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Home > Travel California > California Attractions > Melville Vineyards
Melville Vineyards
California, the most populous state of the United States, located on the Pacific coast of North America is bordered by Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and Mexico. The four largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and San Francisco. California is also the home of and wine producing regions such as Santa Barbara and Northern California's Wine Country.
In 1989, Melville Vineyards, a family owned and operated enterprise was formed in Sonoma County's Knights Valley, where Ron Melville grew high quality, much sought after Chardonnnay, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1996, his wish to grow Pinot Noir and Chardonnay brought Melville Vineyards to Lompoc's Santa Rita Hills, situated in the western Santa Ynez Valley of Santa Barbara County, California.
Their vineyards are planted at a spacing of 8 by 3 inches that is 1815 vines per acre and are mainly oriented on a North South axis. Vines are all vertically shoot positioned with hostile canopy management to insure proper ripening and varietal development. Set within a backdrop of lavender bushes and poplar, oak, and sycamore trees, this winery is the nucleus of their estate grown Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah vines. While enjoying your glass of fine Pinot Noir, you will be seated in an exquisite tasting room, encased by a rotunda of French doors, overlooking a picturesque garden setting and courtyard.
At present, they have 139 acres planted with 255,000 vines of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and two Rhone varietals, Syrah and Viognier. There are 14 different clones of Pinot Noir, 9 different clones of Syrah and 5 different clones of Chardonnay all grafted on a range of low vigor rootstocks. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Northern Rhone Syrah will be their main focus. They also have 100 acres on Verna's Vineyard in Cat Canyon, 2 miles North of Los Alamos in the Santa Barbara County Appellation, which is chiefly dedicated to their Syrah and Viognier production.
The goal of Melville Vineyard’s winemaking program is to create wines of uncompromising quality with optimum flavor and aromatic components that reflect the unique characteristics of the vineyards from which they come.
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