MOUNTAIN MUSE
Issue Sixteen | The Art and Science of Mountain Winemaking
When Jess Jackson and Barbara Banke founded Stonestreet in 1995, their vision was not only to craft exceptional high-elevation wines, but to reveal the remarkable variability of a single mountain—across and within its vineyards.
Today, each of Stonestreet’s 287 vineyard blocks expresses its own combination of soil, elevation, grade, aspect, and microclimate. For winemaker Kristina Shideler, this diversity forms a kind of “spice box,” offering endless possibilities for blending wines that reflect the mountain in all its dimensions.
From Chardonnay grown at 1,800 feet in Upper Barn to Cabernet Sauvignon reaching 2,400 feet in Christopher’s Vineyard, every element—the fruit, the site, and the people who guide it—contributes to wines of unmistakable character.
At elevation, the mountain leaves its mark on every grape. Increased sunlight, nutrient-poor soils, and wide temperature swings produce smaller, more concentrated berries with vibrant acidity. In Cabernet Sauvignon, tannins are more pronounced; in Chardonnay, texture becomes a defining feature. As Kristina explains, “The personality of this mountain fruit is something you can’t get away from. It’s going to show itself no matter what you do.”
That character begins with the sites themselves. A drive through the estate reveals steep slopes, rolling hills, exposed bedrock, and stretches of chaparral dotted with bay laurel—an environment as dynamic as the wines it produces. Arrive in the early morning, and you may catch the inversion layer: a band of cool, coastal fog settling below the peaks, making cool-climate Chardonnay possible in a landscape defined by intense sunlight.
Translating that intensity into wine is a constant act of calibration. “These are high-character, high-personality sites,” Kristina says. “Managing them in a way that allows them to show their true selves means playing to their strengths—concentration and ageability—without taking them too far.”
At its simplest, winemaking begins with fermentation—yeast converting grape sugar into alcohol. In practice, however, it is an intricate series of decisions, each one shaping the final wine. On the mountain, those decisions become even more nuanced.
During the growing season, Kristina walks up to three miles a day, checking fruit across the estate’s vineyards. Having joined Stonestreet in 2012 as a viticulturalist, she knows these
blocks intimately—often down to the row. Harvest decisions vary not only by grape variety, but by site, vintage conditions, and weather.
For Cabernet Sauvignon, timing is largely guided by taste. Kristina looks for tannins that are ripe but still have tension. Some sites, like Rockfall, are picked slightly earlier to preserve freshness, while others—like Monolith and Christopher’s—can hang longer on the vine. Though the process is sensory-driven, she maintains a clear threshold of 25° Brix, the winemaker’s measure of sugar.
With Chardonnay, the approach shifts. Chemical analysis plays a larger role, with close attention paid to acid retention and sugar accumulation. “My job is to be very intimate with these sites,” Kristina explains, “both from a data standpoint and a sensory standpoint—being out here, seeing them day after day.”
Every vineyard is harvested by hand, block by block—and often row by row—at different times. This allows the team to capture multiple expressions from a single site. “For example,” she says, “I’ll pick Christopher’s Vineyard at several different times because I want to capture as many expressions as possible. Maybe it’s two picks, maybe three. It depends on the vintage.”
Once harvested, the grapes are transported to the winery for sorting. Much of this work, however, has already been done in the vineyard. The same crew that prunes and tends the vines throughout the year also makes the initial selections during harvest—a rare continuity that reflects the team’s deep familiarity with each site. In the cellar, the winemaking team refines that process, using an optical sorter for red grapes and, when needed, hand-sorting whites. More often than not, the fruit arrives pristine.
From there, the paths diverge. White grapes are pressed as whole clusters, with long, gentle press cycles that allow Kristina to build texture with precision. Red grapes are destemmed but left uncrushed, preserving berry integrity ahead of fermentation.
Every lot is kept separate—each of the 287 blocks fermented on its own. It is a meticulous process, but an essential one for preserving the individuality of each site so nothing is lost in translation from vine to bottle.
Fermentation is where the mountain begins to take form in the glass. Here, Kristina translates site into structure—using a combination of experience, observation, and experimentation to determine how each lot is handled.
“I think with the variability of mountain sites, you naturally get more complexity,” she explains. “Not everything is the same—and I lean into those differences by fermenting lots in different vessels.” By separating and varying each component, she builds a range of expressions that can come together in the final blend. “I’m not trying to homogenize the site,” she adds. “I want the wine to reflect it in every way it can.”
All Stonestreet Chardonnays are fermented in either neutral standard barrels, puncheons (extra-large barrels), or concrete, and all undergo native yeast fermentation. Relying on the yeast that arrives naturally on the grapes takes longer and requires close monitoring, but it also contributes layers of complexity and nuance. “We’re not just stepping back and doing nothing,” Kristina notes. “You have to pay very close attention.” Then, she says with a laugh, “Or maybe it’s poetry—waiting as it goes through all its mood swings.”
