In 1999 the Sylvia Drive vineyard was planted by Phil Coturri and managed for a decade, until Tom and Michele ( Our winemakers) moved back from New Zealand. Tom and Michele have been managing the vineyard since 2011 and in 2012 made the first Gordenker Sylvia Drive Cabernet Sauvignon.

It originally was 12 acres but poor rootstock selection meant that 6 had to pulled out in 2006. It was planted to 100% 337 Cabernet Sauvignon on a variety of rootstocks.

The vineyard

The vineyard itself is at the base of the Mayacamas Mountain range that separates Sonoma Valley from Napa Valley. It is located in the Moon Mountain District. This AVA (American Viticulture Area) is known for it's rocky mountainous sites. The vineyard is close planted, trained to 2-cane VSP. It is a very low vigor site with next to no top-soil, low organic matter, heavy red clay and straight in to the bedrock of volcanic andesite and basalt with a solid streak of rhyolite throughout. This makes the vines struggle and ripen extremely late and can be the last picked vineyard in Sonoma. It is the perfect spot for Cabernet, with south-west facing slope, rows running north-south and perfect spacing. We target low acre yields to get superior concentration that you can taste, and the rocky soils give a verve and complexity along with an explosion of fruit that is hard to find.