Mustang Springs Ranch
Mustang Springs Estate is our home ranch vineyard that surrounds our winery structures. At 55.7 acres, it is also our largest vineyard. The steep hillsides that dominate the terrain at Mustang Springs forced us to plant this property principally to head-trained, dry farm wines. Mustang Springs is also home to our unique D-Block vineyard. The D refers to UC Davis's Heritage Zinfandel project. This vineyard is planted to 18 specific Zinfandel clones that UC Davis isolated amongst the oldest and healthiest of California's Zinfandel vineyards.
Mustang Spring's ranch totaling 55.7 acres wraps around the winery to provide us with an array of different grape varieties. 34.7 acres are dry-farmed and head-pruned and 21 acres are irrigated and trellised. The vines are laid out in a valley between two hills that help provide warm days and cool nights. Low yields and hands on farming keep our vines healthy and provide the highest quality fruit. Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Malbec, Syrah, Counoise, Mourvedre, Grenache, & Carignan make up this vineyard.
Vineyard Facts
Planted: 1950’s — Purchased by Peachy Canyon in 1999
Varietals: Zinfandel - 24.82 acres, Cabernet Sauvignon - 1.66 acres, Petite Sirah - 6.1 acres, Malbec - 3.69 acres, Syrah - 2.93 acres, Grenache 2.57 acres, Counoise - 1.57 acres, Mourvedre - 1.41 acres, & Carignan - 1.18 acres.
Spacing: varies depending on block, the most dense spacing is 6 ft x 10 ft & 4 ft x 11 ft
Yield: 2-3 ton/acre
Soil: Ideal soil conditions from an alluvial plane that was created. The drainage is excellent due to the layers (topsoil, sand, rock, and then a clay layer). Calcareous material is present.
Rootstock: Three different rootstocks were panted in initially but today, 1103P has been re-planted and is the predominate rootstock.
Vine Rows: Half of the acreage is North to South and the other half is East to West.
Training: The North to South rows are Vertically Shoot Positioned (VSP) on the Eastside and California Sprawl on the Westside. The East to West facing rows are all trained VSP.
Temperature: Very hot dry days and cool, breezy nights