The Blog

We hope everyone was able to remain healthy and tap into the joy of the holiday season! During the holidays, your Domaine Artefact crew was able to complete their WSET Level 1 training (congrats everyone!), enjoy a little travel (Tiffany went to Thailand) and spend quality time with members, friends, and family.

In these first two weeks of January, two very exciting projects have kicked off: we are FINALLY grading for our new WINERY (Mark is really excited about having more room) and we are FINALLY installing pavers in the courtyard of our new hospitality building (we can all say goodbye to mud)!

Other 2022 projects include: replanting our Blackbird block (west of the pond) and expanding our northern undeveloped slope with more SYRAH vines (clone 470), building new organic garden beds, restoring our pond, improving the parking areas, and (drum roll) obtaining approval from the County to begin cooking classes!

Our new gardens will be located west of our lower deck so everyone will get to see wonderful vegetables popping up. We will be working in collaboration with BeWise Organics for planting curation and assistance. Our plan is for this garden to serve as a forage spot for our cooking classes.

Be on the lookout for the pond restoration this summer (we were not able to get our pond excavated before the rains). With the recent rain, our local wildlife is extremely happy and the frogs are making their presence known.

Vineyard installation is always a great deal of work, however, we are really excited to plant another 2,000 Syrah vines and increase our production. The 470 clone is new to our vineyard and is very popular in France and predominates the northen Rhône region of Hermitage. It is known for producing wines that are aromatic and full-bodied with high acidity, deep color, and good tannic structure.

In planning your visit this time of year, dress in layers – the days are warm but as soon as the sun dips, it gets chilly. Our heaters are primed, and we have blankets upon request. We are all hoping to get through this recent COVID spike to re-open our indoor common areas for relaxing and wine tasting.

We are all working hard to ensure that your experience at Domaine Artefact is memorable! We wish everyone a healthy, happy and prosperous 2022!

With gratitude,
Mark, Lynn, Carol, and the Domaine Artefact Team