Winemaker Derek Irwin runs the definition of a pure family winery.  As Derek says, "there are no outside sources - no winemaker, no delivery man and no vineyard manager. There is us, the Irwinfamily. We harvest our own crops and make each delivery ourselves. We are a family winery, in every sense of the word, and we wouldn’t have it any other way."

The complexity of this wine is the result of Derek's attention to detail in the vineyard and at the winery.  His grapes all come from one vineyard with a south/southwest aspect of heavy greenstone and feldspar at 1,500 feet in elevation with a vine density of 1,140 to 840 vines to the acre in the picturesque and rugged Sierra Foothills. During the fermentation, Derek hand punched down the skins into the must 4 times a day until the wine was fully fermented to dryness. The fermentation was started with indigenous yeast. Primary fermentation was finished off in barrels and battonage (stirring of the lees) lasted for 9 months on a weekly basis.