Stop and Smell the Flowers

The extreme Sonoma Coast is not a place for the light-hearted. Rugged terrain, ethereal mist, towering cliffs and crashing waves all cumulate to create one of the most iconic, beautiful and powerfully raw wine regions known to man.

The first brave souls to plant Chardonnay and Pinot Noir on the first ridgeline by the Pacific ocean have been dubbed pioneers of the Sonoma Coast. They’ve been called wilderness winemakers, purists in the craft, and downright crazy for planting such temperamental grapes in such a harsh environment – some of these brave souls were Flowers.

An apt description from the folks at Wine People illustrates how rugged this area of the coastline is, “You snake along oceanfront cliffs, minding the curves while your passenger goes “ooh” and “ah.” Then you turn up a skinny little path and start to climb and climb and climb…and just when you think the “up” part is over, you see a sign advising you to shift into low.”

These cliffs are a sight to behold, monumental and in places, even somewhat spooky. Parts of the area are almost perpetually blanketed in rolling fog. That, coupled with sheer cliffs, dense woodlands, relentless winds and crashing waves makes for a wholly humbling atmosphere.

But within this dramatic landscape one can find a truly special terroir. 

With around 500,000 acres (200,000ha) of land, the Sonoma Coast is one of the largest AVAs in Sonoma, California, yet only a very small area is actually under vine – around 2,000 acres. 

The flagship Flowers vineyard, Camp Meeting Ridge is situated a mere two miles from the ocean at 450 metres (1,500 feet) above sea level. The cold, breezy coastal weather combined with mountainesque characters make it perfect for growing Pinot Noir & Chardonnay. Perched on a knoll above the fog line, its carefully contoured vine rows bask in sunshine throughout the growing season while the ambient temperatures remain cool. Cool temperatures are particularly coveted for Pinot Noir, as it aids the fruit in ripening slower. Long ‘hang times’ are good news for grapes.

“Looks to me like the Camp Meeting Ridge vineyard is closer to the ocean than some of your neighbors. Does that make any difference?” Wine People asked Walt in their interview, “Oh yes, during the growing season, it can be 5 to 10 degrees cooler than [the neighbours], just two-thirds of a mile to the east — and 10 to 15 degrees cooler than other vineyards that are one to two miles further inland. In the winter, we’re often a bit warmer than those vineyards, with average temperatures of 40 to 50 degrees.” 

(Note: these temperatures are Fahrenheit. “5-10 degrees cooler” is comparative to around 3-6°C  cooler, “10-15 degrees cooler” is around 5-8°C cooler and the average of 40-50 degrees is 4-10°C.)

California itself has quite a long history when it comes to its viticulture, at least as far as new world growers are concerned. Official records exist as far back as the 1600’s but its popularity started to grow in the mid-late 1800’s as the Gold Rush began. Through this time, Sonoma County actually was a notable producing region, but it is a vast area and the coastal ridges were not necessarily included in these areas. The Sonoma Coast AVA wasn’t even officially registered until 1987.

It wasn’t until the early 1980’s that the Flowers story started. Joan & Walt Flowers owned a nursery in Pennsylvania and would take frequent trips to California to buy seeds and learn about West Coast plants. It was during these trips that their knowledge of viticulture and wine started, igniting a passion in both of them for West Coast wines – around the time the AVA was set up. 

In 1989, they saw an ad in the back of a magazine advertising a block of land for sale on the first ridgeline by the Pacific ocean. This was very new, uncharted territory and many people warned them off such a risky venture. There are, after all, still less than ten wineries in the AVA and were even fewer at the time.

In Wine People’s interview with Walt, they asked him why grapes hadn’t been grown there before if they produced such incredible wines. “The folks at Davis said it wouldn’t work,” Walt Flowers explained, but their neighbours, the Bohans, had settled in 1947 and had experimented with different crops in their time until finally in the 70’s they decided to give grapes a go anyway, so this bolstered their hopes knowing they weren’t entirely alone.

Joan and Walt were determined and by 1991, just four years after the establishment of the AVA, the ‘Camp Meeting Ridge’ vineyard had been planted and was producing promising fruit.

From here, Flowers grew, and with it its reputation for expressive and elegant wines. The Sea View Ridge vineyard was planted even closer to the ocean, and they started to implement organic and biodynamic practices in their winemaking.

Their wines have rarely received a score lower than 90. It has featured regularly in Wine & Spirits Magazine’s ‘Top of The List’, and this idyllic winery shows no signs of slowing down.

A recent claim to fame came when the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle named Flowers Pinot Noir as one of her favourite wines, alongside Super-Tuscan Tignanello.

In 2017, Puneet was fortunate enough to visit California and take a trip to Flowers;

“The drive along the Sonoma Coast is quite awesome, with the eerie mist swirling around you, next to steep drops to the sea. We arrive at Fort Ross on the Sonoma Coast, make our way up Timber Cove Road and into Seaview Road. As if by magic we pop out of the ocean mist. Immediately the sun and temperature hit us.

It’s quite impressive. The vineyard sits on either side of a canyon which is literally the San Andreas fault line. The soils are multiple including a lot of soil similar to Burgundy – volcanic schist, but also red iron/clay. The steep hills are not terraced but instead close planted straight down the steep slopes. The whole site is farmed biodynamically. Every 15th row is a crop of flowers with various functions for the ecosystem, and multiple cover crops.

The site we have come to is the Camp Meeting Ridge site – 35 acres, elevation 1,400 feet. The Sea View Ridge is about 10 km south and can be seen in the distance from Camp Meeting Ridge.”

We at Dhall & Nash take immense pride in the wines we offer and we feel our American portfolio is certainly a bit special. Each and every one of us have a soft spot for our West Coast wines, with all of them offering us something unique. Flowers has earned it’s spot in our hearts and our cellars, with every sip of their tantalizing wines transporting us to a wild mountaintop, the sea breeze all around, and the ever-present sunshine bathing the persistent fog in a warm glow. A wine-lovers paradise in every bottle.

A beautiful mix of red and blue fruit on the nose unfolds with distinctive layers of violets, spice notes, and the fresh, haunting quality of an evergreen forest. Hints of blueberries join a burst of cherry on the palate, grounded and brightened in equal measure by fine-grained tannins and deliciously juicy acidity.