WINEMAKING
ROOTS
John and Dana Hawley came to Dry Creek Valley in 1975. John built their house on the weekends, overlooking a dilapidated vineyard. John did his best to care for the unkempt vineyard and was eventually able to harvest a small amount of Zinfandel with family and friends in 1979. Sadly, the vineyard had seen better days. With many vines diseased or dead it did not produce enough crop to be viable. In 1982 the old vines were ripped out and the ground was prepared for a new seven acre block of Merlot. A case of John’s hobby wine from the old vines still slumbers in his cellar bearing the label “Clos Du Garage”.
oday the stocks are thick and gnarled and have seen many great vintages. Our Merlot comprised the core of Kendall-Jackson Winery’s reserve program while John was chief winemaker (1990-1996). 1995 was the first vintage under the Hawley label. The winery building was erected in 2000 in the middle of the Merlot block. The original Merlot was all replanted by 2006 because it was infected phyloxera, a root parasite that devistates grapevines. We replanted to Viognier, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Merlot and Cabernet Franc, all on resistant rootstock.
ESTATE VINEYARDS
Bradford Mountain perches above Dry Creek Valley at over 1,000 feet above sea level. On the rocky Eastern slopes, Hawley Vineyard and Winery sits well above the fog that blankets the valley floor most mornings. The hillside soil is rocky and weak; the topsoil washed down to the valley floor centuries ago. Our vines have to toil for water and nutrients and it is through this struggle that great grapes are born.
Ten acres of the estate are plated to grapes: Merlot, Cabernet, Cabernet Franc, Zinfandel, Petite Sirah and Viognier. From the steep trellised rows at the top of the vineyard, you can see from one end of the valley to the other. John will argue that vines need a view make great wine.
WINEMAKING
We craft about 20 different wines at Hawley Winery, although more than half of them are less than 500 cases. Producing only 3,500 cases annually, we enjoy the freedom of our small family winery to make a variety of wines and styles. Making wines in small lots from select vineyards allows us to capture the character of a vineyard and a vintage, the terroir. We enjoy crafting small lots of unique wines that express our Sonoma County vineyards.
ESTATE VINEYARD FACTS
First Hawley Vintage: 1995
Annual Case Production: 3500
Hawley Vineyard Elevation: 1000ft
Soil Type: Boomer Loam
Climate Classification: Region II
Estate Vineyard Acreage: 9.5
