History
The ranch belonged, according to the Martinelli family, to George Seafelt, an immigrant who lived off the land and was reputed to keep money buried on his property. He was killed by a felon and the felon's girlfriend, who had been hired as ranch hands and were after his money. The Martinellis, whose Blue Slide Ridge and Charles Ranch holdings flank this stretch of road, took on the property in 2009 and planted Pinot Noir in 2010.
The Site
The vineyard is planted between Three Sisters Vineyard and Blue Slide Ridge, on the ridge-line inside the Fort Ross-Seaview appellation. Wild thyme grows between the rows, which gave the family both the name and, by their own admission, the pun.
Vines and Blocks
Pinot Noir planted in 2010 on 420A and 3309 rootstock, budded to clone 943 and Pommard selections.
The Wines
Martinelli bottles Wild Thyme as a single-vineyard Fort Ross-Seaview Pinot Noir, a young-vine counterpart to the family's neighboring Blue Slide Ridge fruit: coastal, savory, and herb-tinged in a way the name makes literal.