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Sanford Winery
LOMPOC
Owned and cared for by the Terlato Family, the picturesque Sanford Winery
is located in the heart of the scenic Santa Rita Hills. The Sanford estate,
which was once part of the original Rancho Santa Rosa land Grant of 1872, is
comprised of the winery itself along with two separate and distinct vineyards:
the historically significant Sanford & Benedict Vineyard and the La Rinconada
Vineyard.
The iconic Sanford & Benedict Vineyard is home to the first Pinot Noir
vineyard in Santa Barbara County, planted in 1973 by Michael Benedict and
his then partner Richard Sanford. Its unique soil composition was formed by
a landslide around 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, resulting in deep, fractured,
marine-based Monterey shale with very high water-holding capacity. It is the
ideal land for rooted vines to thrive as they search and dive deep for hydration
and nutrients. Because of this, the entire site was planted with Vitus Vinifera
without being grafted to rootstocks, and subsequently dry farmed until 1994.
Michael Benedict researched the entire West Coast using his Viticultural
climate model and selected this site specifically to grow Burgundian varieties,
Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay.
La Rinconada, or "corner place," sits on the corner of the ranch and was
traditionally planted in 1994 in deep alluvial soil that was deposited by the
Santa Ynez River. The parcel was created as an oxbow in the meandering river
during the late Pleistocene epoch, which dates as far back as 2.5 million years
ago. It has also been suggested that the "corner place" references an age-old
FACING PAGE: Doors opening to reveal Sanford's magnificent
woodwork and stonework in the Barrel Room.
TOP LEFT: Early morning fog burning off over the Sanford &
Benedict Vineyard.
Photographs by Jeremy Ball
