The Abacela Plan

To realize their dream, Earl and Hilda Jones set in place a series of bold moves to ultimately produce an American varietal Tempranillo. This required that Earl, a physician-scientist-educator and Hilda a medical technologist, would give up their jobs and develop skills in an entirely new arena for which they were not formerly educated. The Abacela plan began with a tremendous amount of research into climate, soil, grape varieties, and the wine industry and required that the family move to wherever the dream could be born.

• Understanding that the principal quality factor for production of fine Tempranillo in Spain was the requirement of a distinctive growing season climate. That climate was characterized by a cool spring, a dry-hot summer and a cool early autumn. Low growing season rainfall and mild winters further define the climate.
• Next, identify a very similar climate, e.g.holoclime in the USA.
• Select from within that holoclime a suitable vineyard site.
• Move to that location and establish the vineyards with full knowledge that no one was growing the varietal(s) anywhere remotely close.
• Acquire and develop the required skills in viticulture.
• Plant Tempranillo and all other winegrape varietals required to produce a Spanish style Tempranillo wine comparable to those of the Rioja and Ribera Del Duero.
• Conduct trials to define optimal cultivar planting characteristics and management practices.
• Explore the possibility of growing other winegrape varietals.
• Build Abacela winery to incorporate the concepts of gravity flow and minimal handling. 
• Develop the required skills in enology with a focus on utilizing the techniques of cold soaking, manual punch downs and a basket press.  
• Strive to produce varietal wines reflective of their terroir.
• Sell these wines at the tasting room door and in distribution.

THE CLIMATE -->