Prospect 772's vineyard manager, Mark Skenfield began his viticultural career in his native Sierra Foothills in 1992. After working for 3 years with a local winery, he began to identify a demand from wineries for additional vineyard plantings and embarked on a vineyard development career.

With recent advancements in trellising, as well as clone and rootstock selections, he envisioned incorporating these concepts to elevate the area in the eyes of the outside wine world. He saw great opportunity in Calaveras County's burgeoning wine industry to enhance wine quality by utilizing progressive growing techniques.

Careful analysis of the area's soils and climatic conditions drove Mark to break away from some of the traditionally planted varieties in the area and focus on more appropriate varieties from the Rhone, Rioja, Priotrat, and other Mediterranean regions.

For well over a decade, Mark has been involved in the creation of more than 30 vineyards, totaling approximately 120 acres, focusing on the development of a vineyard in a "boutique" setting with highly controlled crops. His company, Vintage Landscapes, manages vineyards ranging in size from 1 to 20 acres which often consist of multiple varieties like Syrah, Grenache and Viognier which have been planted here at Appaloosa Vineyards for Prospect 772 Wines.

More than just a builder of vineyards, Mark is renowned for his hands on farming approach that ensures attention to detail by personal involvement in the vineyard from bud break to harvest. Whether it is making decisions on how many buds the vines will be pruned to or how many clusters shall be taken off during fruit thinning - every decision has a significant effect on the finished product.

Mark shares Ron and Wendy's passion for wine, philosophy on vineyard practices and vision for their property and brand: To carefully grow wine grapes focusing on low production and high attention to detail of every nuance in the cycle of the vine. Every action in the vineyard is directed towards the quality of the fruit and ultimately the quality of the wine.

Profiles:   Ron Pieretti   |   Wendy Sanda   |   Jeff Cohn   |   Mark Skenfield