Happy Canyon - The Heart of Santa Ynez...

Northwest of Santa Barbara lies the 40-mile-wide Santa Ynez Valley. At the valley’s eastern edge lies Happy Canyon, an area blessed with warm days and cool marine influences with few variations. Nestled among the quintessencial ridge and valley of this rarified wine-growing region is where you will discover Grassini Family Vineyards and Winery—a tranquil refuge where all the conditions necessary for great wine happily converge.

The location is just inland enough so that a north-south mountain range blocks the Pacific coastal breezes, preventing them from cooling the canyons. While certain grape varieties need substantial warmth during the day to mature, all vines benefit greatly from respites provided by cool nights. The combination of the extreme temperature swings between day and night make Happy Canyon unique and ideal for growing Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc grapes to optimum ripeness and quality.

Some believe terroir makes the wine. When the Grassini Family decided to plant vines on the property the family had owned for decades, they called upon Jeff Newton and Larry Finkle, the talented creators of Coastal Vineyard Care, to help them realize their dream. The vineyard would be placed in the best, and most experienced, of hands. Ben Merz, the vineyard manager, provides daily direction to the entire team. Ben planned and planted the vineyard in 2002.

Vineyard foreman Manuel Cardoza and his dedicated crew do all the heavy lifting that makes it all possible. Manuel and his crew planted every vine on the estate and it is their dedication that has helped create one of the vineyard jewels of the renowned Santa Ynez Valley. In keeping with the Bordeaux tradition of the estate, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot varietals complement the Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc. Several unique Cabernet clones, tended by hand, enhance the exceptional wines produced on the estate.