Dierberg Vineyard shot

Dierberg Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley AVA

Flying Goat Cellars was lucky to be one of the first wineries to craft a Pinot Noir from the meticulously farmed Dierberg Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley. Founded in 1997, the family planted twelve “heritage clones” of Pinot Noir (tracing back to Burgundy). The vineyard has predominately sandy loam soils and southern exposures. Rolling hills sit on a windswept mesa that is caressed by the maritime breeze from the Pacific Ocean. Wines from this vineyard were truly unique and greatly sought after. Our first release from the Dierberg Vineyard was in 2001; it’s now a library wine that still rocks! 

In 2020, the Dierberg Vineyard in Santa Maria Valley was completely ripped out due to disease and low productivity. It was the oldest of three vineyards in Santa Barbara County owned by Jim and Mary Dierberg. Bankers by profession, the Dierbergs have also owned one of America’s oldest wineries, Hermannhof, since 1974. Hermannhof is located in their home state of Missouri, where Jim was raised in a farming tradition. California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance certified.

Thirteen miles from the Pacific Ocean in one of the cooler winegrowing corners of Santa Barbara County, Dierberg Vineyard was on the western edge of the Santa Maria Valley appellation and was comprised of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Perched on a mesa above the south bank of the Santa Maria River, the property consisted of sandy loam soils, heavily infiltrated by the marine sediments of yesteryear and kissed by the fog from the Pacific.

Dierberg Vineyard, Santa Maria Valley AVA