THE MONKS

"Prior to the onset of prohibition, the land was sold off in 1919. In 1955, the heart of "The Great Vina Ranch", some six-hundred acres, was purchased by Trappist-Cistercian monks and became the Abbey of New Clairvaux."

They researched the viticultural areas of Spain, Italy, Southern France, and Australia to settle on which grapes might thrive best in this warm, dry environment.