The Vineyard
Since the land was a walnut farm, first things first - get rid of those walnut trees (there are actually still a few left on the vineyard for good posture). Once that mission was accomplished, in 2007 we planted our first crop and here's what has happened since:
2007
2009
2010
2015
2018
2021
2021
2023
15 acres of dry-farmed, head-pruned vines of zinfandel, petite sirah and cabernet planted
First small harvest, a mere 5 years after we started... did I mention that vineyards require patience?
Planted 6 additional acres, adding tempranillo and grenache to the mix
Started a small label called TreSon in order to bring some of our wonderful product into Michigan
Jimmy Hall joined Steve in managing the vineyard
Jimmy took on the leadership role for the vineyard
As we better understood what grew best where, we began to adjust the mix by grafting over some of the original zinfandel vines to cabernet, petite and tempranillo
Certified organic!
That's me, Willie Newman, on the left with my extremely talented and knowledgeable first vineyard manager, Steve Crouch.