The goal of every winemaker is to produce the best wine they can each year. We have been making wine here at Hafner Vineyard for over 35 years, and we enjoy the wines we produce, so we are not trying to make dramatic changes, but we are always looking at ways to make subtle improvements. This harvest, I convinced Parke to do a labor intensive experiment - barrel fermenting Cabernet Sauvignon. We barrel ferment Chardonnay, but Cabernet is a bit more challenging. Here, I share a sneak peek at the experiment in action. 

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As a business and family, we aim to minimize our impact on the earth, hoping to leave it better than we found it for future generations. Energy use is an area where each of us can make a difference. Installed in 2002 and 2011, our solar panel array yields 38% of our electricity. Together, we felt we wanted to do more. Although the cost of electricity increased, we committed to using 100% local and renewable energy, an option provided through our local utilities company. In addition to purchasing clean energy, this means we are supporting local jobs and infrastructure and also using the available resources around us.

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Every few years, I create a new watercolor for our Holiday Offering that we send to patrons in the beginning of November. Each painting depicts a different scene from the winter celebrations such as a bountiful Holiday table or a festive front door. Throughout the year, I worked on a new watercolor that is featured on this year's Holiday Offering. It is a painting that reminds me of the Holiday Season, fun, laughter and family. We hope you've received yours and enjoy it. In this blog, I share my inspiration for the winter cabin watercolor.

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Two weeks to Thanksgiving. Four weeks until our Holiday Party. 47 days until Christmas. It feels like we have all the time in the world. And then I remember: at this time of year, time evaporates faster than a drop of water on a hot skillet. Time to plan ahead, especially on the easy stuff such as choosing fun and interesting wines for entertaining and gift giving. Here I share a few of my tips for organizing your wine leading up to the Holidays. That way you can relax and enjoy the festivities. 

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Here at Hafner Vineyard, we grow three red Bordeaux varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot) and from those varieties we make two distinctly different wines - Cabernet Sauvignon and Next Red, our Malbec based blend. We thought it would be interesting to share why we decided to make these two wines, how they are different and what typical aromas we find in each. 

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