Ancient Peaks Winery’s estate Margarita Vineyard is one of the latest to earn SIP (Sustainability in Practice) Certification in recognition of the vineyard’s numerous sustainable viticultural practices.
“We are proud to have met the rigorous standards of the SIP certification process,” said co-owner and vineyard manager Doug Filipponi. “This certification recognizes what we are doing to ensure natural quality in our wines, and it reflects our passion for being good stewards of the land.”
Margarita Vineyard stands alone as the southernmost vineyard in the Paso Robles appellation, nestled into the rugged Santa Lucia Mountain range just 14 miles from the Pacific Ocean . Margarita Vineyard resides on the historic Santa Margarita Ranch (where the CCVT annual Earth Day Food & Wine Festival is held), which was first planted to vines by Franciscan missionaries in 1774. The vineyard spans 996 acres planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Zinfandel, Syrah, Sauvignon Blanc and other varietals.
Sustainable practices at Margarita Vineyard include deficit irrigation, natural cover crops, wildlife corridors, rotational groundwater usage and the use of compost tea in place of synthetic fertilizers. Stream and wetland health is preserved by the avoidance of tillage practices that might cause soil erosion. Vineyard pests are managed naturally by promoting habits for native predators, a program that includes 34 bat boxes, 471 bluebird boxes, 29 owl boxes and 13 predatory bird perches. No oak trees were removed in the planting of Margarita Vineyard, and wetland setback requirements were exceeded.
Ancient Peaks is a family-owned winery specializing in wines from the estate Margarita Vineyard, and is named for the tall peaks surrounding the estate vineyard which were forged by the collision of the coastal plates, geologic forces which give the vineyard five distinct soil zones—ancient sea bed, shale, sediment, granite and volcanic.