Terra Solis Vineyard

Situated in the serene countryside of Napa Valley, in the Coombsville AVA, Terra Solis is a 6.3 acre boutique vineyard property that grows premium Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. We are blessed with Sobrante soil rich in volcanic ash and rock from Mt. George and mild climate moderated by nearby San Pablo Bay. Combined with our mature French Cabernet Sauvignon vines that have been well cared for over the last 27 years, we produce some of the finest Cabernet Sauvignon grapes in the Napa Valley.

Our Location

Terra Solis Vineyard is ideally located in the southeast corner of Napa Valley, in the Coombsville AVA. Although the Coombsville AVA spans 2000 feet in elevation, Terra Solis Vineyard is located close to the bottom of the valley floor, approximately 100 feet above sea level. Our near-level vineyard consists of sobrante loam rich in volcanic ash and rocks collected from years of soil erosion and water runoff from the nearby mountain range. Our sub-soils hold water from the rainy season, and serves as a reservoir for our vines during the dry growing season.

Coombsville AVA boasts perfect weather conditions for growing Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. With its weather moderated by nearby San Pablo Bay, there are less heat spikes in the summer and fewer frosts in the winter. As such, our vines bud early and our grapes are harvested later. This allows our grapes to enjoy a longer hang time to grow slowly and evenly for developing complex character while preserving acidity.

Our Vines

The Terra Solis Vineyard was planted with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon in 1997 by Andrew and Walter Noble. The French 337 Cabernet Sauvignon vines with 3309 rootstock were planted European style, in six distinct vineyard blocks, with 5’ by 4’ row spacing (rows are 5′ wide and vines are 4′ apart). The origination of this tight vineyard spacing comes from France where land is scarce and rows were spaced just far enough apart to allow access for a horse and plow. This way of spacing vines is different from standard California vineyards which typically employ wider spacing between rows to accommodate large tractors and other mechanized vineyard equipment used in the management of the large vineyards.

Our Grapes

The tight spacing used at the Terra Solis Vineyard allowed more vines planted per acre. When combined with the Coombsville rocky volcanic soil, our vines are forced to compete with each other for sunlight, water, and nutrition. This natural stress is managed by pruning each vine to only support a finite number of grape clusters per growing season. This reduces the yield per vine, but increases quality by creating fantastic grapes with far more intense fruit flavors.

Vineyard Management

Unlike larger, widely spaced vineyards of California, Terra Solis Vineyard is completely farmed by hand. This includes: planting, pruning, suckering, canopy management, and harvesting. No machine ever comes in contact with our grapes, again the focus is quality, every step along the way.

Our vineyard manager has cared for our grapes for the last 20 years and knows every vine on the property. His experience and knowledge with our vines over the years have been invaluable to growing highest quality fruit.

We continue to work to improve our processes. We have recently added an annual cover crop to provide additional nutrients to the soil, and have purchased a special narrow Kubota tractor and attachments to provide for improved management of the vineyard floor.