Vineyards

A self-described soil geek with a long-view and experimental ethos, it comes as no surprise that Dees would place so much emphasis on farming, and this passion extends to the rest of the winery team. Joined by Associate Winemaker Drew Pickering, who has been involved since 2009, and Vineyard Manager Ruben Solorzano, who has farmed the JONATA estate since 2003, the team has developed a profound intuition for all aspects of the estate, born out of years in the vineyard. Rather than relying solely on technology to monitor the vines, they also gather and trust data from human observations—touch, taste, sound. This incremental progress, gathered over the course of many years working on-site, has allowed the winemaking team to fully express the nuances and diversity of the vineyard.

Original plantings in 1998 included Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Franc, Sémillon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Syrah, Viognier, Grenache and Sangiovese. As an intimate understanding of the estate has matured over the years, the vineyard has continued to evolve. Cabernet Sauvignon vines are both own-rooted and head trained, made possible from the disease resistant Careaga sand soils. Similarly, 100% of the Syrah that goes into “Sangre” comes from own-rooted vines.

"One of our greatest strengths is our willingness to observe, study, embrace change and evolve," says Dees. "We constantly experiment, and we learn from these experiments. This is what it means to be authentic and true to ourselves." A current focus at JONATA lies in the exploration of drought tolerant clones, dry-farmed Vitis Vinifera plantings and uncommon high-acid varieties with origins in Greece, Italy and France.

Own-rooted vines began as sticks, planted in the estate’s sandiest soils. After the first year they were relocated to pre-dug holes that are 36-inches deep and are planted at the entire length of the roots, enabling the vines to efficiently access the soil’s existing moisture. When combined with thoughtful farming, these dry-farmed vines not only exhibit the true terroir of the site but will also greatly reduce the estate’s reliance on irrigation.

According to the USGS maps, most of the Jonata property is comprised of Careaga Sandstone. However, there are several blocks on the estate that show different iterations of this with both loamy soils and clay.

Careaga soils are made up of three distinct particle sizes: sand (0.05 to 2.0 mm diameter), silt (0.002 to 0.05 mm) and clay (less than 0.002 mm). Most soils are comprised of an amalgam of all three—although there are certainly exceptions. The sand particles at Jonata are rectangular shaped, an aspect that provides for better drainage and aeration than one might find in other sand-based vineyards.

In the hands of a neophyte, the combination of these elements in a vineyard would be disastrous; for an experienced vineyard manager, these qualities provide the opportunity for near-perfect control. And yet, in some way, the mystery of its effect remains unclear, which is something the team at JONATA doesn’t want to answer entirely. “We know that the sandy composition has an effect on the texture of our wines and that it creates a different tannin profile than it would elsewhere,” says Dees. “This is the beauty of getting to know a piece of land over time, sometimes it takes generations. We are dialing it in.”

We take sustainability very seriously at JONATA. Officially certified as an organic vineyard in 2022, we have always considered herbicides and pesticides to be out of the question since the estate's origin. We attempt to manage pest issues via proper vine management and promoting biodiversity. We control our weed issues via mechanical means as opposed to chemical means. We are also moving to dry farming where possible to conserve water.

Our dedication to sustainability lead us on a journey to try to stop nitrogen inputs and outputs from our ranch. We now rely largely on the manure from our mobile chicken coops and our large herd of goats and sheep. In addition, we return our fermentation waste (spent skins, stems and seeds) to the ranch for composting, which we use to maintain soil health in our two acre vegetable garden. We use produce from this garden to feed the pigs, chickens, goat, sheep and turkeys we raise on the property.

Beyond environmental sustainability, we also believe strongly in sustaining the community we have built at and around JONATA. Food produced from the ranch (vegetables from the garden, fruit from the orchard, olive oil and olives from our olive grove, eggs, honey, chicken, pork, lamb, goat, milk and cheese) is shared with all of the members of the JONATA family consisting of our vineyard and winery teams. Extra food from the garden is sent to local food shelters.