Dovecote Estate Vineyard: Historic Vines, Sustainable Wines
Driving down Aliso's Canyon Road, just 45 minutes north of Santa Barbara and a couple miles from the historic town of Los Alamos, one gets a sense of driving into the past. The road winds through rolling, untouched hills, grand oaks keeping watch over sacred lands. Dovecote winery sits a couple miles down this road and when you reach the front gate, you get a clear sense that you are crossing a threshold…into the sanctitude of one’s home, perhaps even back in time.
A 3rd-generation family of farmers tends to the historic vines by hand as we drive up the meandering lane and pass the king of all oaks, standing vigilant, in front of owner and wine-maker, Noah Rowles, family residence. We veer to the right and come upon a beautiful pond with an overlooking tasting nook. We are greeted by a refreshing and smiling, Meghan Schumer, General Manager, who treated us to some of the most innovative wines we had tasted in a while. There is something special about a winery that not only captures the specific history and sense of “place” of a vineyard, but also propels it into the future through time-honored practices such as hand-farming, abstaining from additives, and embracing the simplicity of natural wine making. It is in recognizing that natural wine making is both the history and the future of of the craft, that Dovecote Estate Winery elevates the art of winemaking.
This special 800 acres of central coast land was purchased by The Thompson Family in 1983, as they embarked on their journey toward building a world-class vineyard. As legend has it, David Thompson, acquired the highly coveted Estrella River Syrah cuttings by sneaking them into the US from the renowned Chapoutier Vineyard in Hermitage, France. Then, Alongside Juventino Cervantes, who’s family continues to hand-farm the vineyard and reside on the property, Thompson planted the vines using it's own rootstock to preserve the purest expression of these heritage vines. The iconic Thompson Vineyard became one of the first Syrah plantings in Santa Barbara County and remains one of the few own-rooted (meaning not grafted onto table grape vine roots to avoid disease) sites in California.
For two decades, the vineyard’s unique characteristics, including steep rolling hillsides, thin sandy soils, cool marine air and extremely low yields, consistently produced complex, long-lived wines. These wines struck a remarkable balance betwen power and grace, making Thompson Vineyard on of the most sought-after sources of sigle-vineyard Syrah for both winemakers and consumers. This iconic vineyard is now home to Dovecote Estate Winery.
Under the ownership of the Rowles Family since 2014, Dovecote unveiled it’s state-of-the-art winery in 2018, marking the cultivation of their first fully independent vintage. Committed to sustainability, they exclusively employ native yeasts, preserving the unique expression of the land, and embrace hand-farming techniques, with the only use of machinery being a tractor. Their debut, estate-made wines garnered exceptional acclaim, receiving a notable 95-point rating from Wine Enthusiast Magazine.
Dovecote Winery’s journey reflects a deep dedication to the land and a commitment to sustainable wine-making techniques, seamlessly intertwining history and future and creating a continuum in wine-making excellence.
This fall, Wino is excited to feature Dovecote Wines:
2022 Rose
2021 Viognier
2022 Chardonnay
2019 Redtail
2020 Grenache
2018 Syrah
Join Now to receive selections from the above winter wine shipment.
Click to enjoy Wino’s Tasting Notes & Paired Recipes for each varietal, and printable Wino Tasting Sheets & Guides. Cheers Winos!