PRESQU’ILE

During the storms of Katrina, the owners lost their beloved Louisiana homestead, Presqu’ile, which had been in the family for generations.  Pursuing their interest in winemaking, they acquired a 200 acre site in the hills of the Santa Maria Valley.  Framed between the San Rafael transverse mountain range to the north, and the Solomon Hills to the south, the site’s soils, slopes and weather patterns offered an opportunity to plant vineyards with an emphasis on viticultural diversity.  As the respect for terroir and diversity drove the approach to vineyard planning and the craft of winemaking, the same collaborative efforts followed when work began on the site design and landscape for the family’s residences, winery, visitor spaces, barns, gardens, ponds and associated site work and utilities.

Having experienced the devastating effects of Katrina, the owners asked that the context of the existing topology, vegetation, and climate inform all design decisions to create a resilient and diverse landscape that would allow converging uses to exist in harmony and remain responsive to dynamic environmental conditions and social demands. 

When siting structures, portions of the ranch were utilized that had been severely degraded by past gladiola farming while allowing minimal impacts to native vegetation.  Given the scope of the development, careful analysis was also needed to ensure that infrastructure for ranch and winery operations was well integrated into the project site plan.

The aesthetic of Presqu’ile is one of humility and inclusion allowing complex systems of the site to have room to evolve and be the main determinant of the gardens’ and landscape’s spatial variation and composition.  The core design concepts embrace the existing conditions, creating a collaborative vision for the layering and melding of systems into a vibrant and interactive community.

It is a landscape filled with the expressions of an ongoing dialogue within the Presquile family and a reflection of their cultural values.  As belies their Louisiana roots, the family has a deep and abiding love for live music and social gathering.  The public and private spaces at Presquile were designed to be filled with an ever-changing variety of food and sound; local musicians or world class touring bands, all are welcome.   An amphitheater, formed into the hillside with board form concrete walls and lawn terraces, welcomes visitors throughout the year and children quickly recognize the space as a place to test their agility.  Play, whether adult play like bocce, or free exploration on trails to the organic garden, is always welcome at Presqu’ile.

Boundaries between private family space, the working winery, and visitor space were carefully considered as the master plan developed.  Both residences and the production area of the winery are located beyond the sight range of visitor areas, minimizing the need for fencing.  In more domesticated areas of the landscape, low walls, like their agrarian precedents, create boundaries between garden spaces and natural landscapes.  Materials were chosen, like board form concrete and locally sourced stone, for their visually recessive quality and ability to age gracefully with minimal maintenance.  Rather than strictly following the geometry of the architecture, the layout of walls, paths and roads resonate with the topography of the ranch ensuring that the built landscapes remain subservient to the surrounding habitat and vineyard.   

The team worked closely with the project architects to create a series of outdoor spaces that are responsive to seasonal weather patterns.  These spaces are shaped by site orientation,  structures’ walls, and landscape walls; each space creating a unique environment for family, friends and visitors to gather throughout the year.  Located in one of California’s unique Mediterranean climates, the gardens are informed by the built garden enclosures and water features of the missions and haciendas, creating heat sinks for cool weather gathering areas filled with citrus, bougainvillea and other frost sensitive plants. 

Arcadia Studio is deeply committed to the value of the temporal landscape in the design approach to the site. It is this conscious interlacing of spatial and temporal  scales that allows patterns to emerge within the broad context of the entire ranch from the quiet bloom of Arctostaphylos and Ceanothus to the deep jewel like colors of the vineyards in the fall. 

Like other areas in the arid west as the climate changes, droughts are more frequent putting stress on the native plant communities. Storm events are more intense requiring systems to handle high volume levels while appearing to seamlessly blend with the natural landscape.

Storm water management and erosion control are integral components of the project as the soils are a complex mixture of ancient sand dunes, unconsolidated sedimentary stone and clay.

The team worked with the project civil engineers to ensure that runoff from newly developed areas was captured and retained on the site in areas that enhanced existing vegetation whenever possible.  Channels planted with native grasses are visually integrated with the adjacent topography and appear to move naturally to seasonal ponding areas or ponds.  

Two ponds were developed on the ranch to handle irrigation and fire management needs.  The ponds were constructed with soil cement edges and surrounded with a variety of native and ornamental grasses as well as riparian plants such as native sycamore, willow and bog sage.  The open waters and constructed bogs attract area waterfowl to the ranch year round.

Throughout the site, the native chaparral frame the organic garden, vineyards, and settlement areas.  Emergent plantings meet the meandering edges of the established chaparral community in areas disturbed by construction. Baccharis pilularis and other secondary pioneer plants are allowed to flourish, furthering the evolution of this critical plant community.  In the fall and late winter, birds populate the dense brush, feasting on seeds from meadows and chaparral.  While Katrina’s lessons learned were swept into focus by the water’s currents and unrelenting winds, Presqu’ile’s new landscape was shaped by thoughts of decreasing humidity, erratic Santa Ana winds, and the increasing wildfires in the region.  On-going fuel management, low fuel open spaces of native grasses and defensible access were just some of  components of the overall design strategy to allow the integration of natural and man made processes on site.

The ranch roads were carefully laid out, working with the project architects and civil engineers, to provide subtle transitions through the existing topography while meeting the strict conditions for access from the local fire authorities as well as providing functional connections for vineyard equipment and public access.   Consideration was also given to the siting of a solar field that now provides the power for the winery.   

From its inception, Presqu’ile was dedicated to sustainable agricultural practices in the vineyards and garden areas.  All areas of the site are managed organically and plant palettes were chosen to attract bees and other pollinators throughout the landscape.  Once wine production was well established, the edible garden was planted on a gentle slope within view of the winery’s terrace and amphitheater.    As Julia Childs once said, ”Wine is meant to be with food, that’s the point of it.”  Seasonal bounty now finds its way into the kitchen and onto the plates of visitors.  Like the garden surrounding the hospitality area of the winery, the organic garden incorporates a variety of flowers and herbs adapted to this Mediterranean climate as a counterpoint to the subtle textures of the chaparral.

A decade has gone by since the Presqu’ile family and team walked the land sharing ideas and a vision for what could be.  We have watched meadows germinate, old oaks fall in the recent drought, and grapes ripen each fall.  With each season, we observe, learn, and respond to changes within the context of the project’s design values.  With this approach, the people, wildlife and plant communities will continue to thrive for years to come.