What Makes a Wine Unforgettable?
At Small Vines, it begins with an unwavering commitment to quality over quantity. We cultivate just 3,630 vines per acre, with each vine yielding a mere 0.75 to 1.5 pounds of fruit roughly one-fifth the California average. This isn’t by accident; it’s by design.
Inspired by Burgundy’s renowned 1-meter vine spacing, we adapted the concept for Sonoma’s unique conditions, refining it to a 4ft x 1m layout. The result? A taller canopy that naturally shades fruit during heat spikes, preserving acidity and promoting balance. The outcome is wines—Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays—with remarkable depth, precision, and a true sense of place.
Our story began in 1995 with a vision: to craft wines that reflect both patience and provenance. The tight spacing we employ encourages deep root systems and gentle vine stress, leading to lower yields and concentrated, character-driven fruit. While many California vineyards produce 5–7 pounds per vine, we embrace less—because smaller yields create wines of greater complexity.
Early observations suggest that the new high-density plantings are already showing promising improvements in fruit quality, which are expected to significantly enhance both the structure and overall quality of the wines. Based on our experience with other high-density vineyards, we anticipate the following benefits:
- Concentrated wine, naturally
- Increased natural shading of the canopy, fruit, and vineyard floor
- Improved crop load balance across the vineyard
- Enhanced lignification of canes, clusters, and berry stems
- Smaller berries and more compact clusters
This is intentional viticulture—sustainable, hand-tended, and intensely focused. Every decision, from canopy management to harvest timing, is made with the goal of expressing the vineyard’s identity in the glass. This technique is crucial for producing high-quality wines, as they help mitigate climatic challenges such as sunburned fruit and vine stress caused by dry soils and low humidity allowing us to dry farm our vineyards.
Collectors, this is your wine. Our next small-lot release—like TBH Vineyard’s micro-block gems—is coming this fall. Each bottle tells its own story. Join our mailing list to snag an allocation before it’s gone. At Small Vines, less isn’t just more—it’s everything
