We purchase 95% of the grapes we
use to produce our wines. Our ten-acre
vineyard just to the north of the winery generates a paltry 5% of our
needs. Purchasing grapes has some advantages. First, we can offer a variety of different
wines, all high quality and with good varietal expression, by teaming with
growers in regions suited to the particular variety we wish to produce. We don’t tie up precious resources in
vineyards. We can balance our production
levels by simply asking for more or less fruit.
Most importantly is that it keeps me focused on my core competency which
is winemaking not grape growing. We
acknowledge the contribution of our grower partners by listing not just the
name of their vineyard on the bottle but also their name. The downside of this business model is that
growers don’t have to sell to us. It is
important to establish and maintain good relations. We don’t have complete control. In 2018 the owners of the Sisters Vineyard in
Carneros, the source of our Pinot Noir since the turn of the millennium,
informed us of their plan to sell the vineyard.
Not knowing to whom they would sell and if the new buyers would continue
to sell us fruit, we looked for another source of Pinot Noir. Lucky for us the son of a long time grower
here in Amador, P. J. Alviso, was growing Pinot Noir in the Russian River Valley
just outside of Windsor on East River Road across the river from Williams
Selyem winery. Not too shabby a
neighborhood for Pinot Noir. 2024 will
be our fourth vintage working with this fruit and we are very happy with the
results to date.