For Cabernet Sauvignon, vessel choice becomes another layer of expression. Lots from Christopher’s Vineyard, for example, may be fermented separately in concrete, stainless steel, or wood—each shaping the wine’s texture and aromatics in distinct ways. Kristina often favors concrete for Christopher’s and Monolith, while turning to wood for Rockfall. Due to higher fermentation temperatures, these wines rely on commercial yeast for reliability.
Managing the mountain tannins in Cabernet is equally critical. Early in fermentation, the team performs pump overs—circulating juice over the skins—to balance extraction with oxygen exposure. “There’s an art to it,” Kristina says. “You’re extracting and softening at the same time.”
For Kristina, aging is about revealing the mountain’s true character: She uses low-impact barrels to support the wines, not to define them.
For Chardonnay, fermentation and aging take place in the same vessel, minimizing movement and preserving the wine’s integrity. Kristina often chooses to ferment and age the wines on their grape solids (tiny grape fragments that settle into the juice during pressing)—a technique rooted in Burgundian tradition and the focus of her master’s thesis at U.C. Davis. Over time, these solids naturally enhance texture and depth.
This approach differs from bâtonnage, which involves stirring the lees or spent yeast to build texture and soften the wine. While Kristina performs lees stirring early in the aging process, she gradually reduces its use to limit oxygen exposure. In the final months, she allows the wine to develop more quietly, relying on the grape solids to shape mouthfeel.
For Cabernet Sauvignon, the focus shifts to structure and integration. The wines are aged in French oak barrels, with new oak typically comprising 60 to 70 percent. Christopher’s Vineyard, for example, spends approximately 20 months in barrel. Rather than emphasizing new oak as a metric, Kristina prioritizes restraint: “I use very low-impact barrels,” she explains. “They’re quiet.”
Barrel selection ultimately comes down to the block itself. “It’s what I’ve found brings out the best in the fruit,” she says. “I’m not looking for the oak to impose itself—I’m looking for it to lift the wine.”
With fermentation complete, the individual lots begin to take shape as a whole. For Kristina, blending is both a creative and disciplined process—one that brings together the full range of expressions captured across the mountain.
She begins by tasting each lot blind, removing any preconceived notions about site or performance. This approach allows the wines to speak for themselves and guard against bias. “I don’t want to think I have it all figured out,” she says. “I want to leave room for surprise.”
Over the course of several months, she evaluates how each component contributes to the final wine. Even single-vineyard bottlings are often composed of multiple lots from the same site, layered together to create a complete expression of place.
Once blended and bottled, the wines enter a final, often unseen stage: extended bottle aging. This program—introduced by second-generation proprietor Chris Jackson—ensures that the wines are released only after they have begun to fully evolve. Mountain-grown wines, with their structure and concentration, benefit from this additional time. At Stonestreet, the Chardonnay is held back at least three years from vintage and the Cabernet a minimum of five from vintage before release, allowing textures to soften and aromatics to develop more fully. It’s a rare approach—holding back a significant portion of the wines—but one that allows collectors to experience the wines as they were meant to be enjoyed.
Extended bottle aging is a long-term commitment, and it reflects the same philosophy that guides the work in the vineyard and cellar: Nothing is rushed, quality is prioritized, and everything is done in service of the mountain.
Behind every vineyard block and every bottle is a team that brings the mountain to life. At Stonestreet, terroir is not only defined by soil, elevation, and climate—it is shaped by the people who work the land and run the cellar.
Farming at elevation, at the edge of what is possible, demands both resilience and expertise. The same vineyard team tends our mountain sites year-round, from pruning through harvest—an uncommon continuity that fosters a deep understanding of the land. “It’s pretty unique,” Kristina says. “The crew isn’t coming in to do one job. They know this property. They’re here all year.”
The terrain only adds to the challenge. Steep slopes—often reaching 30 to 45 degrees—require specialized equipment and the skill to operate it. But for those who work here, that challenge is part of the appeal. “These are people who are up for it,” Kristina adds. “They love the mountains. That’s why they’re here.”
That same commitment extends into the cellar. The demands of working with mountain fruit are constant, often requiring flexibility and precision beyond what is typical. “I ask a lot of our winery team,” Kristina notes. “Things that aren’t always convenient.” And yet, there is a shared sense of pride that comes from shaping wines from a single mountain estate—one vintage at a time. “When your fruit comes from one place, and you truly get to know it, you see the results of your work year after year,” she says. “There’s a level of engagement and dedication here that’s rare.”
In the end, it is this connection—between land, craft, and people—that defines every wine we make. We invite you to visit us and experience our mountain-grown wines, either in the winery or up on the mountain, and to become part of our story through membership in our Ascent or Summit wine clubs.
