History
The land came from a longtime abalone fishing family and carried a Portuguese dairy barn built in the 1920s; the winery now stands on its footprint with the original grain silo left in place. Shepher had lived on the neighbouring historic Gnesa Ranch since 2005 and began studying winemaking at UC Davis in 2004 before planting here. Greg Brewer of Brewer-Clifton made the debut 2016 vintage and helped design the winery, and Kat Gaffney has been winemaker since 2017 with Brewer consulting. The vineyard is CCOF certified organic and farmed without herbicide, and Ben Merz, who also runs Zotovich, is on the vineyard team. Shepher has said he does not intend to plant any more of the ranch.
The Site
Published planted acreage runs from thirty three to about forty depending on the source and the year; the estate's own variety breakdown sums to roughly thirty nine and a half. The vines sit between the Highway 246 and Santa Rosa Road corridors, just east of Zotovich, near the middle of the appellation rather than at either the cold western or warmer eastern extreme. Elevation reaches about 900 feet by the estate's own account, which puts it among the higher plantings in the AVA, though one source claims 1,100. Upper zones are soft, infertile sand; lower ones are a granular, diatom-rich sandy loam, and the property draws on the Drum Canyon aquifer.
Vines and Blocks
Six varieties, which is unusual discipline for a site this young: Pinot Noir at about fifteen acres, Chardonnay at eleven, Gruner Veltliner at five, Grenache at four and a half, Syrah at four, and a small parcel of Viognier. The Pinot Noir spans 2A, 115, 667, 777, 943, Pommard and Swan; the Chardonnay is Mount Eden and Wente material; the Grenache is clone 362 on sand. Blocks 20 and 21 are the south-facing Grenache, and the Gruner sits in the lowest and coolest corner of the property. The estate describes the planting as a deliberate matrix of clone, rootstock, orientation, elevation and soil.
The Wines
Spear bottles across all six varieties plus a sparkling wine. Liquid Farm has made a Spear Pinot Noir and Chardonnay since 2016, SAMsARA has taken Chardonnay, Grenache and Syrah since 2019, and the Gruner Veltliner has found a following through Solminer and Camins 2 Dreams. A Tribute to Grace, which makes nothing but Grenache, bottles the clone 362 block. For a vineyard first picked in 2016 that is a fast-assembled roster.