Cleavage Creek wines are a labor of love. It starts with Budge Brown's vision and focus on the quality of wines he wants to produce. Longtime farmer and grape grower, Budge works closely with his vineyard managers in the growing process of each varietal, carefully watching over the vineyards, and utilizing state-of-the-art growing techniques to ensure the best fruit possible. After the harvest and crush, Budge and Mickael “Mike” Gulyash begin the process where this extraordinary juice begins the fragile and closely watched transformation into becoming award-winning wine.

Napa Valley

One of Cleavage Creek's two vineyards is located in the Napa Valley appellation on the back side of Howell Mountain in an area called Pope Valley. This hillside vineyard is approximately 20 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon, Petite Sirah, Petite Verdot, Cabernet Franc, Malbec, and a new Zinfandel clone. The hillsides are facing north east to greet the morning sun and are cooled by the shadow of the mountain.

Budge and his vineyard manager, Alejandro Maldonado, are ahead of the curve. They have been at the forefront of "sustainable" or "green" farming since 1952. Some of the practices are quite innovative.

• Cleavage Creek uses goats and newly added Barbarossa sheep for ground cleaning and underbrush management.  The goats and sheep minimize the use of herbicides and eliminate the need to till or disrupt the soil composition.
• New vineyards have been planted using a technique which Budge invented to preserve the rainfall for each vine.
• Organic material in the soil is replenished with a chicken manure, worm castings and compost. This ensures rich, fertile growing conditions for the grapes that meke award winning Cleavage Creek wines.

When you see the Napa Valley appellation on our labels, this is the vineyard from which our grapes were hand harvested.

Tracy Hills

Following in his Dad's farming footsteps, Jeff Brown, Budge and Arlene's youngest son, presides over the growing practices in this vineyard.

Jeff and his dad are responsible for producing  the finest fruit which go into Cleavage Creek's Tracy Hills wines.  The deep gravelly soil, cool evening breezes and nonexistent water table allow Jeff to decide the berry size and crop load that will affect the quality of the juice.  This practice allows the deep rich color, depth of character and fullness in the mouth that is characteristic of Cleavage Creek wines.

We are very proud of these 2 vineyards and the outstanding fruit they produce. We hope that you are able to join us at one of our events in the vineyards. Join our newsletter to find out when these events will be taking place.