Our Philosophy

95% of what is in the wine bottle comes from the vineyard. In other words, the vineyard is where the winemaking really takes place. A winemaker can screw things up or elicit nuance, but he or she cannot make a great wine from mediocre fruit. As winemaker Greg Lafollette expressed years ago in our own vineyard, a great wine starts with good bones on which a winemaker can than hang things. Our vineyards managers use a variety of farming techniques to accomplish just that. We choose vineyards based on the specific clones, site location and flavor profiles historically produced from them. We consistently hang-out within the rows, paying attention to the subtleties of the vines, the architecture of the clusters, the diurnal fluctuation of the leaves, and the texture and flavor development of the seeds as we macerate them in our mouths. Farming grapes both science and art, with gray areas of interpretation in each. Our role is to shepherd the fruit to its greatest expression using the tools of both.

Weekly Vineyard Update

This photo was taken on 7/24/06.  After 2 weeks of 100+ heat, the grapes are just about ready for some water.  As you can tell, our grapes have a very open cluster with many different size berries.  This unusual formation allows each grape to see sunshine and fully ripen while the different sizes impart different flavors to the finished wine.