We respect the soil knowing that the vineyard is the foundation of our legacy. We pursue a sensitive, low-input cultivation policy that is reliant upon compost and natural amendments rather than one that is expressly organic. Every farming practice is tempered by the specific requirements of Blue Rock's varied microclimates and the knowledge that comes from a historical relationship with every vine. We do not make wine, we raise it.

 We employ the same small crew year after year in order to build a relationship with each vine. Our vineyard manager, Francisco Silva, is helped by his brother, sister, and wife, thus, making this a classic family enterprise. We all know that our future depends on creating finer wines with every passing vintage. Achieving increasingly higher quality is our only goal.

Bud break is a time of optimism and occurs shortly after the arrival of Spring, as the vines emerge from hibernation. We remove all of the non-primary shoots and laterals in order to select the strongest canes and to open the canopy to more light. Following this, the vines enter a period of rapid growth, filling the wire

trellis with new shoots. At this time, we remove excess leaves and position the canes for upward growth.

Veraison, the changing of the color of the berries from green to purple, occurs in late July and is a time for the critical evaluation of each vine. At this time we make several passes through the vineyard in order to pull off the less desirable fruit and to recalibrate the vineyard to our target yield. Thus, only the best fruit is selected to remain on the vine by hand sorting prior to harvest. As a result, the remaining fruit will ripen evenly and develop greater character, without the competition of its classmates.

Harvest is carried out by hand in order to make the final, critical evaluation of each cluster. The clusters that are less than perfect are discarded and left as food for the natives - wild turkeys, deer, and starlings by the thousands. We harvest in small, half-ton bins in order to keep the fruit in perfect condition during the short ride to the crush pad.