We have 250 acres here in Alexander Valley. Of those about 100 are cultivated to vines on the valley floor. The rest are oak woodlands in the hills that we leave for the wildlife. We often wonder what critters call this land their home. Occasionally we’ll cross paths with a deer (often two!) or see a jack rabbit dart through the vineyard or an egret fly to the creek or even a coyote trot up the hillside. We know there must be more, so we set a wildlife camera in various locations around the ranch, hoping to catch a glimpse of the animals. I also took some drone footage high over the hills and created a short film for you to see our furry and feathered neighbors. 

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"Meet the Team" is our blog series that introduces each of the Hafner Vineyard team members. We answer a series of questions about ourselves and our time at Hafner Vineyard. Efren Carranza is the newest member to the vineyard team, but you wouldn't know it with his over 30 years working in Sonoma County vineyards. He is dedicated to his family and aside from his hobby of gardening, he spends weekends fixing old trucks and painting them with his kids. 

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Here at Hafner Vineyard, we are very fortunate to have a small, tight-knit, talented team. Many Bay Area patrons know Spencer as the man who makes their day brighter when he delivers cases directly to their homes. But everyone who receives Hafner wine knows Spencer’s impact: he packages every order and ships them to all across the country. He has been an integral part of our team for several years but now he is off on a new adventure in Kansas City, Missouri. We now welcome Matt! Patrons may recognize Matt as he has poured wine at our Barrel Tastings for many years. We are excited to have him onboard!

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Winemaking is science driven and hence an ever-evolving profession. Through experimentation, we always strive to improve our techniques, processes and ultimately our wine. Cork is a natural product; one that we consider 100% sustainable. However, there is a component (trichloroanisole or TCA) that can impart a musty quality and hence ruin the wine. We call this a "corky" wine. Cork producers have worked hard to eliminate TCA or at least mitigate its impact. In the quest to do so, a French company named Diam has created a new technical cork. After many trials and conversations with colleagues, we decided to move from "punch corks" to Diam "technical corks".

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Pruning is arguably the most important job in the vineyard. Not only does it take many months but with each cut, the crew is determining the potential crop load as well as overall vine structure for the years to come. In a video in this blog, vineyard manager, David Huebel, takes us into the vineyard showing the steps of pruning and Gerardo (a 38 year Hafner Vineyard veteran) gives a play-by-play while he prunes. 

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