Earl Stephens Vineyard

Earl Stephens planted his vineyard in 1997, transitioning from growing apples to grapes. Located in Green Valley, about eight miles inland from the Pacific, in the northern end of Green Valley and the southwest portion of the Russian River Valley. The vineyard has four different clones of grapes: Dijon 115, 667, 777, and Pomard 4. The land has three different types of soil—Gold Ridge, Franciscan, and riparian—with three different exposures: northwest, southwest and western. The vineyard has an elevation difference of 125 feet, with thick gold ridge soil at the top (decomposed volcanic ash), changing to Franciscan shale hard pan, and riparian at the bottom. These multiple variables create wines of distinct complexity and character.