The goal of every winemaker is to produce the best wine they can each year. We have been making wine here at Hafner Vineyard for over 35 years, and we enjoy the wines we produce, so we are not trying to make dramatic changes, but we are always looking at ways to make subtle improvements. This harvest, I convinced Parke to do a labor intensive experiment - barrel fermenting Cabernet Sauvignon. We barrel ferment Chardonnay, but Cabernet is a bit more challenging. Here, I share a sneak peek at the experiment in action. 

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Here at Hafner Vineyard, we grow three red Bordeaux varieties (Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot) and from those varieties we make two distinctly different wines - Cabernet Sauvignon and Next Red, our Malbec based blend. We thought it would be interesting to share why we decided to make these two wines, how they are different and what typical aromas we find in each. 

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Every July, our household and cellar team grow by one. We hire a young Frenchman as our winery intern for the harvest. He is between his second and third year at an agricultural university in Toulouse. He lives at our home with us and comes to work each day. We started this program in 1985, so Arthur Rebiere is our 34th intern. His internship is coming to an end, but he has made the most of his time here - exploring San Francisco, the Pacific coastline and Sonoma County. He and our dogs have become best friends. 

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We wanted to share a mid-Harvest update from our Winemaker Parke Hafner and Vineyard Manager David Huebel. We also created a fun video with sneak peeks from behind the scenes of the Chardonnay Harvest. Parke shares his thoughts on the benefits of an estate vineyard and how the Chardonnay is made. We hope you enjoy it!

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Bottling is the process with the most potential waste during the production of wine. We bring in a number of different items and coordinate with numerous suppliers to put our wine into the packaging that will ultimately make its way to you. As we try to become more sustainable, create less waste and reduce carbon emissions, we looked at our bottling practices to ensure we are doing everything we can to create the least amount of trash as possible. We were surprised with the results. 

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