Crane Family Vineyards

Crane Family Vineyards
PO Box 2067
Napa, California
USA 94558
Phone: (707) 259-0175
http://www.cranefamilyvineyards.com/

Contact: Peter Chiarella
Email: [email protected]

Our wines are crafted from grapes grown on the Don Raffaele Estate, a vineyard nestled on the instep of Napa's Mount Veeder. The vineyard was named for my late father, who introduced me to the art of winemaking many years ago, and the brand was named after my wife's family. As a gentleman farmer, I have grown grapes and made wine on this hillside estate for seventeen years. The microclimate of our small valley is one of the best kept secrets in the Napa Valley. Its terroir is similar to the well-respected vineyards of the Pomerol region of Bordeaux, imparting intense and unique flavors to the grapes grown here. It has been our great pleasure over the years to share with our family, friends and club members, the best that we can take from the land that is in our stewardship.
Peter Chiarella, winegrower

THE HARVEST
The wines that are being offered by us this year were made from grapes harvested in 2005. The weather that year began with a heavy dose of rain that lasted through early spring. We had few heat spikes and virtually no rain in summer and fall. Temperatures were very steady, climbing into the low 90's during the day and dropping to the middle 50's at night for much of the summer. It was a late and abundant harvest, yielding our highest production in five years. While large harvests are not known to produce the most intense wines, we do not believe that will be the case for this vintage. Thankfully, the long "hang time" due to the late harvest and the near-perfect weather heightened the vines' ability to ripen and mature the grapes, resulting in what we believe will become a notable vintage.

Winemaker: Alison Doran

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