Though I have known this property for almost 50 years, each time I set out into the hills I am freshly surprised.

A former cow pasture bordering our vineyard has been vacant for some time. Today, as I hiked past that usually empty field, I found a llama gazing back at me. It seems I have a new neighbor to visit from time to time!

Later, I walked down to a lower part of the property to check on an irrigation pond we use to capture surface runoff. When my father, Cal Knudsen, and former vineyard manager, Allen Holstein, stewarded this land, they engineered a drip-irrigation system fed entirely by renewable water sources from our property. As a result of their pioneering effort, we are fortunate to have six wells with replenishing aquifers and two irrigation ponds that nurture our vineyard in times of water scarcity.

Seeing the pond very full of water this spring reassured me that our vines will not be unduly thirsty this summer!

Page Knudsen Cowles
Owner & Managing Partner