Every fine wine has a story.
As winemakers, we are guided by the intimate understanding of the properties we work with. It is our responsibility to interpret the vineyard in a way that captures the unique character and energy from the place, and translate it into wine. Each season is an opportunity to build on this knowledge, take a focused look into our estates and expand our views of what the land can provide.
Over the years, it has been our custom to make a single Pinot Noir that tells the story of Sea View Ridge, but this is a wild and diverse place. In fact, it is more like a mosaic, a collection of vineyard blocks, draped over rugged ridges along the ocean. Each of these blocks has different traits, giving rise to wines with distinctive characteristics.
Three years ago, we began an exciting exploration into the diversity of our estate properties. This journey has led to the release of two special wines that amplify the essence of these blocks.
Cielo and Pietra are unlike any other wines we’ve ever produced.
They are born from two fiercely unique areas of our vineyard and the result of a new mindset that brings a heightened level of precision to farming and winemaking at Flowers. True to its name, Cielo, meaning ‘sky,’ is grown at 1,875 feet above the Pacific Ocean and is the highest point of Sea View Ridge. It is a wine of great complexity and mountain intensity, with bright aromatics and coastal freshness to complement its concentrated structure. Pietra, rooted in a mysterious red fractured rock from the rocky lower slopes, is earthy and edgy, with very fine-grained tannins and minerality under layers of dark fruit.
To honor these wines and our journey we asked Brenna Quigley to hand illustrate a map of Sea View Ridge. Brenna, a geologist and friend, has helped us gain a deeper understanding of the underlying geologic history of our estates and the distinct soil profiles of these singular blocks.
Being able to share these two limited and unique expressions of Sea View Ridge stands as one of our proudest moments at Flowers. Years of study, work and passion went into them.
They are the first wines in a new chapter here at Flowers, but they are not the last.
This is a story that has only just begun.