We believe that the most significant part of the job of making wine takes place in the vineyard. To that end, we put the majority of our time into our Estate vineyards. Our mountain hillside vineyards are challenging and strenuous to farm, but we think the special character of the fruit makes the effort well worth it. We also believe in sustainable farming practices that promote the health of the vineyards over the long term. In our high rainfall region, this means maintaining a cover crop in the vineyard to hold the soil. It also means adding organic compost to the vineyard to build soil health, and using organically approved products to control powdery mildew - the main threat to berry quality in our cool mountain climate. We also seek out other unique vineyards where we can work with the growers to achieve the same objectives we strive for in our Estate vineyards.

Great Syrah is not only the result of a great vineyard site, but also the result of hard work in the vineyard. In the Spring, we thin the new shoots to achieve the start of a balanced canopy. After flower set, we begin leaf pulling to allow to morning and afternoon sun to gently promote the development of color and skin tannins that go into the creation of a concentrated wine. Hedging of the vines is also often required to insure good sunlight exposure and to promote better airflow through the vines. At veraison when the berries begin turning color, we drop over half of the grape clusters on the ground to arrive at one cluster per shoot. Each of these clusters then receives the full energy of the shoot insuring that it achieves perfect and complete ripeness. We make a final pass through the vineyard just before harvest to remove any clusters that do not look perfect. By the time we harvest the grapes, only perfect clusters remain, and very little additional sorting is required during destemming. Now the task of winemaking is made far easier, and the job becomes one of gently extracting the complex flavors that we have nurtured over the growing season.