Eastman vineyard was purchased in 1977 by my grandfather, Elbridge "bud" Eastman. Its location in Lake County is in the famous north coast growing region of California. The grapes are grown in red soils on a rolling bench at the eastern edge of the Mayacama Mountains. The elevation of the vineyard ranges from 1400 to 1600 feet.
The red soils on rolling bench land are ideal for wine grape growing. Red soils are an indication of well-drained soils. Well-drained soils allow us control vine growth with water stress. An ideal canopy minimizes the inputs from the farmer to achieve vine balance with respect to canopy versus crop load. A perfectly balanced grape vine will have the least amount of input and produce the best wine. Bench land soils are typically better drained, and not as deep or rich as flat valley floor soils. Our shallow, well-drained soils allow us to find grape vine balance with very little inputs, thus the grapes we produce are enriched with flavor.
