Location

Speedy Creek is located at 18266 Highway 128 in the Knights Valley Appellation, about 10 miles northwest of Calistoga and just west of the Napa-Sonoma county line in Sonoma County, California. There are 22 acres planted on this 91 acre hillside site. The acreage is divided among several varieties that include Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Petit Verdot and Syrah.

Elevation

Speedy Creek sits between 600 - 1050 feet, in the foothills south of Mt. Saint Helena, on an east-west ridge that separates Knights Valley from Franz Valley in the Mayacamas Mountains.

Average Rainfall

The average rainfall is about 36-48 inches per year from October to May.

Knights Valley

Thousands of years ago, the Russian River traversed Alexander Valley, continued through Knights and Napa Valleys, finally emptying into the sea somewhere near present day Monterey. Earthquakes along the San Andreas, Rogers Creek, and Hayward faults, and ancient eruptions of Mt. St. Helena-which continues to have a profound influence on Knights Valley's vinous sense of place-pushed the course of the Russian River west at Healdsburg, altering the landscape.

Protected from direct Pacific influence, Knights Valley is the warmest of the county's Viticultural Areas. This appellation provides an ideal climate to grow grapes that thrive in a warm region. Varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Petite Verdot, Syrah, Petite Syrah, Sangiovese and Sauvignon Blanc have produced excellent wines. Many of these wines are richly-fruited beauties, with plenty of cassis and tobacco, with cedary hints and the rich chocolate notes of perfectly mature warm climate grapes.

The climate is ideal for vegetable gardens that supply the finest restaurants throughout wine country. Most of the vineyards in this valley require frost protection in the spring. This region is also know for producing succulent Black Angus beef that complements the rich reds wines produced from local grapes.

The Burton Family

The Burton Family started farming in Knights Valley in 1995. They originally purchased the 91-acre site in 1986.  At that time, it was really raw land. There was no power, roads, water, fences or improvements on the property. David Burton had a vision to turn this land into a sustainable farm. He watched his neighbors' plant grapes and considered ways to develop water resources to support the irrigation requirements for farming. From 1990 - 1993, he built a series of ponds to collect rainwater runoff for storage. In total, he constructed 5 ponds that store 20 acre feet of water for irrigation during the growing season. The name Speedy Creek comes from the sound of water that can be heard during winter and spring throughout the property.  One of the five ponds has a spillway that cascades over a thirty-foot rock wall, and a rather dramatic waterfall appeares at this location during the height of the rainy season.

Other obstacles included very poor soils and steep hillsides that made conventional farming impractical.  Several passes with the tractor were required to rip rocky hillsides and create a meager soil horizon.  Most of the soils where grapes are planted are only 3-4 feet deep and are derived from volcanic Rhyolite from nearby Mt. Saint Helena. Rhyolite is really volcanic ash, and in some areas the deposits are massive layers. In other areas, metamorphic rock is found within the layers of Rhyolite interspersed like impurities within a gemstone. Iron streaks provide distinction to this white rock. It is typically an acidic soil with a low pH and requires considerable treatment with Lime to make a suitable environment for farming.

It has been a struggle to develop the infrastructure to farm premium wine grapes at this location. From 30 percent slopes to frost protection in one of the colder areas of Sonoma County, it has been a challenge to get a vineyard established on this hillside. Yet in 2004, Speedy Creek in conjunction with Stryker-Sonoma produced the Best in Class Cabernet Sauvignon at the Sonoma County Harvest Festival. Speedy Creek won the award again at the 2008 Harvest Fair for their Cabernet Sauvignon. Other award winning wines have included the 2005 Zinfandel, a silver medal winner at the Sonoma County Harvest Festival, and the 2005 Sangiovese which also won a double gold at the San Francisco Wine competition. This Sangiovese was produced in conjunction with Ledson Winery

In all, the Burton Family strives to produce rich full-bodied red wines that exhibit the character of these premium hillside vineyards. Everything is handcrafted, and our methods will always produce more intense wines than what the corporate farmers produce on the valley floor with their highly mechanized production techniques.