History
The late Warren Dutton developed the vineyard between 1999 and 2000. It operates today as Occidental Ridge Vineyard LLC. Rivers-Marie released its first Occidental Ridge Pinot Noir in 2005 and Failla bottles a designate as well; the vineyard sells fruit rather than making wine.
The Site
Eleven acres at roughly 800 feet on gentle northwest-facing slopes about seven miles from the Pacific, on Goldridge and Sebastopol soils. Yields swing hard from vintage to vintage, from as few as nine tons to as many as twenty-four in consecutive years, which is the coastal weather rather than the farming.
Vines and Blocks
Pinot Noir, in blocks of Dijon clones 115, 667 and 777 plus heritage selections, on Goldridge and Sebastopol soils that vary across the site.
The Wines
Rivers-Marie and Failla both bottle an Occidental Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir, which makes the site a useful direct comparison of two winemaking hands on identical fruit.