If West Paso Robles has become Southern California's most exciting wine region, Halter Ranch is unquestionably one of its most exciting estates. A spectacular 1,000 acre ranch with 280 acres of vines (19 varieties altogether, about 60% Bordeaux and 40% Rhone, with Tempranillo, Tannat and others thrown in), it is a remote and gloriously unspoiled place, rugged and wild, with vineyards planted as high as 1,750 feet. On the top of one hill is one of California's most important trees: the Ancestor Oak, 28 feet in circumference, and the biggest Coast Live Oak (quercus agrifolia) in the world. Standing beneath the massive canopy of this tree is an awe-inspiring experience that deeply and indelibly imprints a sense of what a special place this is. The Ancestor Oak is a powerfully symbolic icon and a most fitting name for the estate's top wine.

Formerly primarily a 'grape farm' supplying fruit to other wineries, under its dynamic new leadership team (including acclaimed winemaker Kevin Sass and highly regarded industry veteran GM Skylar Stuck) Halter Ranch is beginning to reveal its vast potential.

Halter Ranch is profoundly affected by the damp,cool marine air (ie fog) that funnels through Templeton Gap from the Pacific Ocean. The moderate temperatures provided by the fog combine with a perfect mix of clay/limestone soils to produce ideal growing conditions for vines. The vineyards are dry-farmed as much as possible; fruit is 100% night-harvested; rainwater is 'harvested' from the roof of the winery so that the volume of water recycled is more than 100% of the volume used in the winery. The winery is designed for gravity flow, so no pumps are necessary, and Halter Ranch carries Sustainabilty in Practice (SIP) Certification.

The wines are a distinct combination of 'Old California' and Old World characteristics, which is to say they are more balanced and round than big and extracted; more multi-faceted than varietal. They perfectly express the great truism of California wine: that the New California is none other than Old California.