Our third vineyard lies on a 160-acre parcel, which contains a five-acre, ridge-top vineyard surrounded by a farm road that serves a 25-acre vineyard on the south slope (right side of the photo) of the hilltop vineyard. Eventually, 80 acres will be planted. Unlike Domaine du Docteur Rodgers and Domaine Valeta, both of which are on the inland side of the Santa Cruz Mountains, Domaine Lois Louise directly faces the Pacific Ocean. The vines take a beating from the spring storms, causing the yield of this vineyard to be the lowest of the three. This vineyard contains not only Dijon 115 and Dijon 777—the best clones from the other vineyards—but also some of the very newest clones, such as Dijon 828, the newest Burgundian “superclone.”

The wine at Domaine Lois Louise will be made in three caves, each 30 feet wide, 30 feet high and 300 feet deep. The large structure at the left is a concrete plant that was assembled on the site during the excavation of the caves. (The caves were dug four feet at a time, and then immediately reinforced with shotcrete to prevent cave-ins. That approach did not work—we had two cave-ins in the center cave that vented all the way to the surface, tearing 30-foot diameter holes in the vineyard.) The concrete plant is now gone and the hill on which it sat has been completely restored and planted.