George’s
Our founder and winemaker, George Cooper, established this vineyard, our first, in 1972 under the tutelage of legendary winemaker Martin Ray and with the help of nephew Jan Garrod and other family members. Martin Ray provided the first cuttings of Cabernet Sauvignon from the original Paul Masson vineyards, which he owned in the 1930 and 1940’s, that trace their origin to vines from Margaux that Masson planted in the early 1900s.
In 2007, 2/3 acre was replanted with Pinot Noir clone 777.
Gravel Ridge
Next was Gravel Ridge, a five acre vineyard planted to Chardonnay in 1979-81. It is east-facing, on a 35-40 degree slope, and at approximately 900 foot elevation. The vines were planted predominantly on AxR rootstock which required replacement in the mid-90’s; We have since interplanted new vines to tighten spacing to four feet while converting from cordon to cane pruning. Like all other Cooper-Garrod vineyards, Gravel Ridge is certified organic, unirrigated, and the vines are naturally stressed.
Francville
The Cabernet Franc vines for our third vineyard date back to the original stock brought to our “Chaine d’Or” region by French settler and grape expert Pierre C. Pourroy around the turn of the last century. The Pourroy property became Congress Springs Winery. Cuttings for our vines came from Congress Springs and were planted in 1985 on west-facing slopes at the western edge of our property.
Valley View
The 3-acre Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard was established in 1989 on the southern slope of Maisie’s Ridge, which is directly above the winery complex. The south-facing vineyard slopes 15-30 degrees, with an elevation ranging from 900-1,000 feet. The shallow gravelly clay loam soil stresses the vines to produce intense flavors.
Lone Oak
Lone Oak is a 6-acre, south and west-facing vineyard in the northeast corner of the property. The slope varies from level to 35 degrees. The vineyard was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon in 1991 and is trained to double cordon trellising. The vineyard is dominated by a 100-year old California Live Oak, which provides commanding views of Santa Clara valley.
Finley
Named after early settlers, the 7-acre vineyard was planted in 1998 with four acres of Syrah (pictured) from nearby Maridon Vineyards, two acres of Randall Grahm clone Viognier, and one acre of Merlot. In 2007, the lower (and coolest) two acres of Syrah were budded over to Pinot Noir clone 777.
The south-facing vineyard is located on a knoll on the south side of Mount Eden Road with soils that change from gravel to shallow clay as the vineyard descends from 800 to 750 feet.