Spring Mountain Vineyard(SMV), located on the eastern slopes and lower half of Spring Mountain in St. Helena, CA, on 845 acres. SMV was once three separate properties: La Perla, Chevalier and Miravalle. Visits to SMV are by appointment only. SMV has four levels of tasting – Varietal Tasting, Estate Tasting, Explore Elivette and Library Vertical Tasting. The fee is waived with the purchase of wine of varying amounts, depending on the tasting. During this visit, we visited Miravalle and did an Estate Tasting.
The tasting was lead by Sarah Livermore, a very knowledgable and gracious host and tour guide. After a brief tour of the grounds, we sat down in the dining room of Miravalle to do some tasing. Overall, the wines were quite good and the tasting quite enjoyable and educational.
As you enter the gates and park in the visitor area, you immediately notice the greenhouse and the Carriage House. One of the differences you’ll notice immediately is that the vines are grown vertically – Vertical Gobelet vine training. SMC did this primarily because of the topography of the vineyard. SMV says that this allows the vines to follow the topography of the vineyard on hillsides, that it preserves topsoil, improves yield and quality, reduces stress on the vine and canopy management on all sides of the vine means even ripening and higher wine quality.
SMV practice sustainable winegrowing methods since its new ownership in 1992. The most common sustainable winegrwoing practices include avoiding herbicides and insecticides and embracing natural, biologically-based regimens. The goal of sustainability is to avoid depleting the long-term health of the land and environment for short-term gain.
SMV is a must see if you’re ever in the area and wish to visit an outstanding vineyard, away from the crowds.
Winery Website: http://www.springmtn.com/
Address:
Spring Mountain Vineyard
2805 Spring Mountain Road
St. Helena, California 94574-1775