Hedging a Vineyard

Hedging is one of several canopy management practices we employ during the growing season, and it is just what it sounds like—you go through and prune the vines to eliminate excess vegetative growth from the top and sides in order to make a uniform canopy that looks like a hedge.

New Vineyard Expansion = More Quality Fruit

When we originally planted the back block on the vineyard (Block 5), Celeste was adamant about the balance between grape rows and open space. But after a few not-so-subtle hints from me, a few carefully-chosen words from our social media manager and the promise of a larger supply of quality Pinot Noir fruit (which appealed to her bookkeeping nature), Celeste relented. We've just finished planting a small addition to our Block 5 vineyard.

Santa Rosa Farmers Market: A Wednesday Tour

On a recent Wednesday morning, my daughter and I decided to try out the Santa Rosa Original Certified Farmers Market. We’re both hitting notable birthdays this year, and one thing we’ve noticed about ourselves as we’ve gotten older is our aversion to crowds. So we were both delighted to find that the Wednesday morning version had all the things we love about a farmers market -- local produce, quality meats, delicious fresh-cooked food and interesting goods -- without the one thing we don’t: swarms of people. 

How We Make Wine: The Bottling

Last fall, we had the incredible opportunity to pick Pommard Pinot Noir fruit from Ted Klopp's Thorn Ridge Ranch, the same Russian River Valley vineyard where Inman Family Wines, Freeman Winery and buyers of our fruit, Kosta Browne Winery, get their grapes. We've tracked the winemaking of this fruit through the crushing, fermentation, pressing and malolactic fermentation process. Finally, last weekend, Clay was ready to do the bottling.