Garys’ Vineyard & Susan’s Hill:
Lucia Summer 2026 Release
Ask wine people familiar with the history of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA to reel off important dates in its development, and you’re likely to hear the year 1982 among them. It was then that Gary Pisoni defied his father’s pronouncements and the predictions of many other naysayers and first planted Pinot Noir on a cold, windswept slope of part of his family’s acreage. Ten years later, the spectacular SLH was approved as an AVA. Gary’s pioneering decisions helped put the appellation on the map and in the consciousness of Pinot Noir drinkers around the country.
But Gary was not done betting on Pinot Noir… Fourteen years after first planting his first vines at Pisoni Vineyards, he and longtime friend, Gary Franscioni, embarked on a new partnership to plant Pinot on a 50-acre parcel of land in the heart of the Santa Lucia Highlands. “It was 1996, and we wanted to explore every new prospective site to see what potential it might have,” Gary remembers. One day both Garys found themselves crawling under brush and hopping fences on a stealth visit to explore an undeveloped plot of land. “In what felt like only days later, we were planting a vineyard in the heart of the Santa Lucia Highlands,” he sums up.
“Dad was very much into pushing the envelope for viticulture,” Mark, the family’s farmer explains. But it was a risky decision to make, he adds—risky as a financial venture, and risky for their friendship. “Planting a vineyard together with someone means you’re creating a long-term relationship,” he stresses—“one with no exit plan,” given the longevity of well-tended vines and the amount of care and work involved in nurturing them over decades.
But both Mark and Jeff, the family’s vintner, stress the quality of the relationship their father continues to possess with Gary Franscioni. The brothers agree that partnerships like this one tend to be contentious; people fight over money, or over work. They know it’s exceedingly rare for two growers to work together. And yet the partnership between the two Garys has been a sunny one for decades.
In the ensuing years, Garys’ Vineyard has become justly celebrated by wine critics. As Andrew Adams notes in the November 2014 issue of Wines & Vines, “Garys’ Vineyard, owned by partners Gary Franscioni and Gary Pisoni, supports some of the highest-rated and most sought-after California Pinot Noir.” And Garys’ Vineyard Pinot Noir 2024 offers a particularly brilliant example.
The vineyard is what Jeff calls “modest but mighty.” The vineyard’s soil and subsoil, which contains decomposed granite, are consistent across the parcel. Jeff describes the acreage as a single alluvial fan whose slope is “elegant rather than dramatic or extreme.” The consistent grade encourages “consistently great concentration.” The 2024 vintage completes a full spectrum of California vintages in just three years: 2022 was early and 2023 was late. This 2024 arrived right in between the prior two and is characterized by wonderful balance.
Alongside the Susan’s Hill Syrah, it seems the perfect vintage to celebrate the thirty-year anniversary of Garys’ Vineyard. With the 2024 Pinot, Jeff and Mark celebrate their father’s collaborative spirit in a vineyard that beautifully showcases the family’s unceasing work to craft the very best Pinot Noir they can make.
“ Two wild guys grow California’s hottest grapes.”
on the Garys, very soon after planting
2026 Summer Release Selections
From the gently sloping and east-facing hillside, the 2024 Lucia Pinot Noir Garys’ Vineyard is intense and structured. A deep ruby color foreshadows the concentration, as aromas of black cherry and crushed blackberry lift from the glass alongside notes of baking spice and subtle dried herbs. The palate is dense and layered, showcasing the nearly thirty years of vine age. The dark fruit is supported by firm, finely knit tannins that give the wine structure and energy. With air, savory spice, graphite, and subtle French oak builds into a long finish that speaks to both the vineyard site and thoughtful winemaking. Enjoy this wine now or age for over decade in the cellar.
Sourced from the highest elevation block of Pisoni Vineyards, Susan’s Hill is a rugged, windswept hillside that yields a dense and concentrated Syrah. Produced from meager yields of less than 2 tons per acre, the 2024 Lucia Syrah, Susan’s Hill is deep purple in the glass and immediately compelling. The nose offers muddled blackberry, lifted floral tones, and underlying leather and tobacco leaf. On the palate, the wine is muscular and mouth-coating, with powerful tannins that reflect the vineyard’s schist-laden hillside. This is a cellar-worthy Syrah with the structure and stamina to develop for many years.
Farming Legends and Family Matriarchs 
Gary Pisoni.
Garys’ Vineyard and