Author: Judi Scherrer

The fall is always a double edged sword in the wine industry. The change of the season is beautiful and, of course, it also means the grapes are ready and the winery is on call. This is it: time to make sure that all the growers’ hard work invested in the vineyards these last many months is reflected in the new wine.

We began our label with wine produced solely from my dad’s vineyard in Alexander Valley in 1991. Since the late 1990’s, we have included cooler-climate loving varieties from sites in the Russian River Valley and Sonoma Coast.

At the open houses and on the telephone, many of you have related the reasons for this: value, consistency, age worthiness, etc. We appreciate the feedback as much as your interest in and support of our wines and hope to continue to earn a place in your cellar and table for many years.

Somehow, it doesn’t seem like a decade has passed since our first Zinfandel futures offering. Yet the changes that have occurred could have hardly taken less time than that. We look back at this project’s history and evolution with great appreciation for the support we have received during the past decade. Thank you.

Over the past year or so, the winery has grown to the point that I am unable to cover the business side effectively. But there is hope. Along with the demands of our two young children, I have been able to convince my wife and longtime friend, Judi, to give up her well-paying professional position for a more civilized position with the business end of the winery. I am very excited about working with her and will have more time to support the family in the vineyard, and explore some ideas I have not had time for.

Many of you have told me that you are afraid to tell your friends about our wine, and that you have mixed feelings about seeing great press, because it will mean that the wine will get harder to find and insanely expensive. This past decade, we have been fortunate to have had a good match between supply and demand. In the event that demand should ever greatly exceed supply, I have a plan, or at least a dream.

Concerning the 2000 vintage: The Zinfandel bloom was long and set was uneven. Then, the growing season was oddly punctuated by extreme heat spells. While the Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay seemed to take it in stride, the Zinfandel vines had had pretty much enough of this by the end of harvest.

I have probably given the impression that I appreciate finesse more than power. Actually, I appreciate both, and admire wines most when they possess both qualities…in appropriate balance. Yin and Yang, I guess. It is more important to look at the whole, rather than any one part.

There is no substitute for experience with vineyards or in life. Thank you for your interest and support of our wine. It has allowed me to achieve my longtime dream of operating my own small winery.

According to the early growing season weather last spring, 1998 didn’t promise to be a great harvest, if even any harvest. In an effort to make the best of this unusual growing season, we removed many more ‘lateral’ vine shoots and basal leaves from the vine than usual…the vines were now poised to make the best of it. And they did.