Introducing the Discover Seven Apart Series

Like everything else at our winery, our name was created with intent.
When our founder Don Dady first viewed the property, he applied the principle his college professor had instilled in him while he was completing his economics degree. He shares:

“At the end of the semester, we had to present possible investments to Professor Nye. For each, we had to find seven compelling things that set the investment apart. If we couldn’t, it didn’t meet his standard to buy.”  

The concept of finding seven advantages that set something apart became a guidepost for Dady throughout his career. “When I discovered the property that is our winery today, we found so much more than seven reasons. We knew it was the perfect location for a worthy investment,” he shares. 

And so Seven Apart was born.

Introducing Our  Discover Seven Apart Series

Due to the smoke taint from the 2020 Glass Fire (read this journal if you’d like to learn more), the quality of the Stags Ridge vineyard grapes was compromised. As a result, we did not harvest any fruit from the Stags Ridge Vineyard and could not produce our Seven Apart Shale, Seven Apart Basalt, and Seven Apart Summit 2020 vintages. That’s why this year, Seven Apart will see only one release: the 2021 Seven Apart Expedition. With 1500 cases available, this veritable phoenix of wine will be released in September this year. But worry not! 

As we wait for our 2021 Expedition to mature to perfection, we invite you to join us on a different kind of wine adventure. Over the next seven months, we will be doing a deep dive into each of the following significant seven ingredients that lead to our growing success: 

  1. FEBRUARY | DISCOVER OUR SOIL:
    Our vines are grown in dense, volcanic rock soils providing exceptional terroir that result in incredibly complex and elegant wines. But what is it that makes the unique soils of Atlas Peak so special for growing our flagship variety, Cabernet Sauvignon? 
  1. MARCH | DISCOVER OUR ELEVATION:
    At 1,475 feet above the valley floor, the vineyard sits above the fog line and enjoys the morning sun. Why does altitude matter in winemaking? And how exactly does it influence the quality of the grapes we grow? 
  1. APRIL | DISCOVER OUR TOPOGRAPHY:
    The vineyards face the Pritchard Gap, which captures a breeze directly off the San Francisco Bay every afternoon. Explore the area with us as we learn how this cooling effect produces higher-quality fruit.
  2. MAY | DISCOVER OUR VINEYARD LAYOUT:
    The vineyard is perfectly positioned to channel the afternoon breeze to help lower sugar and acidity to desired levels. The right balance of sugar and acidity helps us craft wine that will age beautifully over the years. We chat with our legendary Vineyard Manager Mike Wolf to understand the importance of vine positioning and how we have set up our Stags Ridge and Base Camp vineyards. 
  1. JUNE | DISCOVER OUR PROCESS:
    When our cellar was first designed, Don Dady emphasized creating a multi-functional space that would guarantee success. Today, the cellar team has complete control over every step of the winemaking process. From hand-harvesting in the vineyard to selecting barrels for aging, we speak to our winemaking team to understand the vision for the cellar and why it works. 
  1. JULY | DISCOVER OUR EXCEPTIONAL EQUIPMENT: 
    From pneumatic presses to an optical sorting machine, our team has access to some of the world’s most impressive winemaking equipment. But how does this equipment help improve the quality of our wine? We chat with our Cellar Master to highlight some of their favorite machines and talk about how each of them helps us achieve the best possible results. 
  1. AUGUST | DISCOVER OUR WORLD-CLASS WINEMAKING:
    While the quality of grapes matters and the right setup is key, there would be no wine without a winemaker. We chat to our winemaking team to understand how they balance expressing the terroir while adding their artistic touch to each bottle.

Are you ready to embrace your inner wine geek? Along the way, you’ll learn not only about Seven Apart, but all about the micro-factors that can make a good wine great (including some useful anecdotes to impress your dinner party guests). Grab your hiking boots, and join us as we set out on a journey of discovery with Seven Apart!