Hover over the blocks on the interactive map for detailed information
WINEGROWING
Every Alta Colina wine is estate grown and produced. That means we personally grow every grape and vinify every bottle. The wine never leaves our premises until you purchase a bottle and take it home.
Three generations of the Tillman family depend on the Alta Colina Vineyard—we intimately understand that we must sustainably farm our property. Not only to continue growing world-class wine grapes, but also to ensure that Alta Colina Vineyard will remain productive for future generations. Accordingly, we farm our property organically (not certified)–no synthetic inputs are allowed unless absolutely every organic option has been exhausted. Our commitment is not only to our family but to the land and the grapes so we can continue making wine of the highest quality. We know that the vineyard determines the wines from year to year so we have focused on developing Alta Colina with a total commitment to quality.
Grapes are an amazingly resilient plant, so our real challenge is to farm the vines in a way that yields the very best fruit. The first step in getting this right is the site. We planted Alta Colina Vineyard off Adelaida Road in the Coast Range in an area noted for producing premium wine grapes. Our property varies in elevation from 1600 to 1780 feet, with steep north and south facing slopes. Soils are shallow, well drained loam with a high concentration of fractured shale throughout the growth horizon. Alta Colina lies on the hilltops of a 130 acre ranch, with 31 acres of grapes. There are 15 blocks—each carefully matched with the optimum rootstock, variety, spacing, trellis, and orientation for the soil in that particular block.
The first winter after planting, we seeded cover crops between vine rows and around the edges of blocks. By late spring the native grasses (a blend of nearly 20 different species) overwhelmed the seeded crop, so we now depend strictly on native species for our cover crop. We mow as soon as the ground has dried to control the vigor of the native cover crop to preserve as much ground water for the vines as possible, and to eliminate habitat for ground squirrels and gophers that gnaw on our vines.
We meet most vine nutrition needs through the application of compost in the early winter months, so the rains can distribute the organic matter throughout the root zone. We collect leaf blades at bloom for laboratory analysis to assess actual plant nutrition. We deliver additional fertilizer through the drip irrigation system as needed on an individual block basis. All fertigation utilizes organic preparations such as fish oils or compost tea. On some occasions, foliar sprays of nutrients are applied to optimize micro-nutrient requirements.
Our philosophy is to keep the vines in balance using the most natural approach that we can. Block 2 (Syrah) and half of block 11 (Mourvedre) have been farmed fully organically since the vineyard’s inception. As of 2013 we have farmed the entire Vineyard organically.
At minimum, we make 4 passes through the vineyard each season. In March, we prune the vines to set up the canopy and to determine the maximum fruit load for the coming year. Later in the spring, we go back through to thin shoots, removing pesky buds that have pushed in undesired locations. During the summer, we make a pass to drop fruit clusters above the quantity we deem appropriate for top wine quality. And finally, we hand harvest in the fall and take our crop to the winery.
We sell a portion of our grapes to Paso Robles’ best wineries. The remainder is utilized in the Alta Colina program. We hope the personal dedication and investment is apparent as you taste all of the Alta Colina wines.
PASO ROBLES VITICULTURAL AREAS
American Viticultural Area labeling helps tell a story of a region and guide wine trade and enthusiasts in understanding growing conditions and potential expectations of a specific region. The 11 viticultural areas of Paso Robles demonstrate the diversity of Paso Robles Wine Country and provide information to consumers and trade about what is in the bottle, helping them make a better informed buying decision.
Alta Colina Vineyard is right, smack in the in the Adelaida District.
“Paso Robles was the largest un-subdivided AVA within California at approximately 614,000 acres. By contrast, the Napa Valley appellation (which includes sixteen AVA’s delineated within its bounds) is roughly one-third the area at 225,000 acres. Since the Paso Robles AVA was established in 1983, Paso Robles has grown to encompass 200+ wineries and 32,000 vineyard acres. This vineyard acreage is spread over a sprawling district roughly 42 miles east to west and 32 miles north to south. Average rainfall varies from more than 30 inches a year in extreme western sections to less than 10 inches in areas farther east. Elevations range from 700 feet to more than 2400 feet. Soils differ dramatically in different parts of the AVA, from the highly calcareous hills out near us to sand, loam and alluvial soils in the Estrella River basin. The warmest parts of the AVA accumulate roughly 20% more heat (measured by growing degree degree days) than the coolest; the average year-to-date degree days in the Templeton Gap since 1997 is 2498, while in Shandon far out east it’s 2956. This difference in temperatures is enough to make the cooler parts of the AVA a Winkler Region II in the commonly used scale of heat summation developed at UC Davis, while the warmest sections are a Winkler Region IV.”
–As Jason Haas of Tablas Creek nicely summed it up in his September 28, 2013 blog post.
“Paso Robles was the largest un-subdivided AVA within California at approximately 614,000 acres. By contrast, the Napa Valley appellation (which includes sixteen AVA’s delineated within its bounds) is roughly one-third the area at 225,000 acres. Since the Paso Robles AVA was established in 1983, Paso Robles has grown to encompass 200+ wineries and 32,000 vineyard acres. This vineyard acreage is spread over a sprawling district roughly 42 miles east to west and 32 miles north to south. Average rainfall varies from more than 30 inches a year in extreme western sections to less than 10 inches in areas farther east. Elevations range from 700 feet to more than 2400 feet. Soils differ dramatically in different parts of the AVA, from the highly calcareous hills out near us to sand, loam and alluvial soils in the Estrella River basin. The warmest parts of the AVA accumulate roughly 20% more heat (measured by growing degree degree days) than the coolest; the average year-to-date degree days in the Templeton Gap since 1997 is 2498, while in Shandon far out east it’s 2956. This difference in temperatures is enough to make the cooler parts of the AVA a Winkler Region II in the commonly used scale of heat summation developed at UC Davis, while the warmest sections are a Winkler Region IV.”
–As Jason Haas of Tablas Creek nicely summed it up in his September 28, 2013 blog post.