OUR STORY

BURNING BENCH CELLARS....

Focuses exclusively on our estate, MOON HILL VINEYARD, which gives us full control over how the land is farmed. We don’t purchase grapes from any other source and each vintage reflects the total production of our single vineyard. We farm 2,500 vines which are a mixture of Dijon clones and we are constantly searching for the best combination of plant, soil and cultivation techniques in the vineyard.

The Vineyard....

With only a single vineyard and just over 3 acres to farm, Burning Bench Cellars takes a focused, hands-on approach that one might even call intimate because we know our vines so well.  Our crew is dedicated to a single vineyard which we have tended and pampered for more than two decades.  We use hands-on cultivation, composting to build soil health and natural pest-control.  With all of our vines planted in narrow rows on steep slopes, we also hand mow, hand prune and hand harvest.  This intensely personal approach continues in the winery.

Winemaking....

With only a single vineyard and just over 3 acres to farm, Burning Bench Cellars takes a focused, hands-on approach that one might even call intimate because we know our vines so well.  Our crew is dedicated to a single vineyard which we have tended and pampered for more than two decades.  We use hands-on cultivation, composting to build soil health and natural pest-control.  With all of our vines planted in narrow rows on steep slopes, we also hand mow, hand prune and hand harvest.  This intensely personal approach continues in the winery.

The Fermentation Process....

As the must slowly warms from the cold-soak, we allow native yeasts to naturally begin the fermentation process. We punch down by hand, four times per day until fermentation ends and then allow a five to seven day extended maceration before pressing the wine through an extremely gentle bladder press into barrel. The wine is aged  “sur lies”  for 12-14 months in 25-35% new French oak barrels.  When we judge the wine complete, we lightly fine with egg whites, perform a final racking and then bottle. We use only French cooperage (Doreau, Seguin Moreau, Marchive, Meyrieux, Vernou) made with oak from center-of-France forests and are constantly experimenting with different cooperages and toasts to find the optimal match for our estate vintages. Only gravity moves the wines through the winery so the individual character of our estate’s wine is never diminished. The outstanding Pinot Noir that begins in the vineyard fulfills its destiny in the bottle.

Vineyard Facts:

Size - 3 acres

Total vineyard area is approximately 3 acres, planted in 2 phases in 2001and 2007.
The vineyard is very steep, averaging grades of 20-30%, and the soils are thin, rocky and extremely low-vigor.  This is a perfect Pinot Noir growing site in conformance with the old adage “to make great wine, the vines need to suffer”.

Clones

115, 667, 777 and 828 (ASW)

Our clones are site-selected and we plant densely, coaxing vertically trellised vines to produce fewer clusters that bear small, intensely flavorful grapes.

Soil

Clay Loam

The result of this Moon Hill Vineyard “terroir” is the production of small grape clusters with tiny dark intense fruit, lush but masculine, which provides the coveted structure found only in the most age-worthy wines.

Exposure

The vineyard is oriented to an unobstructed full southern exposure and typically enjoys full sun through the middle portion of the day.  After fruit set we shoot thin to sacrifice quantity for improved fruit quality by reducing yield. During the growing season, hand-management of the canopy is key by leaf pulling and shoot positioning.  It’s the only way to ensure every cluster receives optimal exposure to air and sunlight.

Elevation

The Moon Hill vineyard elevation ranges from 620’ to 680’ and our micro-climate is perfectly matched to ripening Pinot Noir.  Nights and early mornings are typically fog laden and cold, with the sun burning through by mid-morning.  In many vineyards, fruit is grown at chest height for ease of harvest.  We train ours to grow closer to the warm soil—another practice that leads to more flavorful fruit.  This kind of farming requires a tremendous commitment but we believe our extraordinarily intense and flavorful fruit makes it all worth the effort.

Appellation

Marin County, North Coast

The vines thrive in these rocky, mineral-laced soils and are spaced in tight rows on steep terraced slopes, resembling those found in Grand Cru vineyards. This land is a challenge to farm, but well worth the effort.  The soils force the vines to work hard and, not unexpectedly, this leads to excellence.