OUR ESTATE VINEYARDS
The R. Merlo Estate Vineyards are located on the riverbanks of the wild and scenic South Fork of the Trinity River at the southern tip of Trinity County. Surrounded by 6,000 ft intercoastal mountains on all sides, these isolated vineyards are higher than most California vineyards at an elevation of 1,250 feet. Over 45 acres are currently planted with a variety of grape types using quality clone on terroir and site-specific rootstocks. Our vineyards include blocks of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Syrah, and Merlot, as well as, Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon from nearby blocks.

The soils in R. Merlo Estate Vineyards are of three distinctly different origins. The low-lying ground is young alluvial infill. Half of the vineyard is rock, gravel and sand deposited during the 1964 flood. This major event deposited over 30 feet of new material in the Pelatrue Creek Drainage. The creek spilled over into the R. Merlo Estate Vineyard, eroding and baring old pastures. About 70% of the vineyard is infill deposited by the flood event. These soils are mixtures of rock, gravel, and sand base with decomposed granite silts deposited in varying depths on the surface. The remaining soil is heavier native clay from shale origins that have been uniformly deposited from the shale cliffs behind the vineyard. All of the soils are well drained and are actively irrigated.

R. Merlo Estate Vineyards has an extremely active and integrated vineyard management program headed by viticulturist, Bix Lane. "The Hyampom Ranch is a fairly low vigor sight. Afternoon winds and quick draining soils with little water holding capacity make routine irrigation necessary," says Lane. From early June through August each block receives two weekly irrigations that vary between 6 and 12 gallons each, depending on the weather. In September, water is carefully monitored to keep plants under deficit irrigation without compromising the canopy or fruit integrity.

The vineyard is planted on 8'x6' spacing and production is kept to 2½-4 tons per acre. Two shoot/fruit thinning passes are made each year to promote quality. The vineyard is thinned prior to verasion to adjust the overall crop load. A second thinning pass is made after verasion to remove fruit that is damaged or behind in maturity. Secondary crop, depending on the year, is removed at this time to stall or accelerate ripening.

In regards to soil management, R. Merlo Estate Vineyards is actively cover-cropping to build organic matter resulting in increased nutrient and water holding capacities of the vineyard soils. As the soils are built, suitable nutrient cycles are planned with leguminous crops and the minimum of nutrient addition. "Our goal is to continue to use sustainable farming practices while improving grape quality," says Lane. "We are committed to responsible farming practices without losing focus on wine and grape quality goals."

OUR ASSOCIATE WINEMAKER/VITICULTURIST
Born and raised in Hyampom, Bix Lane knows what it takes to raise quality crops in the south Trinity County region. Throughout his childhood, his family farmed organically, raising garlic, fruit trees, and vegetables and marketing them locally and in the Eureka and Redding areas. Educated in the local school system, Bix graduated Salutatorian of Hayfork High School in 1997. He went on to study engineering at UC Davis, but quickly found that his passion remained in the cultivation of soils and quality crops. His history with farming, coupled with his family's experience in home winemaking led Bix into the study of viticulture and enology. The more Bix learned about the top winegrowing regions and their characteristics, the more he understood the true uniqueness of his own home valley. Bix returned to the region in 2002 to focus on capturing the immense viticultural potential of Hyampom Valley.