Origin of HILL CLIMBER
Over the years, our search for prime vineyards has yielded a series of mountain and hillside vineyards in Napa and Sonoma designed to grow world class Syrah.
The name HILL CLIMBER occurred to us years ago as we began to develop farming contracts with top viticulturalists who were targeting Syrah for these rugged and hilly sites. It was painfully obvious as we were trudging up one hill after another that there was a theme taking shape – our vineyard projects involved working with vineyards planted on steep slopes involving intensive hand-farming. Thus, the name HILL CLIMBER. It is a reflection of the daily arduous work that happens in the vineyard in order to produce a great Syrah from the ground up.
The Partners
As Vigneron Partners, the team behind Robert Biale Vineyards, we have committed to do with Syrah what we have done with Zinfandel and that is to grow and produce a series of distinctively different wines from extraordinary sites. The partners bring to the table over 140 years of combined wine and vineyard experience:
Winemaker, Al Perry; Vineyards, Bob Biale and Aldo Biale; Marketing, Dave Pramuk.
Syrah
Syrah, one of the world’s great wine varieties, is relatively new to California, and at its best, produces deep, complex, and enticing wines of distinctive character – often described as “cassis - like” and “meaty.” Traditionally, many of the great Syrahs are grown on hillsides and today, California’s most advanced growers are targeting the sparse rocky soils and cool climate of the foothills and coastal mountains. HILL CLIMBER’s mission is to grow and produce small lots of world class Syrah in partnership with the dedicated viticulturalists who seek to advance California Syrah to the highest level.
Availability
The intensive farming required for HILL CLIMBER is small scale and the plantable mountain locations are limited by terrain. It’s no surprise then that available quantities are small and will be available primarily through the HILL CLIMBER buyers list.
info@hillclimbervineyards.com
(707) 257-7555