America's Largest Estate Vineyard

Posted by Alan Boehmer Dec 11, 2007

If you should drive US101 from Los Angeles to San Francisco, you will encounter many miles of dry, dusty terrain just north of the Monterey County line. Then suddenly an endless carpet of green appears. It's the first vineyard you will pass through, and the largest in America.

Planted in 1981, the 1,850 acre Lockwood Vineyard is devoted to producing high quality estate bottled premium wines at affordable prices. To that end, Lockwood Vineyard's winery was built in the middle of its vineyard property, where every component of the winemaking process is controlled, from viticulture to crush to the final blend.

The sprawling estate vineyard site was chosen because of a unique soil, recognized by the U.S.G.S. in 1946 and found only in two small areas of Central California—Lockwood Vineyard and a coastal cliff region near Big Sur. The Lockwood Shaly Loam consists of crushed fossilized seashells—the same components that create limestone and chalk.

The combination of this unique soil and proximity to Monterey Bay allows multiple varietals to grow well. Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, and Merlot thrive here with unprecedented success but Lockwood also offers Chardonnay, Malbec, Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, and their superb Partners' Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon ($20).

We've tasted several of the Lockwood wines and found them all to be superior products and excellent values.