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The
Alma Rosa Vineyards
Richard Sanford traveled throughout California in the late 1960’s in search of the perfect site to plant Pinot Noir. He found it on the north-facing slopes along Santa Rosa Road in the Santa Rita Hills. There the transverse mountain range of California prevails, running east to west and allowing the onshore Pacific maritime breezes to cool the vineyards. It is here that Thekla and Richard planted the vineyards of Sanford & Benedict in 1970.
Alma Rosa Winery & Vineyards maintains two vineyards in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. Both the El Jabalí and La Encantada vineyards are organically certified (the first to be certified organic in Santa Barbara County); and both were part of the 15,525 acre Rancho Santa Rosa Land Grant originally ceded to Ex-Corporal Francisco Cota in 1839 and 1845. The historic significance of the land is reflected in the name of the winery (Rosa), and the Spanish word for soul (Alma) represents the wines reflecting the “soul” of the original Rancho.
Rancho El Jabalí (Ranch of the Wild Boar) is located in the western end of the Santa Ynez Valley in Santa Barbara County within the Sta. Rita Hills AVA. The site was purchased by Richard and Thekla Sanford in October 1982, and the vineyard planted in 1983. The property encompasses extensive wildland and includes the Sanfords’ home, which was built in 1925 as the original ranch foreman’s house.
The 7 acre El Jabalí Vineyard, situated at the entrance to the family ranch, is planted to 3.5 acres Pinot Noir and 3.5 acres Chardonnay. The soils of the vineyard are derived from the Monterey Formation, a sedimentary marine deposit from the Miocene period, approximately 35 million years ago. The well-drained, clay-loam soils are perfect for grape growing. Soil types include: mocho silty clay-loam, cobblestones, limestone, and silica chert.
La Encantada Vineyard is the westernmost Alma Rosa vineyard and is one of the coolest sites in the region. The vineyard is planted on a ridge which straddles the Santa Ynez River Valley and is open to the full impact of the cooling afternoon maritime breezes.
The 100 acre vineyard was planted in 2000 to 96 acres Pinot Noir, 1.9 acres Pinot Blanc, and 1.5 acres Pinot Gris. Like the El Jabalí vineyard, the soils of the La Encantada Vineyard are derived from the Monterey Formation. Soil types include: Gazos clay-loam, Ballard fine sandy-loam, and Sta. Lucia shaly clay-loam.
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