Smith madrone vineyards

Cabernet Franc and Merlot were added in Petite Verdot was added in Pinot Noir was planted in but grafted over to Chardonnay in Stuart Smith chose specific slopes with different exposures for specific varietals when planting the vineyards: eastern exposure for Riesling, southern and western exposures across flat stretches for the Cabernet Sauvignon and the coolest north-facing slopes for the Chardonnay.

There are numerous historical sights on the ranch, as well as the huge array of natural beauty and wildlife. The underlying geology is the Franciscan Assemblage, unique to California coastal ranges, which includes altered mafic volcanic rocks, deep-sea radiolarian cherts, sandstones, limestones, serpentines, shales and high-pressure metamorphic rocks, all of them faulted and mixed in a seemingly chaotic manner as a result of tectonic plate activity.

Stags' leap winery

The soils are rocky, with some rocks as large as small cars. Stu Smith explains in this video. All wines are Spring Mountain District appellation, all wines are estate-grown and estate-bottled. The Madrone is an evergreen with a red-brown trunk and branches. In spring the tree bears lily-of-the-valley-like flower clusters; in fall orange-red berries appear.