Paradoxical in place, where only the brazen would plant Pinot Noir, perched on an extreme mountaintop in Mendocino’s ‘Islands of the Sky’ appellation at 2,200 feet above sea level planted in sandstone soils on the first ridgeline overlooking the blustery Pacific Ocean. Manchester Ridge has the longest hang time of all our sites, often harvested in late October, early November, creating complexity of phenolics and intense flavors. Growing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir in this environment is somewhat audacious, but it never disappoints.