The Beckmen family established their Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley in 1994. After years as leaders and pioneers in the electronic music business, Tom and Judy Beckmen, joined by their youngest son Steve, set out to make wines as well-crafted and distinctive as the keyboards and synthesizers that built their successful careers as founders of Roland Corp, US. Their search for a promising vineyard ended in 1994 when they discovered a 40 acre winery near the picturesque town of Los Olivos, CA. It was here, in the heart of the blossoming Santa Ynez Valley wine region, that the family laid down their roots and established Beckmen Vineyards. The Beckmens' commitment to building a world class estate vineyard led them to purchase an unplanted 365 acre ranch in nearby Ballard Canyon. Named after the ranch to which it once belonged, Purisima Mountain Vineyard was established in 1996. Beckmen Vineyards' wines are composed exclusively from the 150 acres of grapevine grown on these two vineyards, crafted with care in the original Los Olivos winery.
Beckmen Vineyards consists of two separate vineyards with dramatically different soils and climates. On the western side of Ballard Canyon lies their acclaimed, 365 acre, certified Biodynamic Purisima Mountain Vineyard. Comprised mostly of clay and clay loam, with varying amounts of gravel, the most unique aspect of this site is the limestone subsoil. Found in great Rhone regions like Cote Rotie and Chateauneuf du Pape, the limestone soil limits vine vigor and produces smaller vines with lower yields and more intensely flavored fruit. With peaks reaching 1,250 feet, Purisima Mountain boasts 500 feet of elevation change with multiple exposures. The Winery Estate vineyard is 25 acres of rolling hills, situated in a wide valley just south of Los Olivos and two miles east of Ballard Canyon. The site is warmer than the Ballard Canyon property, due to its lower elevation and its location farther inland.
Purisima Mountain Vineyard has been certified Biodynamic since 2009. Biodynamic farming is organic farming, and then some. They go beyond organic farming by treating the farm as a living organism: self-contained, self-sustaining, and following the cycles of nature. Beckmen dooes not use herbicides, insecticides, pesticides, or nitrogen based fertilizer. Beckmen farms proactively, thinking ahead to what problems may arise and taking preventative action to stop them, as opposed to reactionary farming measures once the problem has occurred.
Each plant selection in their property brings its own unique character and quality to their wines. Tending vines from dormancy through harvest since 1994, the Beckmen family has learned a great deal about their two distinct vineyard properties. Over time they have discovered, acre by acre, the unique soil and microclimate that best hosts each grape varietal, ensuring every block in the vineyard consistently produces the highest quality fruit possible. The Winery Estate is mostly planted to Cabernet Sauvignon with small amounts of Grenache, Mourvedre, and Syrah. The Purisima Mountain Vineyard is home to their white wine production including Sauvignon Blanc, Marsanne, Grenache Blanc, Viognier, and Chardonnay, as well as their Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, and Counoise.
When planting their first vines, the grape varieties were chosen through recommendations from accomplished peers and regional history. Over time, they've let experience be their guide in determining which grapes thrive best on their two vineyards. Over the last 25 years Beckmen has been in constant pursuit of the ideal palette that will portray the balance of flavor, structure, color, and complexity for which Beckmen wines are known. They specialize in Rhone-style grapes such as Syrah, Grenache, Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Mourvedre, and Counoise. For an optimal diversity of expression, Beckmen cultivates seven different clones of Syrah and four selections of the heat-loving Grenache. They have found the thin topsoil on the hilltops of their Estate Vineyard to be the perfect host to four clones of Cabernet Sauvignon. Sauvignon Blanc, another Bordeaux variety, yields a startlingly flavorful fruit, stressed by the steep slopes of their Purisima Mountain Vineyard, where two clones of the Burgundy grape Chardonnay flourish on the hilltop.
