History

Since its inception, Briarwood Vineyards has taken care to find new ways each year to improve upon its farming practices. A few of those methods are as follows:

1. Soil samples are taken every Spring and Fall to assess their nutrient levels.
2. We conduct a pre-planting application of soil amendments and micronutrients to ensure proper plant nutrition.
3. A detailed water analysis is conducted each Spring.
4. There are compost additions to new and old planting to ensure increased organic matter levels in the soil.
5. During Fall preparation, amendments and compost are added into the soil to prepare the winter cover crop.
6. Some cultivation implements are now used including an offset disc and a spader. Both are used to loosen the surface layer for a seed bed, and fracture lower hardpan layers to increase water permeability.
7. Cover crops are sewn between vine rows after cultivation and are utilized to provide soil retention for erosion, soil enrichment through addition of organic matter, nutrient enrichment through organic matter incorporation, increase of biodiversity, increase of beneficial insects during growing season, dust suppression, improved soil structure and aggregation of soil particles
   

At Briarwood we nurture our grapes by closely monitoring the irrigation and available groundwater, observing the nutrient status in the vines and scrutinizing the fungus and pest levels in the vines. We also take care to manipulate the vine canopy throughout the growing season to provide protection for ripening fruit as well as air movement and some sun exposure for the grapes.

Templeton Gap is a unique location to grow and process grapes because of its semi-arid and rocky geography, warm days combined with cool afternoons and evenings, and cobbled soil conditions. The surrounding hills have gently eroded over the years, creating alluvial fans across the land with a perfect combination of Sorrento clay and cobble and limestone in the soil.

Briarwood Vineyards is flanked by Santa Rita Creek, which provides the ideal habitat for our grapes and the neighboring wildlife. The creek runs East to West on the estate and provides us with alluvial soils, which aid in the natural growth of our premium grapes. It is know as the only river that flows North in America.