Trespass Vineyard wines are the result of a dedicated collaboration between Dana and Donny
Gallagher, renowned winemaker Charles Hendricks and one small, St. Helena vineyard. With
only four acres divided between Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot, the vineyard
has become a true labor of love with virtually every aspect of vineyard management and
winemaking being done by hand. This dedication has allowed us to craft wines that reflect the
unique character and intensity of the terrior that has also garnered our neighboring vineyards
on Madrona Avenue such incredible critical acclaim.
We began our project in 1996 with the planting of the first Cabernet Sauvignon vines. We have
six individual blocks planted to four different rootstocks which match the soil types found on the
property. The Cabernet comprises three of these blocks and approximately 65% of the vines.
We have two blocks of Cabernet Franc and one of Merlot that were planted in 1997 and make
up 25% and 10% of the total vineyard respectively.
We have had the good fortune of making our wines at Viader Vineyards & Winery with
winemaker Charles Hendricks overseeing the project. Attention to detail has been an important
process along the way. We use French oak for all our wines, generally using 50% new oak
each vintage. The wines are aged for approximately 22 months before bottling, and then
bottled aged for several more months before release.
The first wines to be release from Trespass Vineyard are the 2000 Cabernet Sauvignon and
the 2000 Cabernet Franc. Production of these two wines is very limited; 260 cases of the
Cabernet and 85 cases of the Cabernet Franc. Production will increase as the vineyard
matures, with full production planned for approximately 750 cases of Cabernet and 250 cases
of Cabernet Franc by 2003.
