Vineyards
The Talley family owns six unique vineyards comprising 190 acres in Southern San Luis Obispo County. Rincon Vineyard, Rosemary's Vineyard, Monte Sereno Vineyard, and Las Ventanas Vineyard are located in the Arroyo Grande Valley. Oliver's Vineyard and Stone Corral Vineyard are located in the neighboring Edna Valley. The Talley family also owns the 40-acre Hazel Talley Vineyard in the Templeton Gap area of Paso Robles. Cabernet franc thrives at this site, which also includes syrah, cabernet sauvignon, viognier, Grenache and petite sirah.
Vineyards in the Arroyo Grande Valley
Rincon Vineyard
Rincon Vineyard is located eight miles northeast of the Pacific Ocean and is the oldest of the vineyards with the first plantings dating to 1982. It is named for the historic Rincon Adobe that marks the entry to the estate and is pictured on the Talley Vineyards label. The vineyard is planted with 49 acres of chardonnay, 33 acres of pinot noir, and 2 acres of syrah on two steep southerly facing hillsides that rise from the floor of the Arroyo Grande Valley. Many of the vines in the Rincon Vineyard grow on their own roots and are low in vigor and yield small quantities of fruit with great concentration and complexity.
The soil in the Rincon Vineyard is shallow, and is composed of loam and calcareous clay. This soil type is reminiscent of the vineyards of Burgundy, particularly those located in the Côte de Nuits. The shallow soil, coupled with the steepness of the hills, facilitates drainage and results in chardonnay and pinot noir yields averaging less than three tons per acre.
Rosemary's Vineyard
Rosemary's Vineyard is located on a hillside surrounding Rosemary Talley's home about one mile west of the Rincon Vineyard and is characterized by white, rocky sandstone and loam soil, with some clay in the subsoil. Like the Rincon Vineyard, Rosemary's Vineyard is steep and very well drained. Because it is closer to the ocean, it is slightly cooler. Yields average less than three tons per acre.
Planting at Rosemary's Vineyard began in 1987 and was completed in 2001. The 29-acre vineyard is planted to 12 acres of chardonnay and 17 acres of pinot noir. The vineyard is divided into 14 separate sections of vines. The more recent plantings contain numerous clonal and rootstock selections resulting in 22 distinctive combinations.
Monte Sereno Vineyard
The tiny Monte Sereno Vineyard was planted in 2006 about 1 mile southwest of the winery, adjacent to a steep bluff that rises from the floor of the Arroyo Grande Valley. It consists of 3 acres of chardonnay.
Vineyards in the Edna Valley
Talley Vineyards owns two vineyards in the neighboring Edna Valley. Like the Arroyo Grande Valley, this valley runs east-west and enjoys a significant marine influence. Weather conditions are more extreme than the Arroyo Grande Valley, with colder temperatures in the winter, higher winds in the spring and warmer days in the late summer. Soils are diverse and range from heavy clays on the valley floor to thin sandstone and sandy clay loams on the hillsides.
Oliver's Vineyard
Oliver's Vineyard is a 36-acre vineyard planted to chardonnay, sauvignon blanc and riesling. The first section of the vineyard was planted in 1991 and was named in honor of Talley Farms founder Oliver Talley. The newer section was planted in 2006. This vineyard is characterized by heavier clay soils typical of the Edna Valley. The vines are moderately vigorous and yields average less than three tons per acre in the original 16-acre planting.
Stone Corral Vineyard
The family's other vineyard holding in the Edna Valley is called Stone Corral Vineyard. The vineyard gets its name from the Corral de Piedra (Stone Corral in Spanish), the name of the original Spanish land grant that covered much of the Edna Valley. This 28-acre pinot noir vineyard was planted in the spring of 2001 and is made up of five distinct vineyard blocks planted to four clones of Pinot Noir. Due to the diversity of soil types at the site, ranging from sandy clay loam at the bottom of the vineyard to fine textured sand at the top, three different low vigor rootstocks were selected. Clonal selections consist of Dijon clones 115, 667 and 777, as well as a selection from Rosemary's V
ineyard.
Stone Corral Vineyard is also unique in that the Talley family collaborated with local winemakers, Stephen Ross Dooley and Don Othman, in a long-term lease arrangement. The vineyard is divided into 5 distinct vineyard blocks, with each block divided into thirds and designated for Talley Vineyards, Stephen Ross Wines and the Kynsi Winery. Brian Talley and Kevin Wilkinson manage the vineyard. In a few short years, each winery has made highly acclaimed wines from this distinctive site.