Contra Costa
Eastern Contra Costa is where Mt. Diablo casts its long shadow over the sand dune vineyards, garlic fields and peach orchards dotted with cookie cutter houses and the occasional cowboy.
The old Italian and Portuguese immigrants planted hundreds of acres of grapes in a landscape that reminded them of the home they left behind, and few are left to tell the story. Today, some of the oldest producing vineyard plantings in California can be found in this area. With respect to the old times and a strong commitment to holistic farming, we farm our vineyard and work closely with other farmers in our community with the same mindset.
The Farm
Julian and his wife Alli run a diverse organic farm project called The Urban Edge in Brentwood, CA. As strong advocates of intentional farming, organic polyculture and quality food, their main focus is on soil building, diverse ecosystems and a healthy triple bottom line.Besides being the home of our new vineyard and winery, they grow 25 acres of delicious mixed stone fruit, 3 acres of mixed vegetables, 1 acres of asparagus a healthy flock of chickens and ducks as well as over a mile of hedgerows and habitat.
The Winery
All wine is made on the farm in our solar-run winery. We prefer mechanics over touchscreens and have designed the space to reflect our approach to winemaking. We rely on gravity where we can, ferment in a selection of small oak and stainless vessels and keep the floor neat and clean.
The Vineyards
Home Vineyard
Brentwood/Contra Costa County
On the northern side of The Urban Edge we converted a patch of ground that has been farmed organically for the past decade to our newest vineyard project. We've built up on the organic matter over the past 3 years and planted this field to 9'x7' 1013P rootstock in early 2022. We will be grafting on a selection of Malvasia Bianca, Assyrtiko, and Petit Manseng in early 2023 to continue our exploration into the white wines of Contra Costa.
Cecchini Family Vineyard
Knightsen / Contra Costa County
Julian’s wife Alli (née Cecchini) was born on this farm, and the Cecchini Family had been farming this land in Knightsen for nearly a century before it was sold in 2021. After farming this vineyard organically for the past 5 years, we are working closely with the new owners to maintain these standards. We currently source our Malvasia from this vineyard. Grown in a patch of delhi sand X sandi loam, this 25 year old planting continues to stun us each season with its resilience and consistency.
Del Barba Vineyard
Oakley / Contra Costa County
The Del Barba Family has been farming vineyards in and around Oakley since the early 1900s. Our good friend Tom Del Barba farms his vineyards in pure Delhi sand with little intervention and even less water. The old Del Barba Ranch on Rose Avenue in Oakley, with its centennial center block of Carignane, Mataro (otherwise known as Mourvèdre), and Zinfandel, is surrounded by a block of ‘juvenile’ 30 year old Zinfandel. This is where we pick our Carignane and Zinfandel. The fruit for our Rosé comes from this vineyard as well.
In 2020 we started shifting this vineyard around, grafting some more Mataro on existing rootstock as well as grafting over the first acres to Grenache.
Tom’s dad, Fred Del Barba, lives just down the road and is a genuine shepherd of his legendary 5-acre block of ancient Mataro. We have been making wine from this block since 2016. We love the small clusters of these hundred year old vines and we always stay for Nonna Del Barba’s invitation for coffee and homemade biscotti.