We’ve pioneered Cabernet Sauvignon in California’s most unique winemaking region, complete with the area’s highest elevations for the purest fruit and boldest flavor. Some of the best new California wines you’ll taste…from the best California wine region you’ve never heard of.
San Francisco Wine Chronicle Wine Competition 2016
This unique wine is a Double Gold Medal winner for a reason! Palate is hibiscus tea, raspberry coulis, and just a hint of tamarind paste. A potent wine that is expressive and driven by finesse. Wood notes accentuate the ripe fruits and lend the magnificent structure complexity. Truly a one-of-a-kind wine you’ve never experienced before.
pH: 3.62
TA: 0.694
100% Cabernet Sauvignon
San Francisco Wine Chronicle Wine Competition 2016
Bold and brilliant, this Silver Medal winner is bursting with classic Cabernet notes – black fruits like plum and blackberries dominate, with touches of clove and chocolate. Layered and dense, this wine is textbook Northern California Cabernet.
pH: 3.62
TA: 0.673
95.5% Cabernet Sauvignon;
4.5% Merlot
San Francisco Wine Chronicle Wine Competition 2016
Cabernet dominates in this Silver Medal winning blend, excluding left bank confidence and power. Dark red fruits are the core – currants, cherries, and tart pomegranate. Earth notes of tobacco and cedar give the wine depth, and the finish is drawn out and vibrant. The wine is simultaneously smooth and bold, and lends itself to drinking with friends over dinner.
pH: 3.60
TA: 0.686
82.2% Cabernet Sauvignon;
5.5% Cabernet Franc; 12.3% Merlot
The finest wines have always been the product of place, soil, terroir, elevation:
Byrd Vineyard is blessed with both unique mountainous terrain and extremely high elevation — the highest-elevation vineyards in California, in fact. From the geographical perspective alone, this is one of the most special places in California. From the vigneron’s perspective, this far-northern end of the Mayacamas Range offers persistent sunshine without too much heat — enabling balanced phenolics of brilliant ripeness and acidity. Virtually nothing intrudes between the mountain and the Pacific Coast in this remote new wine region.
A combination of optimal soil conditions, farming by hand, and attention to each and every detail results in distinctly special wine. Byrd Vineyard has earned elite praise exclusive to the tiniest fraction of vineyards of this vintage, including several awards at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. At 2,400 feet above elevation, this is extreme farming…150 days here is like 180 days on the valley floor: the vines don’t shut down, resulting in a longer growing season.
The higher you get above elevation, the sun radiates more, resulting in softer tannins and higher acids. Wines from altitude carry distinctive characteristics: richer extraction, higher intensity of phenolics and photosynthesis, and more intense UV penetration. All of these altitude-specific qualities yield rounded, elegant, beautifully balanced examples of extract and finesse.
So far above the fog line, the cooler temperatures produce smaller, significantly more intense berries and phenolics. Occasional temperature inversions hasten ripening and stave off frost. The quality of grapes, intensity of flavor, and decades of hard work and passion of Bruce truly shine through in our Byrd Vineyard wines.
Above the fog line at this high altitude, our soils have no shortage of volcanic ferrous content… after all, this is the extension of the Mayacamas Range. This uniquely amazing soil gives fruit precise clarity that you can only get at such high elevation. Soon to be recognized as one of California’s top regions for Cabernet, Byrd Vineyard has its elevated position and uniquely nutrient-rich soil to thank for its Award-Winning wine selection.
Ten years ago mountain pioneer, Bruce Byrd, began climbing these peaks and exploring these volcanic soils.
Both passionate about high-quality wine and interested in creating a family business to employ and benefit the local community, Bruce began farming the mountainous terrain by hand, resulting in a highly celebrated and Award-Winning vineyard. Bruce’s passion for excellent wine and dedication to the traditional winemaking process truly shine through in each bottle of his delicious wines.
Byrd Vineyard’s Estate Wines are now available
Bruce Byrd and his tight-knit family of local winemakers harvest each grape by hand, meticulously working to emphasize the ripe, bright, and unique character of Byrd’s Estate Vineyard wines.
Taste wines that take flight