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🍷 Palo Alto Blind Wine Society
All-Day Vineyard Study | Cienega Valley & Mt. Harlan

Monday · March 16 · San Benito County

This is not a tasting-room crawl.
This is a vineyard immersion.

We will spend the day studying limestone, marginal sites, farming decisions, and structural expression in the glass — directly in the vineyards with the people shaping them.

🌿 Stop One: Stirm Wine Co.
We begin the morning with Ryan Stirm — one of the most thoughtful and site-driven voices working in San Benito today.

Ryan’s work at Wirz and other historic sites has helped redefine how many of us understand phenolic texture, tension, and restraint in California wine. Expect a serious conversation around:

• Farming decisions in marginal sites
• Reading grip and structure when fruit steps back
• Elevage choices and their structural consequences
• The role of limestone in shaping savory length

This is hands-on, field-first study.

🪨 Stop Two: Calera — Mt. Harlan

In the afternoon, we ascend to one of California’s most important limestone benchmarks: Calera.

Few sites in California speak so clearly of place. Mt. Harlan’s limestone soils and elevation produce wines that have shaped the conversation around site expression and ageability for decades.

We will spend time understanding:
• The geology of Mt. Harlan
• Why limestone matters here
• Structural signatures across vintages
• How farming decisions translate into longevity

And we’ll have the opportunity to learn from Mike Waller, Calera’s winemaker — a steady and thoughtful steward of this historic site.

Calera is not simply a winery. It is one of California’s reference points for vineyard-driven Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

🍇 Possible Third Stop

We are working to round out the day with an additional vineyard visit in San Benito County to complete the arc — potentially another limestone or regenerative farming site to deepen the conversation.

Details forthcoming.

🎯 Focus of the Day
Limestone and marginal sites.
Structure over fruit.
Farming decisions over tasting-room narratives.
Depth over speed.

🚐 Logistics
Coordinated transport.
Box lunch included.
Limited attendance.
Confirmed guests only.

If you are joining, come prepared to walk, ask questions, and taste critically.

Taste. Learn. Guess. Repeat.

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