Field-Blend Tradition

What is a field blend?

Multiple grape varieties are grown together, harvested together, crushed, and co-fermented — the blending is done in the vineyard, not at the winery. The melding of flavors from the different grapes starts at the very beginning of the winemaking process — on the day the grapes are picked.

The intriguing mix of varieties inter-planted in our vineyard in 1890 — and the complex wine that mix produces — inspired us to continue the field blend tradition when we planted more vineyard blocks. We inter-planted complementary varieties along with the major varieties. We believe that field-blending creates  complex wines that reflect the character of the vineyard.

Wines from our vineyard blocks meet TTB varietal labeling rules because the complementary varieties are planted in small amounts.