agen - Vineyard Manager/Winemaker at Clos Pepe EstateWinemaker Wes Hagen crafts Estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay at Clos Pepe. Mr. Hagen was named the Central Coast Winegrower’s Association Grower of the Year in 2001-2002. His wife Chanda also helps with the grape growing and winemaking process.
Like most wineries in the Santa Rita Hills AVA, the focus of Clos Pepe’s attenti
on is on Burgundian varietals. The winery owns 24 acres of Pinot Noir and 4 Chardonnay on their estate vineyard. But they sell most of their grapes and make only a very small amount of wine.
Wes Hagen is the winemaker and vineyard manager at Clos Pepe. He uses sustainable farming practices and is an advocate of organic and biodynamic principles. Through rigorous pruning, bunch thinning, and canopy management, yields are kept extremely low and are 1 to 2 tons per acre.
In the winery, Hagen’s main goal is to preserve the integrity of the grapes until they are vinified. He only uses fruit grown in Clos Pepe’s estate vineyard for his limited production wines.
Hagen sells the majority of his fruit to some of California’s best Pinot Noir and Chardonnay producers. These include Diatom, Brewer-Clifton, Ken Browne Wines, Roesseler, AP Vin, and Siduri.
Terry Hall - Napa Valley Vintners The Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) non-profit trade association announces its annual Premiere Napa Valley Wine Auction June 2 - June 5, 2011.
The Napa Valley Vintners is the non-profit trade association responsible for promoting and protecting the Napa Valley appellation as the premier winegrowing region. From seven founding members in 1944, today the association represents nearly 400 Napa Valley wineries and collectively is a leader in the world-wide wine industry. To learn more about our region and its legendary American wines, visit www.napavintners.com .