For us, the hardest part of producing Rosé is the color. It seems like every year the color is slightly different than the last. That is because the color comes from the skins. When we began making Rosé in 2011, it was made following the French technique called "saignée". The color of the saignée juice is typically dark pink because the grapes are being picked for red wine…the grapes are riper, the skins are thinner, and they release color more readily. As production grew, we incorporated another technique "direct to press". Blending the saignée and direct to press wines allowed us to produce a crisper, brighter flavored Rosé similar to Provencal Rosés that was also lighter in color.

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Many years ago, we deviated from our strict business model of “no retail other than directly from us” and elected to sell our wine to just one wine shop in the entire world, The Winery. We had been approached by the owner David Motion. He travels constantly to find small producers in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and California (I know…dream job!). My husband Bill and I visited David, and his charming wife Vera two weeks ago, met the staff, and had a delicious lunch together. If you ever find yourself in London, visiting The Winery is a treat, especially if you can go for one of their many tastings.

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Curious about wine storage, aging, or serving tips? Sarah Hafner answers the top 5 wine questions she hears on our vineyard tours at Hafner Vineyard in Alexander Valley. From how long wine lasts once opened to the ideal temperature to serve it, this guide offers practical advice straight from our family-run winery. Whether you're a wine enthusiast or just starting to learn about wine, we hope you'll find useful tips to enhance your wine experience.

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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 simple: by chipping and incorporating the material back into the soil, we sequester the carbon in the ground instead of releasing it into the atmosphere.  We’re hoping it’ll have long-term benefits for the vineyard and for the climate.

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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. The first job for the Monarch was one that I was not anticipating. We converted a block of cordon pruned vines to cane pruned and needed power in the vineyard, so the electric tractor acted as a generator.

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