Tough Vines, Gentle Wines: Why North-Facing Slopes Shine in the Sta. Rita Hills

Wind, Slope and Site Combine to Shape the Soul of Sta. Rita Hills Wine

Alma Rosa and its northern facing slopes

Burried deep inside everything that makes the Sta. Rita Hills a special place to grow wine grapes is a characteristic to which winemakers are drawn.

Where California’s coastal mountain ranges typically run north to south, this stretch of Santa Barbara County flips the script. The transverse mountain range opens up for a big hug from the icy airmass created by the influence of the frigid Pacific Ocean, winds barrel through the rolling hills and fog is a morning constant, the vines here have to be tough.

Their saving grace is what pioneering winemaker and Alma Rosa founder Richard Sanford affectionately dubbed “refrigirated sunshine.” It may be cold, the wind might rustle your hair and have you busting out a winter jacket in June, but at least there’s almost unlimited sunshine - once the fog burns off - to allow the vines to slowly ripen the grapes throughout the growing season.

This is the first in a series of columns that explore what makes vineyards planted to a northern exposure special.