In 1994, after a long, cool growing season, 65% of our crop was still hanging on the vine by October 4, when an unexpected thunderstorm swept through the Napa Valley. In its wake, a spell of warm weather dried out the vineyards and caused a rapid rise in grape sugars, and although more rain was forecast, a window of opportunity for harvesting presented itself during the week of October 9-15, when much of the crop achieved optimal ripeness. During this time we picked a total of 783 tons, or half our estimate for the entire harvest! Grape quality was excellent, and critics are citing the vintage as one read more...of the best in the last twenty years. (hide)