Petit Verdot Vineyard

Diamond Creek Vineyards is proud to unveil our newest vineyard, the legendary Petit Verdot.  This one acre vineyard is a south facing natural heat trap, which ripens approximately fifteen days earlier than the Lake vineyard, directly across the creek.  The soil is the same as Volcanic Hill and the 15-degree slope affords a terroir uniquely suitable to this extraordinary demanding fruit.

The Petit Verdot is planted in very small percentages because it ripens late and in most vineyards it rarely achieves full maturity.  Few wine consumers realize that late spring frost and varying weather patterns during the growing season can seriously affect this variety while sparing others.

Petit Verdot makes a wonderful addition to our wines.  Our 1999 Volcanic Hill, Gravelly Meadow and Red Rock Terrace bottling have all incorporated 2% of the Petit Verdot grape. Examples of other wines with high percentages of Petit Verdot include Pichon-Longueville-Comtesse de Lanade (Pauilac) (8%) and Marquis d’Alseme Becker (Margaux) (10%). In Graves, St.-Emilon and Pomerol, very little Petit Verdot now exists.