The Scheid Family is Monterey's largest family-owned grape grower and winemaker.
At the very least, their grapes are used by many of the region's leading wineries.
The Scheid Family is one of the few wineries in the United States that has its own wind power generation facility and is also committed to sustainability.The Scheid Vineyards series is a rare wine that can usually only be purchased by visiting the tasting room.
<Limited quantity>Monterey is the home of Pinot Noir.
The earth, climate and soil all work together to produce a magnificent Pinot Noir with the bright flavors and elegant structure typical of a cool climate.
It has a vibrant ruby color and powerful flavors of wild strawberries, cherries, red raspberries and currants.
Aromas of pomegranate, sweet vanilla and soft green herbs are framed by quiet, powerful acidity, supporting the perfectly integrated fruit flavors.
The 2019 vintage is a tribute to the Pinot Noir-growing land of Monterey and our family's commitment to making world-class wine.
Pinot Noir is considered to be the oldest cultivated variety of Vitis, with records of its cultivation dating back to the 1st century AD by the Romans in Burgundy, France.
Scheidt grows Pinot Noir exclusively in the cool climate of Monterey, which rivals Burgundy and offers ideal conditions for growing Pinot Noir.
Monterey's 2019 vintage was a consistent one, typical of the region.
After the predicted rain, the growing season went smoothly and was mild with no sudden increases in temperature.
Over 50cm of rain fell throughout the season, coinciding with the bud burst and flowering period.
This naturally limits the yield.
Harvest began in early September under ideal conditions, with little rain and mild temperatures.
Mild temperatures and naturally low yields produced fruit with impressive depth of flavour.
California recorded its worst drought since 2013 in 2019.
After hand-harvesting, the grapes are de-stemmed and placed into small 1.5 ton fermentation tanks.
During fermentation, the caps were gently punched down twice a day to gently extract color, tannins and flavor.
After racking, the wine underwent malolactic fermentation in 100% French oak barrels and was then aged for 18 months.
Scheid Vineyards founder, Al Scheid, first purchased 15 acres of land on the outskirts of Greenfield, California in 1972.
At the time, wine grape growing was in its infancy in Monterey County, but Al was attracted to the region's winemaking potential.
So they consulted with Professor A.J. Winkler, an authority on grape cultivation at the University of California, Davis, who had created a climate region distribution map for grape cultivation in 1960, and gradually purchased land within Monterey County, which covers regions from Region I to Region IV, and planted grape varieties suitable for each region.
Founded by Al, Scheid Vineyards grew steadily and was further expanded by the addition of his son Scott in 1986, grape growing specialist Kurt Gornick in 1988, and his daughter Heidi in 1992.
The company now owns 12 vineyards (totaling 1,600 hectares) in the Salinas Valley, which stretches 112 km from north to south, from Region I to Region IV.
The company also built a state-of-the-art winery with a production capacity of 1.8 million cases, as well as a smaller winery for handcrafted wines, and continues to produce world-class Monterey wines.