The Little Big Block Vineyard was planted in these deep, pure sand soils on a slope at the edge of the San Joaquin River in Contra Costa County, back in 1895 by Portuguese and Italian immigrants. As was typical of the era, they planted a variety of red grapes (“mixed blacks”) including Mourvèdre, Carignane, Zinfandel, and even Alicanté Bouschet. They are an anachronism also for the fact that they are bush vines; impossible to farm or harvest by newfangled modern mechanical means , and demand extra attention and skill in every aspect of the growing season.  In the face of encroaching housing developments on every side, we hope our work with these old vines creates enough interest and value for the current generation of growers to keep on keeping on for the next generation.