Our Philosophy
We specialize in making ridiculously small lots of handcrafted wine. “Handcrafted” means each vineyard is carefully selected, the grapes are hand sorted, and each lot of wine is fermented in single barrels which yield no more than 300 bottles of wine per barrel. Each bottle is individually labeled and hand-numbered. Our wines are crafted with care, talent and integrity.
We believe that high quality grapes come from ecologically balanced vineyards. We source grapes from sustainable vineyards that employ the least intrusive practices. We focus on traditional practices with minimal intervention. We've found that this is the best way to coax the unique expression from grape to wine.
We have advantages over large volume producers because we:- harvest grapes when optimum conditions prevail, rather than harvest according to a strict production schedule;
- ferment our wines individually rather than employ automated industrial techniques; and
- age our wine according to the unique conditions each vintage brings, rather than bottle wines based on predetermined protocols.
We believe that most wines sold today are made to please a huge segment of the marketplace and, in turn, mass produced and mass marketed. As a result, these marketing practices inhibit the ability of winemakers to maximize the wines full potential and uniqueness. For example, some industrial wineries have production facilities that include the capacity to crush 6,000 tons of grapes per day with a wine storage capacity approaching 43 million gallons! This can force the winemaker to create a generic wine that lacks authentic characteristics and interesting organoleptic (sensory) properties.
We concentrate our efforts to express the elements of grape, vineyard appellation and winery practice to produce authentic wines. Our goal is to highlight the truly unique characteristics of each grape varietal, vineyard-by-vineyard, to offer a wine that emphasizes those unique regional qualities.
Designed & Maintained by 4 the Grapes