Education
Kings Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon—
a noble wine tradition at St. Francis Winery
by Stephen Pavy
I had heard many stories about the St. Francis Kings Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. It was this wine that brought me to St. Francis Winery, first as a Patrons Wine Club Member and now as an employee. I had a chance to sit down with Ron Sikorski, the owner of Big Oak Ranch (where our Kings Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon grapes come from) to set the record straight.
Ron grew up in Chicago and lived there until he left for service in the Air Force at age 20. He became a mechanical engineer and worked in various places around the country. He even worked on the Apollo mission projects designing printed circuits. Ultimately, he settled in Sebastopol and Santa Rosa where he worked for Hewlett Packard for 18 years. It was in Taiwan while in the Air Force that Ron discovered his connection with mountains (not many of them in Chicago where he grew up) and part of his life was spent trying to work in areas close to mountains. In Sonoma County, working for HP, Ron began to explore our beautiful mountains in search for property he might be able to buy.
He found what he was looking for when he found 4 parcels of land, north of Cazadero, just off King Ridge Road. The seller wanted to keep all of the parcels intact – 110 acres in total. Ron bought it in 1985 and it was (and still is, in many ways) wild and undeveloped.
One of the “myths” surrounding Kings Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon is that it is from vineyards out where there is no power, no phones, and no roads. All of this is true, but not because Ron wouldn’t like to have some of these things. There is a road, King Ridge Road, that brings you to the ranch, but the property is still “off the grid”. Ron generates his own power with a Pelton Wheel Microhydro generator and stores what he produces in a bank of batteries. During the time of year when water isn’t flowing, he operates his house and equipment by solar power and, of course, he has generator backup when he needs it. Cell phones are his only connection with the outside world. It takes 18 minutes to drive to Cazadero; 1 hour to reach 101 at River Road north of Santa Rosa.
Ron loved the property so much he had to find a way to be able to live there and “retire” there (if managing a vineyard counts as retirement). The property was suitable for sheep or cattle grazing, or grapes. He started to explore the idea of growing grapes after he purchased the property by enrolling in Rich Thomas’s Santa Rosa Junior College viticulture classes beginning in 1989. Rich Thomas became interested in the property and even visited the site to take soil samples. The soils are complex at Big Oak Ranch: in some places light shale; in other places heavy clay. Other places include volcanics and sandstone and in many places all of these soil types can be mixed. In most cases, the soils are well drained in this vineyard that starts at 1000 feet and tops out at 1200 feet.
Rich Thomas helped Ron put out a thermograph that ran for 2 years to see what might be able to be grown there. There was great concern that this canyon on the coastal mountains would be too cool for grapes to ripen fully and reliably, especially Cabernet Sauvignon which needs lots of sun and warmth. As the crow flies, Ron’s vineyard is only six miles from the ocean. (Now, the 2nd newest appellation in Sonoma County, "Rockpile", is a mere 8 miles away and boasts some of the “hottest”, that is “desirable” vineyards in California.) Ron was way ahead of them, it seems.
The thermograph proved that grapes could be grown there and Ron started planting. Ron planted his first 2-½ acres in 1991: Clone 7 on AXR-1 rootstock. 3 acres more were planted in 1993 (Clone 7 on 5C) and 3 more in 1995 (Clone 7 on 110R). In total, Ron has 8 ½ acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and he put it in himself every two years as he could afford to do it. Planted in unilateral and bilateral cordon with spur pruning, some of the vineyard is steeply terraced while some of the vineyard takes advantage of this bowl-shaped canyon and some of the more level places there.
Ron had his first crop in 1992 and it was small, but the birds got it. In 1993 he had enough crop to sell (he had started using netting and continues to use netting to this day), but he found no buyers. Imagine that! So, with a friend’s help, he made some wine from these grapes and he took this wine around in 1994 after it was bottled to market his grapes and his vineyard.
He found his way to St. Francis and opened a bottle of his wine for Tom Mackey and Dennis Borell. As Ron tells it, he could tell by the look on their faces that Tom and Dennis were impressed with the quality of the grapes that had made this 1993 Cabernet Sauvignon. 1994 was the first year for St. Francis’ Kings Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. The relationship that began then, with a handshake and a sip of an incredibly concentrated, complex, mountain grown Cabernet Sauvignon, continues today. We raise our glasses to toast Ron Sikorski's vision, energy, and passion.
Oh, and the name? Tom didn't like "Big Oak Ranch". It probably sounds more like a cattle farm than a vineyard. The road from Cazadero is called King Ridge Road, no "s". But the added "s" makes it sound better, and after all, this is a wine fit for more than just one king (or queen).
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