From the Grower John Newmeyer I regard Heron Lake as a  "Burgundian” grapegrowing and winemaking enterprise. All of our vines are the classic Burgundy varietals of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, for which our “terroir” of soil and microclimate is ideally suited.  We have made wines from this exceptional vineyard since 1985. Through all, we’ve adhered to a commitment to low yields, intense fruit flavors, and the gentle hands-on processing of the harvested fruit. We intend to keep our vintages small and “estate bottled.” Many years of experiment and experience have shown us how to produce the very best fruit from our hillside vines. In addition to being the founder of the Heron Lake Vineyard, I have enjoyed my career as an epidemiologist at the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic in San Francisco, and have a passion for the written word.   How I Make Wine David Mahaffey I have been making wines in the Napa Valley since 1980, and have been sole winemaker for Heron Lake since its first vintage. My winemaking style is best described as methode ancien– a passionate, labor-intensive approach. The grapes are hand-sorted, gravity-fed throughout the process, gently destemmed, and fermented in small, open-top vessels. During fermentation, the grapes are lovingly punched down by hand every few hours, much as in the care and feeding of an infant. After a gentle press, the wine is aged for 12 to 18 months in one-third new French oak from the forests of Allier and Vosges.   My primary goals are balance and finesse in my wines. I completely reject the over-extracted, overblown high alcohol style wines currently in vogue. Pinot Noir has always been a graceful wine; it is not graceful at 15% alcohol. To achieve a full flavor profile from ripe grapes while keeping the alcohol well under 14%, it is crucial that the fruit be picked when there is an ideal balance of all flavor constituents. Small open-topped fermenters allow a surprising amount of alcohol to be evaporated during fermentation. Finally, aging the barrels in a small cave at high humidity allows additional alcohol to be lost through the staves of the barrels. I think of myself as a craftsman with occasional lucky intuitional leaps into something like art.  Intentionally, I work on a scale that allows me to control as many of the variables as possible. In addition to my Miss Olivia Brion Pinot Noir and Lord Nelson Port projects, I am currently the winemaking partner in a St. Helena Estate Bottled Cabernet Sauvignon, available under the Palladian label.