A Tradition of Exploration and Innovation Since 1972.

Francis, along with a team from U.C. Davis, began a lengthy and comprehensive clonal research project to better understand the intricacies of the more successful clonal selections. Over the course of that twelve-year research project, it became evident that the best Pinot Noir was not to be found within a single clonal selection. Each of the clones had unique flavor, structure, and aromatic characteristics and each had its own preference for vineyard location, pruning techniques, water tolerance, soil type, sun exposure, barrel, and bottle aging.