State Ranch is located northeast of the town of Yountville. The 23-acre vineyard is divided into two parcels by State Lane Road and consists of both older and younger vines. Many excellent wines are produced from this area, in part due to the rocky, loam soil which has excellent drainage throughout the year. The vines, as well as the clusters, are moderate in size and the vineyard gets full sun throughout the day. Nickel & Nickel selects fruit from 14.5 acres of the vineyard.

This was another beautiful growing season with an ideal spring that led to an early budbreak and bloom. Despite low rainfall, canopies were healthy and clusters were full. This vineyard is not overly vigorous, so a little leaf-pulling around the clusters was all that was required for adequate exposure. Because the Yountville area is cooler than our northern appellations, we allowed the fruit to hang on the vine until early October for full, ripe expressions of flavor and tannin.