DAVID ARTHUR

The soils found on the Pritchard Hill area are very rocky and reddish-orange in color. This is what the casual observer sees immediately. They are all a result of the Sonoma volcanicism that intruded the valley some 3 to 6 million years ago. The rocks range in size from baseballs to Volkswagens (only heavier) and vineyard development often requires dynamite, rock crushers and rock hammers. These volcanic rocks are considered by geologists to be core-stones from the continuous volcanic rock flows of the past. We typically have at most two to three feet of top soil and these top soils area result of the slow weathering and the decomposition of the core rocks. There are three main soil series Sobrante, Hambright and Henneke that we grow our wine grapes on and all of which extract uniqueness to our wines... Our soils are composed of a fine silty loam mixed with fractured rock usually between 30% to 40%. These shallow top soils challenge vine's root systems to develop, thus slowing the..

Primary location: Saint Helena United States