Estancia, which was founded as an Alexander Valley brand, is now focused on Monterey and Paso Robles, with more than 2,000 acres of estate vineyards. As vineyard manager for Estancia’s operations in Monterey County, Jason Melvin oversees 1,200 acres in two locations: the Pinnacles Vineyard, which is outside of Soledad and part of the Monterey AVA, and the Stonewall Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA.

Although much of Estancia’s focus in Monterey is on Pinot Noir – Stonewall Vineyard is 100 percent Pinot – the Pinnacles Vineyard is diverse, and Melvin is responsible for half a dozen grape varieties, ranging from Chardonnay to Syrah to Viognier. He’s been working with Estancia’s vineyards since 1999, and was previously a researcher at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

I spoke with Melvin about the cachet of Monterey, the differences between the two Estancia vineyards and clonal selection in Pinot Noir.