Trek Travel (Bike Tour) Comes to HANNA

HANNA Winery was packed this morning with excited bicyclist from Trek Travel. They enjoyed their tasting and headed back down the driveway in a single file line continuing their tour of Alexander Valley.

Fun Afternoon in Alexander Valley at the Hanna Pick-Up Party!!

A great afternoon in Alexander Valley at HANNA Winery! The Wine Club Pick-Up Party was a blast with fantastic new releases, live music and delicious BBQ!!!
  
  
  
  

Girl...look at that color!

HANNA's 2012 Harvest is about to start! We plan to pick for Rose this coming Tuesday :D
  

Harvest 2012 -First Sauv blanc juice evaluation

On friday we tasted 14 Sauvignon Blanc juice samples from fruit Marti and Gery had picked Thursday. Tasting fruit at this stage immaturity is  a challenge .  The juices are almost too tart to taste.    At this point, around 16% sugar, the concentration of the compounds responsible for the green flavor notes in SB are at their highest. The passion fruit, lime  and stone fruit  aromas wiil start to develop now.  We found almost no bell pepper or Jalapeno aromas in the juices. This is a good sign!   We will  follow up in  week.

  

Mr. & Mrs. Fuller Just Married at HANNA

This morning, looking out to Alexander Valley, we were happy to have Scott & Rae get married at HANNA Winery & Vineyards. HANNA wishes the newlyweds many years of love and happiness.

Cheers to the new Couple!

Cabernet Grapes look like Art in Alexander Valley

The HANNA vineyards are truly an art! All the different colors and sizes of the grapes just make you smile :)
  

Little Jackass Creek

After a late start and a  7.5 mile slog with a new pack and 3000 feet of elevation gain I was looking to lose some ballast. I had 6 liters of water and 1 750ml bottle of our Hanna Two Ranch Red.  The water didn't make it.  Luckily there was a creek near our camp at  Little Jackass Creek in Sinkyone Wilderness State Park.  Note to Epicures: My past the pull date freeze dried organic Pad Thai was magically made palatable by a Tin cup's worth  of Two Ranch. The screw cap has another benefit: No corkscrew to lug up the mountain!   

  

Mmmmm Pinot...that's what the birds think too!

When the bird nets go on, that means harvest is just around the corner :)
  

The Future Cabernet Sauvignon Grapes at HANNA

Here is the HANNA Cabernet Sauvignon grapes going through verasion in Alexander Valley. Were loving all the different size grapes and colors. Harvest is right around the corner!

The Merlot Grapes Look Amazing!

Look at the beautiful Merlot grapes at HANNA in Alexander Valley. It's almost that time of year that everyone is waiting for!

Chardonnay Verasion

Our Hanna Chardonnay has begun to ripen. The reward for critters who would be eating the soon to be ripe fruit, is sugar.  The allure is aroma, which is developing now behind a still searing acidity  The crop is good, and the weather has been great so far.  We like to pick this block on the ripe side.  It will be on the vine another two months before reaching perfect maturity.

  

2009 HANNA Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon is the "Wine of the Month"

Our 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon is deep crimson in color, with aromas of anise, cassis, blueberries and freshly ground coffee. It has flavors of plum, black cherry, cocoa, vanilla and black pepper, with polished tannins.
Were taking 20% off bottle purchases for the month of August.
Visit us at www.hannawinery.com or contact us at 707.431.4310

HANNA Winery & Vineyards at SF Chefs for the Saturday Afternoon Grand Tasting in Union Square

The bounty of Northern California takes center stage as passionate chefs from the Bay Area’s most coveted restaurants wow guests with a thrilling selection of fresh, local and delicious dishes, accompanied by perfectly paired wines, beers and spirits.
There is Brad representing HANNA Winery & Vineyards, holding the the new 2011 HANNA Russian River Valley Chardonnay.

Harvest with the HANNA's Celebration

Harvest with the Hanna's Celebration
Saturday, September 22nd, 2012
12:00 - 4:00 pm
HANNA Alexander Valley Tasting Room
Join us for our annual Harvest with the Hanna's Celebration at our gorgeous Alexander Valley Tasting Room. Live entertainment, endless gourmet pizza, coopering of the barrels demonstration, petanque court tournament, vineyard tours and the release of our newest vintages.
Adam Lieb and his Band
Rosso's Fire-to-Go Gourmet Pizza
Coopering of the Barrels Demonstration
Petanque Court Tournament
Vineyard Tours and the Release of Our Newest Vintages
$60.00 per person for Wine Club Members and their guests
$75.00 per person for Non-Wine Club Members
To make reservations, please contact us at: Phone: (707) 431-4310 or e-mail us at: wine@hannawinery.com

Alexander Cabernet grapes are looking great!!

Come on out to the beautiful HANNA Tasting Room in Alexander Valley! The wine is great and the vines are full!!

Comment on NPR Morning Edition Wine and Wasp feature

Yesterday morning NPR featured a short piece by Elizabeth Shogren that related the story of an Italian microbiologist, Duccio Cavalieri, who had elucidated the connection by which insects( in this case a wasp)  transfer yeast from their guts onto  wine grapes. This "local" yeast then participates in fermenting the wine .   Mr. Cavalieri  explained that  this elementary (and alimentary) interconnectedness can explain some of  the centuries old complexity in the wines from Chianti. ( and perhaps a decades worth in Hanna SB)

Shogren went on speak about this connectedness to Ann Pringle, an Evolutionary Biologist at Harvard. In general her concerns related to the unintended consequences of less diversity through species loss, but she was specifically concerned with insecticide sprays used to kill wasps in vineyards and the resultant loss of desirable local yeast in wine fermentations. She need not be. 

I can't see the diversity of microflora in our vineyard but the bigger critters are there.  I just walked back from shutting of the irrigation in our Home Ranch Chardonnay:  A Great Blue Heron, river otter , crayfish, Mulberry, figs, Prickly Pear Cactus, Valley Oaks, willows- all seen in 2 minutes. A little later- when the grapes sweeten, our vineyards are alive with honey bees, wasps and native bees. We have never sprayed anything to kill them. In  fact, no winegrower does. The admonishment not to spray , at least in winegrape vineyards,  is not necessary.

Ironically, few winemakers seek the  the contribution of  local yeasts. . Most winemakers prefer to swamp out the native flora with cultured yeast that provides more predictble results. Hanna Sauvignon blanc is an exception- we ferment as much a 50% with native yeasts every year. In 2011 our favorite fermentation tank was native yeast. 

  

Planting Begins at Hanna Alexander Valley

We began planting our new blocks of Cabernet and St. Macaire on tuesday. We are planting Cabernet clones 685 and 412. These newer french clones will add complexity and depth to our Alexander Valley cab. We are also doubling the acreage of Saint Macaire in California! This obscure Red Bordeaux variety has tremendous depth and structure but is extremely rare.  Here Ramiro and crew are planting Cabernet.  Next is the Saint Macaire.