I am not sure if you all know this but Hess Collection Winery is one of four wineries in the world which is a part of the Hess family. The wineries in our family span 4 different continents- Colomé is in Argentina, Peter Lehmann in Australia, Glen Carlou in South Africa and, of course, Hess Collection Winery in North America. This definitely brings a world of winemaking knowledge to the proverbial table. Only sometimes the table is not proverbial, like last week. Winemakers from all 4 wineries gathered in Napa last week for our first ever winemaking summit. It was a unique opportunity for all to get to know other techniques used around the world. Not to mention meeting, greeting, and in a few cases reminiscing with fellow family winemakers.

After meeting each other over lunch we started the actual work. Since this was the first time the global summit was held, everyone thought it would be best if we got to know everyone’s wines. This was our afternoon work, tasting through 24 wines from 4 different continents. The winemaking staff from each winery talked about the vineyards, wine making techniques, and particular strategies for each wine.

As we finished our flights of wine, one common theme rang true to me, the Hess family of wines in each continent is doing their best to make sound, quality, hell – great wines! I know I’m an insider, but I think that our portfolio on a whole is awesome. So next time you are at your local store look for one of our family, trust me it will be a great wine.

Julie Murrell
Assistant Winemaker