Three Sticks Wines: Gap’s Crown Vineyard

Jul 13

Ryan Prichard:

Gap's Crown is one of our heritage vineyards. It's set in the Petaluma Gap at the base of Sonoma Mountain on the Western slopes. And one thing you see there is sort of the vastness, the openness. There's just a lot of land. These creeks that sort of intersect, it's its own sort of watershed. And this is sort of a catch basin of rain and of moisture. It's wet. It is rocky and a little bit harsh. And I think that's why some of the wines that come off of that are so unique in all of our wines here at Three Sticks.

Rob Harris:

The Gap's Crown Vineyard is almost 400 acres of property, about 140 of which is planted. Roughly a hundred in Pinot Noir and about 40 in Chardonnay. Facing directly into the Petaluma Gap overlooking the town of Rohnert Park. And I think that the result of that becomes a very long temperate growing season. And the length of that growing season really becomes, to me, the keynote of what that place is and how grapes grow there.

Ryan Prichard:

One of the most unique things about Gap's Crown is the wind and the fog. I always find that the Gap's Crown Wines are profoundly age-able, they've got this great tannic backbone. The Chardonnay from Gap's Crown Vineyard is one of our sort of most unique Chardonnays, I think. It's got this great minerality.

Bill Price III:

I think the Chardonnay there is as good as any in Northern California. It's really an exceptional site.

Ryan Prichard:

The Gap's Crown Pinot Noirs are traditionally really full-bodied. That same property will allow them to lay down and age for decades. The Petaluma Gap has this cooling influence, that even in a really hot year, these wines will still take on that cool character. Because they have this pipeline to the Pacific Ocean, which in wine making is what we always look for.

Prema Kerollis Behan:

The key takeaway for me about Gap's is that sort of moodiness. It's the impact of climate and weather on that property.

Rob Harris:

Gap's Crown has a history that has shown some exceptional lines coming from there. Gap's was really done right and we consider ourselves lucky to be the stewards of a place like that.