vS Wines
Eleven years ago a friend started making wine from a kit. I thought, if he can do it surely I could as well. So after reading every winemaking book we could find and getting advice from the winemakers at Oak Barrel in Berkeley, my wife Kathryn and I made our first vintage in 2005 using Napa Valley grapes we picked. For the next six years we sourced grapes from a high-end vineyard near the top of Mt. Veeder. The fruit was always concentrated, but did have issues with Ph/acid balance and the uniformity of ripeness. Using other folks fruit got us thinking that with our own vineyard, we would have nobody else to point to if we had concerns with the fruit!
We were renting at the time in Lafayette and so set about seeking a home. One of my primary criteria was that it would be well-suited for a vineyard and fruit trees. Kathryn primarily wanted room for her 4 chickens, and secondly our three children. We found our current home located on Johnson Rd, Lafayette in early 2012 and hired a vineyard manager to plant 620 two-year old vines on a south-facing slope. The grapes are 70% cabernet and the remainder are Malbec, Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, and Merlot. We also planted 40 fruit trees and 30 berry bushes. This year was our first harvest!
Kathryn and I took over vineyard management this year. Our vineyard manager was doing a decent job, but we felt hands-on would be better. It has been more work than we anticipated, but we are enjoying the experience and all we have learned. Also, many years after escaping from the dairy farm of my youth, getting back into growing and using our hands has been a nice change.
We are excited about the growth of vineyards and wine in the Lamorinda area and the potential for our collective AVA!
Gerard and Kathryn van Steyn
