It was horseshoes!

We had just been beaten at horseshoes when I joked to my partner who sold farms, “If you ever have a ranch for sale in the wine country. . .”

That was July 1967 during a farming recession and, yes, he did have one. In Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley. We’d never been there, but two weeks later we visited the one hundred acre farm of prunes and pears.

On November 1st it was ours and many years of hard work began, carried out while still living in Berkeley and working fulltime. For the first years we were prune and pear farmers while we planted Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay vines.

In October 1971 our new vines produced their first harvest and we were officially in the wine grape business. Some of those Cabernet grapes traveled to Berkeley with us to make wine at home. Most were sold to Sonoma and Napa wineries.

Those early years were encouraged by the friendly advice of veteran ranchers and the skilled work of our vineyard manager and his crew. There were regular “rock concerts” when our family and friends helped clear stones from the new vineyard. Plus weekend commuting to put out milk cartons to protect the new vines from hungry rabbits and plowing with an old tractor.

By 1974 the one hundred acres were planted in premium wine grapes. That put us on the farming calendar: Raise the grapes. Endure weather and battle bugs. Sell the grapes. Survive grape price declines. Deliver the grapes to wineries. Pay the banker.

Oldest son Parke Hafner graduated from the University of California at Davis after studying grape-growing and winemaking. Then he worked for two years at Napa Valley wineries. We began to think about building a winery.

In late 1981 Parke and bride Sarah returned from working a harvest and crush in France’s Burgundy area. Winery planning began in earnest. By September 1982 the winery was ready for our first crush, with Parke as a youthful, but already seasoned winemaker. Four rainstorms during the Cabernet harvest that year christened our first vintage and we handled it well. That was the beginning of 23 harvests, many of them happily coinciding with California’s most acclaimed wine years.

Now with wine bottled and ready, marketing became our next challenge. Younger son Scott liked our idea of selling exclusively to patrons and leading restaurants. That winery-to-patron relationship fit perfectly with our commitment to be small scale and personal.

Following two harvests at a Napa Valley winery, Scott then worked for two years at The Sharper Image headquarters in San Francisco. He returned to Alexander Valley to create our marketing plan with personal service as its guiding goal. That was 21 years ago and our program has proved to be personal, dependable and successful.

For 37 years Mary and I and our family have worked together to create this family vineyard and winery. Those early days included our two daughters, Julie and Betsy, now living on the East Coast.

Many have written eloquently of the deep feeling that comes from working the earth. We can attest to that. Work in such a beautiful setting has inspired us and the enjoyment our wines have given to our patrons is deeply satisfying for us.

Now the second generation is guiding this venture with Parke and Scott as managing partners. Mary and I draw great fulfillment from looking back on nearly four decades of our family working together here. And there is the sense of attachment to the land and a deep appreciation of those who tend the soil and bring forth its products.

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