In the past few weeks, California has experienced a series of rain storms, which has brought much needed precipitation to our dry (and thirsty!) state after years of drought. Here in Alexander Valley, the rainfall has been consistent with about one inch per day – some days heavier and some days lighter. Here is an interview with Winemaker Parke Hafner and Vineyard Manager Dave Huebel with their perspectives on the impact of the rain on our vineyards and ranch.
The end of September is here as is the departure of our intern, Edgar Guignard, on Monday. Edgar hails from Cognac, France where his family has a vineyard, winery and distillery. As many of you know, we have a longstanding internship program; it began in 1985 when a friend of a friend asked me if we would host a French enology student. As former interns in Burgundy, France, Sarah and I understood how an internship could inspire and influence young people, so it was easy for us to say “yes!”. Edgar is our 37th intern.
In 2020 when the pandemic hit, there was much uncertainty, but one thing was clear: people lost their jobs and were struggling to provide enough food for their families. At the same time, we had about 13 acres of vineyard land resting fallow before we replanted the next year. We have a longstanding family tradition of supporting a nearby food bank by donating our extra fruits and vegetables, so the empty field got us thinking…let’s plant a garden specifically to supply produce for those in need. It has now become a permanent fixture at Hafner Vineyard and yielded more than 8,800 pounds of produce for people in need.
This Harvest marks our 40th Harvest here at Hafner Vineyard. We (Parke and Sarah) wanted to share a look back over the Harvests to share some stories, what has changed and what is the same. We also share some photos from the archives from the early 1980s. We hope you enjoy it, and we are excited what the next 40 Harvests hold.
Winemaking is science driven and hence an ever-evolving profession. Through experimentation, we always strive to improve our techniques, processes and ultimately our wine. Cork is a natural product; one that we consider 100% sustainable. However, there is a component (trichloroanisole or TCA) that can impart a musty quality and hence ruin the wine. We call this a "corky" wine. Cork producers have worked hard to eliminate TCA or at least mitigate its impact. In the quest to do so, a French company named Diam has created a new technical cork. After many trials and conversations with colleagues, we decided to move from "punch corks" to Diam "technical corks".
