| ASR Estate Vineyard |
 Adelaida Springs Ranch (ASR) Vineyard is the estate home of Rangeland Wines. Located 12 miles west of Paso Robles and about 12 miles from the Pacific Ocean, our 40 acre vineyard is approximately 1,700 feet above sea level in the southern Santa Lucia Range. ASR Vineyard is set in over 1000 acres of rolling, pristine oak woodland, in a mountain valley rich with wildlife and grazing cattle.
ASR vineyard was originally planted to 30 acres in 2002, including 20 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, with smaller blocks of Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. The balance of the original planting is two acres of dry farmed, head trained Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. Several acres of Rhone varieties, including Syrah, were planted in 2008 and 2009. Most of the site faces southwest and experiences hot summer days cooled by afternoon and evening sea breezes from the Templeton Gap. The exposure, altitude and largely frost-free microclimate leads to early bud break and harvest. During the first five vintages, all of our Cabernet has been harvested in September. Since the ranch is just two ridges east of the Pacific Ocean, average annual rainfall is over 30 inches. The upper, more easterly, blocks are predominantly dark, calcareous clay loams (Linne Calodo, Diablo, Clear Lake). These heavy, potentially vigorous soils are moderated by high to very high concentrations of free lime and abundant rocky outcrops. The lower elevation portion of the vineyard is a fine-silty loam (Kreyenhagen) derived from brown sandstone of the Franciscan formation. There are areas of very low vigor outcrops of serpenitic rocks on these lower slopes, which hold down yields and make for challenging farming. Spacing is predominantly 8’ x 5’ on a diagonal shoot position trellis, with two pairs of foliage catch wires and cross arms to allow the upper canopy to better shade the fruit from the intense Paso Robles heat and sun exposure. One block of Zinfandel and Petite Sirah is spaced 8’ x 8’, head pruned. Most of the fruit from Adelaida Springs Ranch is sold under contract to fine wineries such as Vina Robles, which makes the award-winning ASR vineyard designated Suendero wine, a Cabernet blend. From 2004 to 2011, we sold much of the estate fruit to Justin Vineyards for their Isosceles Bordeaux blend. We also sell grapes to Venteux Vinyeards, Thacher Winery, and The Farm Winery, an exciting startup with ties to Achaval-Ferrer of Argentina. Some additional small lots of fruit may be available for sale and Adelaida Springs Ranch has more plantable ground for development. |