Saucelito Canyon Vineyards

Specialties

Saucelito Canyon Vineyard is the producer of one of California’s most distinguished Zinfandels, a wine made from historic dry-​farmed old vines that remain a world apart in both place and character. Nestled into the rugged terrain of the upper Arroyo Grande Valley on California’s Central Coast, our vineyard features three acres of head-​pruned Zinfandel vines planted in 1880 and painstakingly revived by owner Bill Greenough nearly 100 years later. Today, we remain dedicated to capturing the singular flavors native to Saucelito Canyon, and to advancing our heritage through sustainable viticulture and progressive winemaking.

History

Established in 1880.

In the spring of 1974, Bill Greenough camped out at the remote property he was considering purchasing – the abandoned Rancho Saucelito in the upper Arroyo Grande Valley.

Surrounding him were the denuded and seemingly dead crowns of old Zinfandel vines, laid out in an 8×8-foot grid so that they could be farmed by horses. The vines were entangled in dry scrub brush and poison oak. A few were completely covered, piquing Greenough’s curiosity. And when he pulled the overgrowth back, he made a startling discovery – little grape clusters.

This wasn’t a dead vineyard. It was a living vineyard.

Thus, more than 100 years after its planting, the old vineyard had come full circle. A landmark of local viticultural history was now reborn, helping pioneer a new era of commercial winemaking on the Central Coast, and ultimately producing one of California’s most acclaimed Zinfandels.

* * Historic photos viewable at www​.Sauceli​to​Canyon​.com *

Meet the Business Owner

Bill G.

Business Owner

After purchasing the property, Bill moved to Saucelito Canyon on July 4, 1974. He painstakingly cleared the scrub from the vineyard, cut the dead wood from each vine, then dug down a foot to find a strong shoot that could be trained into a new fruit-​producing crown.

At that time, Greenough hadn’t intended to make commercial wine. The first crop came in 1977 and he sold the grapes as planned. He made a little wine for family and friends with each subsequent vintage, and in time his bond with the vineyard extended to the wine itself. By 1982, he knew that his fate included commercial winemaking as well as winegrowing.

Greenough built a small winery building. Operating without a generator or electricity in those early days, he used a manual-​crank crusher, a hand pump and buckets to get the job done. Greenough sold his inaugural 1982 vintage from the trunk of his car, and the wine was met with widespread praise.

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