"Wine begins in the vineyard"

That’s an old wine country adage...and it’s true. That’s why winemaker Parke Hafner is out among the vines so often, to be sure that we bring high quality grapes to our winemaking process.

The vineyard year begins in Spring. From the bare brown vines comes the magic of a new year. Tiny green leaves appear, growing to full size with astounding speed in just a few weeks. Miniature grape clusters accompany the leaves and soon form blooms and then grapes.

Weather is crucial now. Hail, heavy rain, extreme heat or cold will damage the crop. No wonder farming is called the world's oldest form of gambling.

And there are bugs, of course. Last year vineyard manager Rafael Jimenez released over one million predatory “good” mites to fight bad mites and the good bugs won!

As Summer approaches Rafael and the vineyard team begin moving trellis wires to lift the fast-growing shoots. This lets wind and sun into the vines to help ensure the grapes will ripen evenly with full aromas.

Days grow busy: Training fast-growing shoots, removing leaves, thinning crops, all to increase wine quality. Summers demand close attention and continuous handwork.

As harvest nears, Parke and Rafael walk the vineyard. The Chardonnay grapes ripen first, usually around Labor Day, although Nature keeps us guessing every year. Several weeks later, the Cabernet grapes are ready.

This is an endeavor of the senses, so Parke and Rafael taste many grapes, checking for flavor and ripeness. When the grapes meet Parke's goals, the harvester goes to work, shaking the ripe grapes from the vines. The harvester then loads the grapes into gondolas for quick delivery to the winery.

Irrigation follows the harvest as the vines catch at least another month's growth. That critical last month stores nutrients for the Winter and next year's crop. The tractor begins to plow the cover crop under and seed next year’s grasses which enrich and protect the top soil.

As Winter approaches, the vines go dormant and out comes our pruning machine. It removes the year's major growth.

Then, the shortened shoots are ready for precision hand pruning by our vineyard team. Pruning 65,000 vines takes time and patience, but we have our eyes on the goal: to finish in March, so that we are ready to welcome Spring, and a new vineyard year.

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