Eden Rift aims to revive heritage winemaking in California

Christian Pillsbury, the former head of Coravin in Asia Pacific, has purchased the Pietra Santa winery located in San Benito county, and renamed it ‘Eden Rift Vineyards’, aiming to revive “heritage winemaking” in California.

Eden Rift winery in San Benito county

Speaking to dbHK, the vintner explained that in 1950s central and southern California were at the heart of American winemaking before Napa and Sonoma came to prominence. “Santa Clara, Monterey and San Benito were the focus of American winemaking in mid 20^th century,” he stated.

Making analogies between San Benito and South Africa’s Swartland and Spain’s Bierzio, Pillsbury said he believed the time was right to shine a light on California’s old winemaking heritage.

“There’s an appetite for soulful wines wherever it’s from,” he went on. “You look at Bierzo. Until 10 years ago, it was an after-thought, but you have some champions who have brought it up. The same is happening in Swartland, again it’s a place that has old history, old vineyards but until the last 10 years no one had heard about it.

“For us, we’d like to find the same opportunity in San Benito, with wonderful heritage winemaking that nobody really knows outside of the region,” he explained, adding the first estate planting was in 1849 and is believed to be the oldest and continuing producing vineyard in California, according to him.

For this 150-acre estate, the winery is primarily planted with Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that are uniquely American clones. The decision to plant Pinot Noir here is both historic and incidental.

Christian Pillsbury with his dog at Eden Rift in San Benito county in central California

Early documents showing plantings of Pinot Noir were found decades ago. Located close to the Gavilan Mountains, the vineyards are on the famous Saint Andreas Fault, lending it plenty of decomposed granite soils and limestone.

“It’s right on the Fault, you have this condition where the two tectonic plates have been churning, so you have this decomposed granite, but then it has this heavy limestone.”

This type of soil also provides good drainage for Pinot Noir, he added.

In addition, a cool ocean breeze and the cooling air descending from Gavilan Mountains help moderate the climate in the region, providing favourable conditions for growing Pinot Noir, added Pillsbury.

Most of the vines at the estate have been replanted or grafted. The goal for him is to produce wines that emulate the old style of American wines in the 1970s, a period together with 1980s that he recalls as “high points of American wines”.

“We can’t get away for acquiring novelty. And for us, authenticity comes from history of this place, and the fact that we are completely devoted to old style American winemaking that is less intervention, lower alcohol, higher acid, better ageing and not looking at doing something that is widely big and powerful. If I can make a great wine from America’s 1970s, that’s what I would do,” he explained.

The first vintage of Eden Rift will be 2016, which will be released in selected markets in the US, the UK and Hong Kong this autumn. Prices for the wines will be below US$50 retail a bottle.