Soil and Climate

We believe the quality of our wines should allow our vineyard site to show through. We believe our soil and climate has a definite influence on our wines and we try to respect that influence; consequently, it is very important for us to grow our own grapes. And in the 2009 harvest all of our grapes will be estate grown when our latest vineyard starts producing. Our goal is to produce wines with a true expression of place, our place, our "terrior."

Our vineyard soil is made up of a fine sandy loam called Mayodan. This is a deep, well-drained, medium-textured soil over Triassic sandstone and shale, on broad, gently rolling ridges. This is unique to all of Yadkin County and ends about two miles from Hanover Park's vineyards.

During the growing season, our rainfall is less than most parts of the Yadkin Valley. Most of our storms come from the west, but when they hit the Yadkin River Basin and the Brushy Mountains, which slant northeast, those storms slide just north enough to miss us. Ninety-five percent of the summer storms miss us.

In good years, this means a very dry growing season which encourages the vine to pull deeply from the soil and produce grapes with concentration, intensity, and a true character of place. In order to further encourage the vine, our trellis system is horizontally divided. In other words, we are asking the roots of our vines to feed fourteen feet of canopy shoots and leaves rather than just seven feet.

We believe in cutting down the vigor of the vine by accepting the lack of water and by doubling the shoots and leaves the vine needs to support; therefore promoting the vine to pull deeply from our unique soil and produce grapes that makes a wine true to our place.