A new set of hands has been working with Ricardo and me in the cellar for the past couple of months. He’s fun and he’s French…he’s Guillaume, the intern! He arrived in California on June 10^th and lives with my wife, Sarah, and me on the property here in Alexander Valley. Guillaume has been helping Ricardo and me in the cellar as we get ready for harvest. He and Ricardo make a great team. I often walk into the caves and hear them working away, but also laughing hysterically. Guillaume said he’s teaching Ricardo a few choice French phrases and Ricardo’s helping him perfect the art of Mexican Spanish. Read more about Guillaume's adventures!

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Big bottles mean big celebrations and in our family, a big bottle means a jeroboam, it’s the equivalent of 6 regular sized (750 ml) bottles! What would be better to celebrate my father’s 90^th birthday than a jeroboam of Hafner Cabernet? I looked through my cellar and found a 1990, which was an excellent year here at Hafner Vineyard. A 25-year-old wine! There is a theory that the larger the bottle, the slower the aging process. To test that, I went down into my cellar and found a 750 ml bottle of the same vintage.

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People often say to all of us here: “You have my dream job!” They explain they would love to taste wines and walk the vineyard on a daily basis. Working close to the land in a beautiful agricultural setting strikes a chord with them. Being part of a small team that makes fine wine and gets it directly to patrons is a desirable occupation. The most pleasurable part of the job for many of us, however, is our interaction with you, our patrons. And a great example of this are the delightful photos patrons send us and post online. 

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Ludovic David, our intern in 1990 and now the General Manager at Chateau Marquis de Terme, came back to visit us and brought his son, Guillaume. Guillaume will go to the same university, Purpan, where his dad went and our interns are enrolled. While they were here, our 31st intern, Aymeric Laturelle, arrived. They are our interns past, present and future! 

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