Our Estate vineyard is one of the coldest vineyards in California growing Syrah – in the world, for that matter. When we purchased the old sheep ranch and apple orchard we were concerned that we would not be able to ripen Pinot noir, much less Syrah. Due to the moderating effect of our maritime climate and our latitude, however, the onset of wet and cold weather is late and gradual and we experience cool days with full sunshine in October. This allows us an additional month to ripen our grapes in comparison to other typical Syrah growing regions of the world. Importantly, that last month of ripening weather is cool and signature aromas of white pepper, game, iron and leather remain in the grape skins that would “bake” out in a warmer region.

Cep Pinot noir and Syrah are made solely from barrels of Peay Vineyards’ estate wines that through the blending process were not selected for a Peay Pinot noir or Syrah. We always make the Peay wines without knowing the production amounts of various potential blends. That way we focus exclusively on quality and do not consider financial implications when determining which wines will make the cut. This may mean we bottle only 70-80% of what we grow and make under the Peay label. It is the price of ensuring Peay wines meet our and your quality standards. The remaining barrels of wine – grown and made using the same exacting processes and standards as they are intended for Peay bottlings - become Cep wines.