Saint Marks’s Vineyard is owned by Mark and Ginny Weston. The property is located in a cool section of the Russian River Valley. Prior to prohibition the property had been a vineyard, but when the Weston’s purchased the property, it was covered with a neglected and dying orchard full of cherries, prunes, apples and pears. They have spent their time bringing the property back to life, and started planting grape vines in 2000. Mark and Ginny planted all the vines themselves. The property is lovingly tended and some of the old fruit trees happily coexist next to the vines. The fruit from the trees goes to Chez Panisse in Berkeley. 

Seven of the 37.5 acres are planted to Syrah (clone 174 on 110R rootstock). Because this is a cool hillside vineyard with sandy, loam soil, the grapes ripen slowly and yields are low. The vineyard is sustainably farmed with added fertilizer coming from their horses, Jake and Gus. The  grapes are also dry farmed, meaning the vines are not irrigated and rely solely on ground water for their moisture. This leads to smaller grapes with more concentrated flavor.

In 2008 we harvested one ton of grapes from the vineyard. The Syrah made from these grapes will be blended with other lots of Syrah for the upcoming 2008 The Tentacle, which is due for release in late Summer 2010.