It all began three to five million years ago when the Russian River Valley was a shallow inland sea that slowly tilted and drained into the ocean. The older geology of this area looks like a quilt with patches of varying soils, a mixture of ocean floor rocks faulted together as the Pacific Ocean plate slid eastward under the edge of the North American plate along the California coastline. The two predominant soil types of the Russian River Valley are the Franciscan Melange, a rocky mix of sandstone, shale and serpentine; and the Goldridge Series, a fine-grained and well-drained, sandy clay loam soil.
Emeritus Vineyards owns and farms three vineyards: Hallberg Ranch in the Russian River Valley (which produces the Hallberg Ranch wine that is 95% of the EV production), McDonald Mountain, also in the Russian River Valley (which is a recent planting, and from the grapes are currently sold to other producers) Both vineyards are subject to the Marine Layer, which cools the grapes to under 50 deg F., at night during the critical maturation phase, late July to September. The third vineyard produces the Emeritus William Wesley, and is actually two parcels about two miles apart, in the Sonoma Coast appellation, seven miles inland, at an elevation of 967 feet, primarily on 15%—30% slopes.
All three vineyards are on Goldridge soils (one to four feet of sandy–clay loam). All are planted at “close spacing,” as in Burgundy, about 2200 vines per acre, and are trained and pruned according to the Burgundy AOC model, Guyot—a single cane of about six to eight buds, producing in the end, about 16—18 clusters per vine.
Emeritus employs sustainable farming practices, mostly known by the term biodynamic.
Specific Vineyard Information:
