Heart Hill Vineyard

Paso Robles Willow Creek District

Heart Hill Vine­yard is locat­ed in the Wil­low Creek Dis­trict of the Paso Rob­les AVA, on the West­side. The site is named for the icon­ic grove of oak trees, shaped like heart. The heart was shaped in 1956 by the Book­er Broth­ers, who lived on the land for near­ly 100 years, and has retained it’s sig­na­ture shape ever since. 

Photograph of a vineyard on a hillside, covered in green vegetation, with a growth of trees in the shape of a heart at its center.

Cli­mate & Soils

Paso Rob­les is a large AVA with extreme vari­a­tion in cli­mate and topog­ra­phy. The Wil­low Creek Dis­trict is defined by steep, rolling hill­sides and a cool­er cli­mate than much of the region. The coastal breezes that sail through the ​‘Tem­ple­ton Gap’ in the San­ta Lucia Moun­tain Range give the vine­yard a respite from the sum­mer­time heat. That cadence of warm days and cool after­noons and evenings cre­ate an ide­al climate. 

The soils at this site are diverse, and vary by the hill­side with large swaths of either Siliceous or Cal­care­ous Shale deposits. Below those high­ly-regard­ed and sought after top­soils are lay­ers of close to 90% frac­tured shale. Grapevines must descend deep into this shale to find water, cre­at­ing strong root sys­tems that lead to pow­er­ful wines.

A sheep is shown standing on a large piece of shale, with a green vineyard in the background.
Green and lush Grapevines are shown running up hillsides in a few different directions, with a blue sky in the background.
Steep hillsides of rocky shale define the topography of this site

Vine­yard Map

The site is plant­ed to a diverse set of Caber­net Sauvi­gnon clones along­side Mal­bec, Caber­net Franc and Petit Ver­dot. Small­er pieces of the site are plant­ed to Syrah, Mourvè­dre, Car­ménère, Zin­fan­del, and Grenache Blanc. 

A map showing details of the vineyard, such as types of grapes and acreage planted to different types of grapes.
Caber­net Sauvi­gnon is the jew­el of this site, thriv­ing in the warm after­noons and cool evenings.
Green vines running up a golden hillside, contrasted against a bright blue sky.

Heart Hill Vineyard produces wines that are opulent and complex, with dark color and balanced flavors.

A smiling male winemaker is shown leaning against a stack of grape bins, with dark pants, a tan shirt and a hat.

Meet the Winemaker

Patrick Muran

A scientist with a degree in Microbiology, Patrick has been making wine for over two decades. He is responsible for crafting all of the wines from Heart Hill Vineyard. He has a partner in Molly Bohlman, who is our Winemaker responsible for making Jespersen Ranch wines.