Location: Napa-Carneros
Grapes Sourced: Pinot Noir (115, River Ranch Selection) and Chardonnay (virus free Old Wente)
Owners: Ed and Camille Penhoet

The Toyon Farm, looking down on the San Pablo Bay, includes Ed and Camille's shared passions: beautiful horses surrounded by exceptional grapes. The Penhoet's planted specifically for Ancien back in 1998 with a subsequent planting of Ed’s River Ranch Selection (ask us about its storied past!) coming into production in 2009. The coolness is due to its close proximity to the San Pablo Bay, which is the northern extension of the San Francisco Bay. Morning fog is common, cooling the grapes and slowing photosynthesis and the developing ripeness, followed by drying afternoon breezes. The clay soils are shallow, going to a depth of about 2-3 feet, below which is a hardpan that the vines cannot penetrate. Additionally, the blocks are sloped to the west and southwest, providing good drainage. This combination limits vigor, making the vines spread their roots outward where they compete for nutrients and water.

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Location: Napa/Sonoma - Carneros
Owner(s): The Sangiacomo Family
Grapes Sourced: Chardonnay (virus free Old Wente), Pinot Gris (46,52)

Beginning with Maria and Vittorio Sangiacomo, who immigrated from Italy to eventually settle in Sonoma in 1927, there are three complete generations who have worked the soils now reaching 1600 acres across Napa and Sonoma. Currently the second and third generations work together to sustainably grow the high quality grapes their family is known for.

Our love affair with the Old Wente selection of Chardonnay has many sources of inspiration including the legendary Green Acres Hill Block, also owned by the Sangiacomos. The Vella Ranch, sharing the same sandy soils, was planted in 1996, becoming home to the same selection of Old Wente Chardonnay. This is the smallest berried and most concentrated Chardonnay we have ever seen or worked with.

In 1999 we began an experiment with Pinot Gris. Based on that initial success, we embarked on a larger scale project, and the Sangiacomo’s planted 2 acres of Pinot Gris exclusively for Ancien, using clones imported from Alsace. The clay soils and eastern aspect of the site produce ideal fruit for the richer flavored and fuller bodied Alsatian style that we are striving to produce. The vineyard has matured nicely, yielding consistently ripe fruit with refreshing acidity. We are the sole winery that is sourcing Pinot Gris from this special plot, our “vineyard-within-the-vineyard.”

Location: Napa Valley – Coombsville
Owner(s): Bill and Angela Mink
Grapes Sourced: Pinot Noir (Swan, 115)

The Mink Vineyard, on property owned by Bill and Angela Mink, represents our first foray into a custom plant partnership. It was serendipity when Ken was introduced by his orthopedist (after an unfortunate knee injury) to his colleague Bill Mink. Recognizing the exceptional and certainly unique potential for Pinot Noir at their 2.5 acre parcel, a deal was made to plant the land the following Spring. Cuttings were selected by Ken of virus free Swan Selection and his preferred Dijon clone, #115.

The vineyard is open to the same morning fogs and afternoon breezes that cool Carneros to the west making it one of the coolest pockets in Coombsville and Napa Valley. Mink sits on the center bench in Coombsville, surrounded by mountains on all sides, allowing the cold still air to descend upon the vines each night. The real secret to Mink's explosive flavors and smooth, mouth-coating minerality comes from the soil. Underneath a few feet of cobbly alluvial is a layer of compressed white volcanic ash, known as tufa. The tufa drains the top soils, storing moisture underneath. With some work, the vines are able to grow roots into the fractured tufa layer, accessing moisture during the long, dry growing season. Several years ago, Ken and Teresa leased the property and adopted direct responsibility for day to day management thus qualifying Mink Vineyard as an Estate designate while Bill and Angela remain proud parents.

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Location: Napa-Coombsville
Owner: Pat Haynes
Grapes Sourced: Pinot Noir (Martini, 115) and Chardonnay (virus free Old Wente)



This Haynes Vineyard is located in a cool pocket of Coombsville, located in the southeastern part of Napa Valley. To the north looms Mt. George, which serves to remind us of the ancient event that coated this region with its characteristic layer of volcanic soils. In 1966 Pat and Duncan Haynes planted the first blocks of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, on the recommendation of Duncan’s client Louis Martini Sr., on land that had been in Duncan’s family since the late 1800s. Surviving blocks of those vines continue to produce amazing wines with ethereal aromas and a delicate and elegantly silken texture. Fernando Delgado has lived on and managed the care for the vineyard since 1970. The Haynes Vineyard attracted none other than the great Andre Tchelistcheff who was an early winemaker on the property.

The Haynes Vineyard is currently Ancien’s home, so we are able to soak in its beauty and history on a daily basis. We source fruit from the original blocks of both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay located in the upper shelf of the vineyard. More recently, Ken isolated a specially nuanced version of Old Wente Chardonnay from the Old Block, took cuttings of the healthiest vines, and planted two rows in another part of the vineyard. Beginning in 2012 we added a very small production wine from this block to those we craft from Haynes Vineyard grapes.

Location: Sonoma-Russian River Valley
Owner: Gilbert Perez
Grapes Sourced: Pinot Noir (115)

Gilbert Perez spent his career working in agriculture, beginning with apples then turning to vines learning to coax them into providing the highest quality wine grapes. Now he uses this knowledge in his own back yard, literally. The Perez vineyard stretches in rows straight back from his back porch, true family farming at its finest. The vineyard is planted exclusively to Dijon 115 clone vines, and the well drained sandy loam soil encourages the vines to grow a developed root system. Gilbert's Vineyard is in the southwest corner of the Russian River, cooled by maritime breezes and fog layers that funnel inland through the Russian River gorge and through gaps in the coastal hills to create perfumed aromas and explosive flavors in these grapes.

This vineyard produces one wine, our "Jouissance" Pinot Noir. Rich, ripe, and hedonistic fruit flavors are balance by a intoxicating spice partially due our controlled incorporation of the cinnamon flavored stems in fermentation. It is a vineyard that really highlights the importance of letting the vines find their own balance as vintage after vintage we are rewarded with a uniquely voluptuous wine.

Location: Sonoma-Sonoma Mountain
Owner(s): Tom and Debbie Engel
Grapes Sourced: Pinot Noir (Swan)

The Red Dog Vineyard is located on northwestern side of Sonoma Mountain, cooled by fog and wind from the Petaluma Gap. At just under 1000 feet of elevation and only 17 miles from the Pacific, the vineyard sits on a ridge line that is unprotected by the Coastal Range and thus experiences a nearly constant maritime influence. The cooling influence is coupled with consistent sunshine since the vineyard is typically just above the coastal fog. Ancient clay and loam soils with underlying shale produce distinctive flavors and aromas that are as beautiful and dramatic as the surrounding landscape.

Our block is on an eastern facing slope below the ridgeline, so it benefits from the cooling sea air draining down the slope without being hit directly by the strong winds. Tom and Debbie planted the largest block in the vineyard in 2000 to heirloom cuttings of Swan Pinot Noir selected by Ken and taken from the Coombsville Mink Vineyard.