Across the Valley: Presqu’ile Winery Announces Strategic Expansion

Presqu’ile’s just-announced land purchase will give it a footprint across two of Santa Barbara County’s most revered wine-growing sites.

The family-owned winery has already made a name for itself with the wines produced at its Santa Maria Valley location. Founded in 2007 by the Murphy family, the 123-acres estate just north of Highway 101 is home to a state-of-the-art, gravity-flow winery and plantings of the much sought-after pinot noir and chardonnay (mainly) – the zone’s cool climes and lengthy growing season make it particularly well-suited to the Burgundian darlings. Visitors can access a variety of curated wine experiences at Presqu’ile, including guided tastings coupled with horseback riding or bocce ball.

The winery’s new second site is in another esteemed growing region, the Sta. Rita Hills, set adjacent to the Santa Ynez Valley, near Buellton. Mornings are foggy here, too, and sunny afternoons also give way to cool nights; the maritime influences and special soils make this a premium growing area for pinot and chard. Presqu’ile began sourcing fruit from famed Sanford & Benedict Vineyard here in 2020. The newly acquired 1,100-acre plot along Santa Rosa Road is located next door.

“It checks all the boxes with clay, loam, and some various stone layers among the soils,” says Presqu’ile’s Vineyard Manager, Andrew Heilbrun. “It’s a property of slopes, it’s breezy, and has large diurnal temperature shifts, and because it’s mostly cattle grazing land, its organic matter is some of the highest I’ve seen in the Central Coast.”

The unplanted property was formerly known as Donovan Ranch and was most recently home to Iron Angel Ranch, a now-defunct cannabis-growing operation. Adds Heilbrun, “This is one of the last jewels yet to be discovered in the Sta. Rita Hills.”

Only 200 acres here are plantable. The first phase will include planting 45 acres of pinot noir, chardonnay and syrah in the spring of 2025. Fruit from the new site will be used in Presqu’ile’s portfolio and will also be available for sale to select wineries.

“The wines from that area express a wholly different terroir than our Presqu’ile Vineyard and are an exciting addition to our family of wines,” said Presqu’ile’s President, Matt Murphy. The new acquisition gives the brand “the freedom to develop and farm the property as we see fit.”

Winemaker Dieter Cronje, one of the region’s esteemed young talents, concurs.

“It is a very unique journey to be in the position to plant a vineyard where there has never been one, and to apply our own methods and philosophy – especially in such an esteemed AVA,” he tells the Journal. “It’s difficult to wrap my thoughts around the potential, but that was the same emotion I had back when Presqu’ile was born. I feel extremely fortunate to have this feeling twice in one winemaking career.

“Of course, the best way to track this journey is through the wine,” Cronje continues, “and I am very excited to see how these soil profiles, elevation, and aspects come through in our wines. This project will add to the sense of intrigue and adventure.”

Because the remainder of the non-farmable tract features rolling terrain and ocean views, Presqu’ile is exploring avenues to protect it via a conservation easement that aligns with Santa Barbara County’s new Recreational Master Plan. It could include hiking trail systems through the area.

“We are doing our early due diligence and exploring conservation easements and other stewardship opportunities,” says co-founder Madison Murphy. “We are certainly encouraged by Santa Barbara County’s efforts with its Agriculture Ordinance and Recreational Master Plan, especially its incentives for landowners, and look forward to a continuing dialogue as we move forward.”

Presqu’ile – pronounced “press-keel” – is a French-Creole term meaning “almost an island.” The name pays homage to the Murphys’ former home in the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Find out more at presquile.com. 

And One More Thing…

Act now and save big! The next World of Pinot Noir event (insiders just call it “WOPN”) returns to the Ritz-Carlton Bacara in Goleta next year. One of the premier events for pinot noir producers and aficionados in the world, it’s on the calendar for Feb. 29 through March 2 – three days of seminars, elite tastings, and premium dinners hosted by some of the wine industry’s top experts. A short window of early-bird pricing was just launched, and it ends Nov. 16. The code “HARVESTVIP” will save you $500 off the Weekend VIP Pass, which gets you access to high-profile events across the weekend; the code “HARVEST23” will knock off $75 when you buy two tickets to the Grand Tasting on either Friday or Saturday, which will sell out. Head to worldofpinotnoir.com, and I’ll see you there!