My favorite grape varietal to work with is Cabernet Sauvignon because it requires patience from the vineyard to the bottle. It's the last to come in from the vineyard and the last to leave. — Martin Bernal-Hafner
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People who have larger brands tell me all the time – keep it small, keep it fun. I can be more nimble with marketing and embracing vintage variability. — Alice Sutro
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We are farmers first and foremost, but having something tangible that can be shared with others and to be able to say “this is us and this is what we do” is a really cool feeling. — Tyler Kohfeld
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We may be going to hell in a bucket, but at least we’re enjoying the ride. — Brie Cadman
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My favorite varietal is Malbec – I love the rich flavors, fine grained tannins and deep color of the wine. Malbec can have the approachability of a Merlot with the complexity and intensity of a Cabernet. — Kent Iverson
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As a winemaker, I never stop evolving. 'Passaggio', Italian for 'pass through', reflects my winemaking journey - new adventures with each vintage, exploring traditional and off-the-beaten-path varieties. I'm fortunate to be able to source hard to find grape varietals along with traditional ones. — Cynthia Cosco
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Refreshingly free from pretense and spectacle, we offer award-winning, handcrafted, single-vineyard wines of uncommon balance and elegance.. — Michael Lancaster
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I can’t say that it was ONE wine that enticed me to start my own label. It was more so the sense of curiosity I have about different vineyard sites and particularly the heritage that often times accompanies them. — Kate Bundschu
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My family has been involved in aviation since World War I, and I believe that the particular microclimates have a huge impact on the finished wine. So Weatherborne: “to have carried the weather.” - Cris Carter
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The Frostwatch name was inspired when Brett was sitting on his four wheeler at 2:00 am, watching the temperatures drop and trying to decide when to turn on the frost protection. It was a beautiful moonlit evening, still and calm, but very cold. Brett thought to himself “what am I doing out here?” (It had been a very long frost season that year). He further concluded “I’m on frostwatch.”
— Diane Kleinicke, Owner
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I love the colder climate wines and also doing non-traditional wines in an area that’s already established. Pushing the boundaries and seeing how people react to that.
— Cecelia Enriquez
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I make wines to pair with food and want to produce a range of textures and profiles and Mendocino County makes that easy. — Ed Donovan
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It is important to our minimal intervention winemaking style to find sites that offer not only a sense of place, but characteristics that allow for low manipulation and lower alcohol, while still possessing the ability to have fully mature flavors.
— Matthew Nagy
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The Russian River Valley is the perfect place to grow fantastic Pinot Noir. I do miss the morning sun, but the grapes LOVE the morning fog and very cool nights.
— Perri Haughwout
Read More“Jean & Larry Rowe were both in the computer industry. Jean is a serious photographer and Larry spent many years working on digital media and entertainment applications. So, it was natural to think about color spectrums and related terminology. Jean created the tag line “Wine is neither black nor white. It’s always shades of grey” that perfectly captures the notion that winemaking requires constant attention to detail and continuous adaptation to the grapes produced each year.”
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“The name says it all. We are all about family and this passion project is my attempt to integrate my wife and children into my daily life and, hopefully, create some sort of a legacy that they will want to be a part of as they get older. I want the smells of harvest to be one of the smells that they remember vividly from their childhood. The labels are just fun little works of art. Some people think I’m crazy for having such a weird and wild label like Boomshakalaka but I am far more focused on the wine inside of the bottle and letting it speak for itself.”
– Mark Ferguson
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“ I love that it’s still small in Dry Creek and a little below the radar for Cabernet unlike Alexander Valley. Russian River gets all the credit for Pinot. Dry Creek sits quietly in the middle growing more Cabernet than Zinfandel, even though everyone thinks of Zinfandel when they think of DCV.”
– David Scheidt
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The best thing about being a small winery is that you are connected to every grape you harvest and every single drop of wine you produce. For most small wineries making wine is a lot more than just a business, it’s about a shared love of wine with our buyers. Most people who buy from small wineries have a true passion for wine and an appreciation for small-lot winemaking. — Atsmon Shahar
Read More“Through the necessary rose-tinted glasses of a small business owner. The consolidation of the distribution market has made wine sales increasingly cutthroat and competitive, hindering the smaller producers, while at the same time the market demand for artisanal products has risen dramatically, giving the local winemaker spotlight and attention. As long as consumers continue to demand wines with soul and stories, there will always be a place for the independent small-lot winemaker.”
–Taylor Bodstun
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The inspiration is to create a modern concept of sparkling wine from California, one that is not limited by tradition or the brands that have come before. — Dan Person
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