Our "Green Friendly" Vineyards
To preserve Amador County's heritage of "Old Vine" Zinfandel, Renwood has selected clones from Amador's most unique head-pruned, dry-farmed old vine zinfandel vineyards. We have heat-treated and bench grafted these cutting onto resistant rootstock. The best sites in the Shenandoah Valley (Amador County) have been selected to plant these first growth vines.
Each of our vineyard sites was carefully selected because of the soil, elevation, and sun exposure. We became Amador's first vineyards to plow to the depths of 4 feet. The thousands of tons of rocks were used to line drainage ditches as part of our state of the art erosion control. Silt is collected in basins at the end of each drainage ditch, preventing erosion from entering any streams. We are proud of this technology, which is setting new standards for future vineyards.
Small block irrigation has been installed to give us the opportunity to selectively water our young vines. We have developed a new trellising system that allows us to prevent sunburn, a classic problem in the Sierra Foothills. Our three-wire system, with 8x6 spacing, produces quality grapes for our Renwood wines. Renwood Properties' philosophy is to "merge the best of the old and new world viticulture practices, to preserve our heritage and protect the environment”.
Grandpère® Vineyard
Our estate vineyard, located on the hill behind the winery is home to America's oldest clone of Zinfandel. Grandpère® Zinfandel was presumably planted in the 1850's. Legend has it Mark Twain used to enjoy Grandpère® Zinfandel during his years in the Sierra Foothills. The 19 acre vineyard is predominantly planted with the Grandpère® clone of Zinfandel. The vineyard has four blocks of head trained Grandpère® Zinfandel vines and two blocks of trellised Grandpère® Zinfandel clone vines. Approximately three acres are planted with Petite Sirah, Mourvedre, and Alicante, which can be found in Grandpère® Zifnandel. Another four acres are planted to Barbera and bottled under our estate label.
Veauta Vineyard
The historic Veauta Ranch was acquired in 1998 from Sally Veauta. Her family settled the Shenandoah Valley after the Civil War on land granted to them by President Rutherford B. Hayes. This 160-acre parcel is divided by the Big Indian Creek, giving us 40 acres in the famous Fiddletown appellation. We've used our state of the art erosion control in the preparation of the first 70 acres. The rolling hillside is being planted to 4 different selections of Zinfandel, along with a block of our best Barbera, Syrah, and Viognier. We are proud of our work in creating Amador's first world-class vineyard.
Twin Rivers Vineyard
The only Shenandoah Valley vineyard located in El Dorado County is a few miles up the road from Renwood Winery. This 217-acre vineyard was purchased in 1999. Nestled between the South and middle forks of the Consumnes River, with the Sierra Mountains as a backdrop, Twin Rivers Vineyard has excellent sun exposure due to its high elevation. Traditionally a Zinfandel and Port vineyard, Renwood Properties has undertaken the task of replanting this vineyard to our unique "old vine" zinfandel clones. Over 130 acres have been plowed under. The first 70 acres have been planted, including 4 acres of Portuguese varietals, to expand our Port program; Bastardo, Touriga, Souzão, Tinta Cão, Tinta Ruiz, and Alvaralhão. We have small blocks of Primitivo, Tempranillo, Pinot Grigio and Muscat Canelli, and will continue renovating the vineyard over the next few years.
Jackson Valley Vineyard
Located in Ione, on Buena Vista Road the 56-acre vineyard is the site of Renwood’s second production facility. Renwood expanded operations in partnership with the Anderson family in 1999. 25 acres of Chardonnay were grafted to Syrah and an additional 5 acres of Mourvèdre were added. The vineyards 20 acres of Zinfandel were a wonderful addition to the Renwood program. Jackson Valley also provides Renwood with Souzao grapes, a key component to our Port Wine program. We have recently added Nebbiolo and Barbera to the vineyard.
