Spring has come early to California! Following an extremely mild winter, we’ve been enjoying beautiful, warm days and the fresh blooms of the new season. It’s particularly exciting this year because it means we’re getting a head start on phase two of our replanting project, which officially kicked off last week in La Perla Block 41. In 2025, we planted roughly 54 acres, and this year we intend to plant another 110 acres. This endeavor is both daunting and thrilling, and we find ourselves at a place where progress is visible, and the promise of what’s to come feels very real.

Checking In

Last year, we planted a combination of rootstocks and dormant benchgraft vines across almost all of Miravalle and parts of La Perla and Chevalier ranches. While the rootstocks have been nestling in the soil, the benchgrafts are already behaving like older plants. Many of these vines grew trunks last year and are quite tall now, stretching their thin, spindly shoots along the cordon. For these, we are focusing on training the shoots and encouraging a strong root system. Much like the regular season, we will be doing suckering passes and shoot thinning over the next few weeks. For the remainder, we will be grafting on the scions to the rootstocks, which will happen throughout March and April. This dual process allows us to get some blocks growing, while we make decisions about different varieties and heritage clones. 

A New Batch

This winter, we had 190,000 plants arrive on our doorstep. That means a lot of work over the next three months, and it’s an undertaking that will roll out across three tracks. For our first track, the soil is prepped and trellised and we’re putting the vines in the ground on a daily basis. Each plant is gently set by hand, with deliberate care given to hole depth and proper placement — ensuring the roots have a healthy trajectory from the start and guarding against j-rooting, which can compromise a vine's long-term development.

In parallel, on track two, we are prepping other blocks for planting. We’re laying out trellises, finishing irrigation installation, and measuring the soil content. Our irrigation system is extremely technical, allowing us to be drought tolerant and water agnostic, with a goal of making irrigation elective - but the process is intensive and precise. Everything must be in place to ensure the vines have the best start. 

Lastly, our third track gives us a bit more time since we’re working with rootstocks. These will go in later in the season, and by the end of July, we should have all of Chevalier planted (minus one 1.5-acre block next to Alba), as well as a vast majority of La Perla, and all of Miravalle.

Looking Ahead

Between 45 and 58 acres remain for next year — primarily in our Alba Ranch. These are the more technically demanding areas of the property: steep slopes, zones affected by slides, and sections where fire compromised underground drainage. We are taking our time here, working with experts, from geotechnical engineers down to a dedicated crew of goats and sheep, to restore and prepare this land properly. We are confident it will be in perfect shape for planting in 2027. When complete, we will have several varieties planted: predominately Cabernet Sauvignon, as well as Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Petite Verdot, Sauvignon Blanc, and Merlot. Our winemaking team at Atelier Melka, also recognized the potential for Semillon and Muscat. (While they cited our particular soils and aspects in the vineyard - we think it might also be their desire to make a Sauvignon Blanc in true Bordeaux style.) 

The Long Game

Ultimately, we believe that the result of this ambitious endeavor will yield some of the most interesting wines in Napa Valley. Our winemakers like to refer to it as a “spice rack” from which we will have an incredible amount of subtle nuances to choose from to create stunning estate wines. Already, our property naturally gives us immense diversity with over 225 acres of rolling mountain vineyards that range from 400 ft-1600 ft. Now, on top of 140 years of intimate understanding of this land, we are layering modern knowledge and technology to coax forward the best that this unique landscape can produce.