 Sandy Ridge Vineyard was established in 1996. Our first planting in 1995 was a Blanc Du Bois vine grafted on mustang rootstock. Obviously this has been a vigorous grapevine. We now have about 2 1/2 acres of planted vines. These are in two vineyards both of which are in Bernardo prairie sand. The majority of the vines are either Black Spanish or Favorite grapes but we do have several rows of Blanc du Bois. Our first production year will probably be 2000, so we plan to celebrate the millennium with a bang. The wine making operation is still small but we plan to work on it so it will be ready when the grapes are!
We are fortunate to have a friend like Judge Francis Truchard who lives on his family's old home place between Bernardo and Mentz. Francis' great uncle, Father Anthony Marie, and his grandfather Jean Marie Truchard, came to Colorado County from France in the 1800's. They brought Black Spanish and Herbemount grapevines and established a family vineyard in 1887. Francis has been gracious to give us cuttings from these 100 year old vines to plant our vineyard and continue the tradition.
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