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 across the eleven acres, on the sandy Goldridge ground that runs along this ridge.
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.