"It
was the grape’s autumn …
The man of the house, an artisan with
a hawk’s face, read to me the
pale earth book about the darkening
days. His kindliness saw deep into the
fruit, the trunk of the vine, and the
work of the pruning knife…"
~ Pablo Neruda
Calzada Ridge is a pristine
gem situated on a ridge in the southeastern section
of the Santa Ynez Valley AVA. It is dedicated
soley to the Rhone varietal, Viognier, and produces
hand crafted wine in a very limited amount from
this single, exceptional vineyard.
Richard & Pamela Harris moved to Santa Ynez
in 1996 to escape a lifetime in the motion picture
industry. Richard has garnered numerous accolades
and awards for his many and varied projects from
an Emmy award for the critically acclaimed “Indictment,
The McMartin Trial” to an Academy Award
for Film Editing the blockbuster film "Titanic.”
Pamela was the Associate Producer on “Titanic”
and was nominated for an Oscar herself for producing
the visual effects in the movie "Cliffhanger.”
Their combined credits include films as diverse
as “Ghostbusters 2,” "L.A. Story,"
"Terminator 2," "The Bodyguard,"
“True Lies,” "Fletch," "The
Bad News Bears (the original!)" “Downhill
Racer” and "The Candidate" to
name a few.
The same painstaking, loving detail they brought
to their craft has been transferred to the winemaking
venture on Calzada Ridge. Upon seeing the perfectly
situated, slightly hilly, rocky soiled site, it
was Richard’s dream to create a wine he
and Pamela would love to drink themselves. With
these high standards always in mind, he personally
tends the vineyard and oversees all aspects of
its operation. Everything is done by hand, from
the pruning to the leafing to the harvest and
no pesticides or other chemicals are used
on the vines.
His original mission statement was “quality,
not quantity” and this promise has been
kept by limiting production to under 100 cases
each year. Richard sometimes refers to this venture
as a “hobby gone awry” but clearly
the pride he takes in the recognition Calzada
Ridge Viognier has received is every bit as fulfilling
as hearing his name called at the Academy awards.
