Ledge’s debut vintage was a 2009 Syrah, but its history goes back to the 1970s, when Mark Adams’ parents bought 40 acres in Templeton, south of the city of Paso Robles, to raise cattle. Adams grew up on the ranch and one of his childhood friends was Justin Smith, now the award-winning winemaker at Saxum Vineyards. Adams worked at James Berry Vineyard and Saxum before returning to the family property in 2003 to start his own label. He soon started planting vineyards of Syrah, Grenache and Mourvedre, leading to his first Ledge harvest in 2009. Ledge makes Rhone-style wines, and they’ve won accolades since their first vintages. Wine Advocate’s Jeb Dunnuck has called Ledge “an upcoming estate I’ve been raving about for years now…Mark likes plenty of whole cluster, and isn’t afraid of a touch of funk either. His wines always show lots of character and are highly recommended.”