling that made the site's name.
The Site
The vineyard sits a few miles west of Los Alamos on a 3,654-acre ranch in the Solomon Hills between Santa Maria and Los Alamos. Soils are Arnold sand and Betteravia sandy loam over gravelly alluvial deposits. No sub-appellation applies here: the wines carry the Santa Barbara County appellation, and there is no Los Alamos Valley AVA, the nearest carved appellation being the separate and smaller Alisos Canyon.
Vines and Blocks
One hundred and eight acres, with Riesling the variety the site is known for and Pinot Noir and other cool-climate plantings alongside it.
The Wines
Tatomer's Kick On Ranch Riesling leads. The Ojai Vineyard, Whitcraft and Shirah also buy here.