Philosophy

Our overall philosophy can be simply stated; great wine begins in great vineyards. That’s where it all starts, because it takes the very best grapes to make a great wine. So we take great care in choosing the fruit from which we make our wine, selecting specific rows and specific clones from each vineyard.

We have a saying at Kanzler Vineyards. “Every year we dance with Mother Nature… and she leads!” What we mean by that is that we don’t try to enforce a style on our wine. Rainfall, temperature, growing season and myriad other factors differ from year to year and the fruit from each year is unique. And it’s the fruit that is the real star of our winemaking team. Alex’s winemaking philosophy is to be patient, allow the vines to do their work and produce grapes with intense, ripe flavors. Then let traditional techniques, time and good French oak work their magic, with only as much intervention as necessary to ensure consistency and quality.

Winemaker Alex Kanzler says, “Authenticity is the key to our winemaking.” “Authentic wines come from authentic people growing authentic grapes, using authentic processes that can be categorized and traced. An authentic winemaker can tell you exactly what's in your glass, down to the specific rows in a vineyard. The authentic wine has terroir (taste of place) as well as the subtle but present hand of the winemaker coaxing it to be its best. Authentic wines have a narrative. Authentic wines have a history. Authentic wines don't vary widely in composition or production year-to-year. Authentic wines are not commodities but luxury products. Authentic wines cannot be re-created from a recipe.” Kanzler Vineyards prides itself on making authentic wines.