I love this blog. You guys are so smart and so sexy! I have questions about wine! How do you make red wine get “good color”? Do you make red wine differently from the way you make white wine? Also, I hear people talking alot about native fermentation. What does that mean? Do you use native fermentation [...]

Harvest is well underway in Alexander Valley. For a number of reasons, our vines yielded the lowest numbers in Stephen’s memory. While that’s a bad thing for the farming business (lower yields=lower income), it could prove miraculous for the quality of grapes that go in into our Alexander Valley Chardonnay, Merlot, and Cabernet [...]

If you’ve ever wondered how we know when to pick wine grapes, Jake Hawkes has an explanation. Sure, you say, Jake has an explanation for everything. And you’re right.  There’s science involved, no doubt, but we also rely on the freakishly refined super-palates of a team of genetically engineered chimpanzees to give the go-ahead. on [...]

Sometime after grapes set, the Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes start to change color on the Hawkes vineyard on Red Winery Road.  Jake Hawkes takes you into the vineyard to look at the onset of veraison.