The Press

Gerardo's Retirement

After 44 harvests at Hafner Vineyard, longtime employee Gerardo Lopez has retired. Gerardo was a master tractor driver and a cornerstone of the vineyard's operations. Part of the Lopez family legac...

Glass Color

At Hafner Vineyard, sustainability is at the heart of everything we do from our solar array and electric tractor to the packaging choices we make. Recently, you may have noticed that our Chardonnay...

Wildlife Camera Bloopers

At Hafner Vineyard, we've had fun over the years with our wildlife camera, capturing incredible glimpses of the animals that roam our ranch. Each time we check the footage, there’s a sense of excit...

Chipping Vines

We are always looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint, so this year, we tried something new: we chipped the vines when removing a block of vineyard instead of burning them. The idea is simp...

Electric Tractor as Generator

We’ve been doing some things in the vineyard that I’m very excited about in our continuing efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. Our biggest investment is an all-electric tractor made by Monarch....

Climate Adaptation Certification

We received our Climate Adaptation Certification from the California Land Stewardship Institute. The result is a comprehensive plan specific to Hafner Vineyard that demonstrates how to look at vari...

The Vineyard Team's Longevity

Pruning is the longest and most tedious job in the vineyard. There are roughly 95,300 vines across our 96 acres of vineyards that need to be pruned every year. Each vine requires multiple cuts, and...

Four-Legged Friends

Although we have 96 acres of vineyard planted, we have 150 acres in the hills that we leave for the wildlife. This was a decision made by Grandmother and Grandfather and one that successive generat...

Cork & Capsule Recycling Program

Here at Hafner Vineyard, we are always looking at ways we can reduce our carbon footprint and create less waste. We try to look at each step in the process: growing grapes, making wine, bottling it...

Vineyard Update

This growing season in Alexander Valley and all over Sonoma County has been a bit unique. That's what makes farming fun and interesting... no two years are the same. Vineyard Manager, David Huebel,...

2023 Growing Season

No two years in farming are the same. Mother Nature is everchanging, impacting how we do things. This year's growing season is no different. Vineyard manager, Dave Huebel, shares how the 2023 growi...

Eliminating Plastic Ties

Our most recent effort in the vineyard to reduce our carbon footprint was to eliminate the use of plastic ties. We tie vines to establish the exposure of the fruit to the elements. In the past, we ...

A View from Above

A few years ago, Uncle Scott encouraged me to become a “drone pilot”, so we could have some unique photos from above. This certainly pushed me out of my comfort zone, but the end result is always f...

Vineyard Awards

Sonoma County Grape Growers Foundation Vineyard Employee Recognition Award honors outstanding vineyard workers monthly throughout the year. Each month focuses on a different category of vineyard wo...

Rainy January

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 Vall...

Sustainable Gift Wrapping

With the Holidays approaching, Sarah wanted to share a few ways that we wrap wine bottles in sustainable, reusable way. As a family, we use kraft paper (even paper bags), old maps and newspaper. It...

Wine Donations

Giving back to the community has been instilled in our family and thus in our business. That notion is thanks to my grandmother, Mary Hafner. She embraced community and devoted much of her time to ...

Food Pantry Garden

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 ab...

Through the Expert's Lens

What does the expert see?! I took the below photo of a recently formed grape cluster on June 7. While I see beautiful lush green leaves and the excitement of a potential harvest, we wanted to know ...

Bud Burst

We are constantly reminded that farming has us at the will of Mother Nature and this year is no different. We thought it would be interesting to take you out into the vineyard and share with you wh...