Madroña Vineyards Blog

Seldom do small family wineries do things just for the "hell of it". (Excuse my salty language there.) Actually, I take that back. Big business seldom does things just for the "heck of it". There are focus groups, consumer trials, test audiences, political surveys, and soft releases to dip the proverbial toe into the scary world of new products.

Yep, as a small business, we don't do any of that. Instead, we make what we like and then hope others like it too! And thus the start to the story of Madroña's Pinot Noir. (Full transparency, it should be called "Maggie's Pinot", but we'll get to...

Sometimes, being a small winery has its benefits. The experience tasters at the winery have can be more intimate, most often talking to the winemaker or the grapegrower (or both). But sometimes, when it comes to issues like new potential regulations or laws that just don't make sense for small producers, it's hard to be heard.

This is where Family Winemakers of California comes in. This organization (also know as FWC or just "The Family") is a grouping of wineries all wanting to have a voice at the state government level. FWC started back in 1990 with a set of wineries interested in making a...

Ah, 2025. Now that it's done, we can talk about it without it being offended. What an interesting year it has been, and I'll add that it has had its share of challenges too (at least for small business).

But let's start on the positive, shall we? First of all, for those of us who harvested grapes in 2025, the quality of the vintage is especially exciting. As we rack the very last of the 2025's today (first rackings), all the wines (white, red and rose) are all tasting amazing with great structure and purity of characters. That can't be said for all vintages, so I think 2025 is an exceptional...

Back in 2013, Maggie and I had an idea. A 21-acre defunct Christmas tree farm on Carson Road sat on the market. With its shallow soils and copious amounts of frontage along the road, we were fearful that someone would purchase the property with little interest in doing agriculture and instead just put more crafter stands out for the busy season (more Disneyland in Apple Hill).

Our thought was to plant vineyards, build a small winery, and continue the traditions of family farming in the area. And thus the inception of Rucksack Cellars with our outdoor tastings starting in the fall of 2015...

I think it's interesting how the conversation about the currant lull in the wine industry focuses on the younger generation not drinking. Polls, though, show that they are drinking, however the beverage industry is a crowded field (and now more than just beer, wine and spirits). No doubt I'll be talking about this more in the upcoming months and would rather talk more now about why we drink wine at all.

OK, yes, drinking wine is a centuries-old tradition; a natural product that in a lot of places was safer to drink than the water. However I'm not here to profess that wine is some elixir of...