Hagafen Cellars

Hagafen Cellars has been producing award winning wines since their first vintage in 1980; this original wine was bottled as a Johannisberg Riesling, made at Louis Bertolucci Cellars, now known as Madonna Estate on the Napa Valley side of the Carneros District. This first vintage was made as a kosher wine. Production has ebbed and flowed since then, with an annual production presently of around 8,000 cases. The winery was founded by Ernie and Irit Weir in 1979 with initial help from rabbi Zach Berkowitz and Marin County teacher at the time, Norman Miller, who was in charge of sales and marketing. Rene diRosa, the former owner of Winery Lake Vineyard on the Napa side of Carneros, now home of diRosa Contemporary Art was also a founding partner. As a side note, Irit founded the Acupuncture Clinic of Napa in 1987, which still operates in the city of Napa and is a quick drive from Hagafen Cellars. She is also an artist and some of her creative paintings are available for sale at the winery.

Ernie grew up in Los Angeles and majored with a degree in Sociology from UCLA. He came to Napa in 1973 to learn more about the wine business and enrolled at what was called Napa College at the time (now Napa Valley College). One of his professors who was leaving the college to work at Domaine Chandon (now known as CHANDON California), Will Nord (died 2022) recognized his interest in wine and his potential and mentioned that Domaine Chandon was hiring. Ernie was hired at Domaine Chandon in 1973, which was a time by our count when there were less than 40 wineries in all of Napa Valley who are still in existence today. Ernie remembers his first pay at Domaine Chandon was $2.75/hour for vineyard work.

He was one of the earliest employees at Domaine Chandon; for reference other early employees at Domaine Chandon were winemaker Dawnine Dyer, Michaela Rodeno and Gino Zepponi. Ernie recalls it was a time when the employees were learning as much as they could, the team was really young and management encouraged both new ideas and the sharing of information. And it was a time when records were still kept using pen and paper; he remembers transitioning written records to Macintosh computers in the early 1980s. He worked for Domaine Chandon founding chairman and president John Wright; Wright encouraged Ernie to go to UC Davis; so he did and earned a second degree in Viticulture and Enology.

He worked at Domaine Chandon for 24 years starting out in the vineyards and eventually becoming vineyard manager; he was able to speak to his Hispanic workers since he also spoke Spanish, having learned the language while growing up in Los Angeles.

While at Domaine Chandon he started Hagafen Cellars on the side – making wines for the first 20 years at other wineries including the first five harvests at Louis Bertolucci Cellars, Whitehall Lane, Napa Cellars and Miner Family. In the early years he was entirely purchasing grapes from vineyards he did not own. In 2000 he built a winery and tasting room located just south of the Stags Leap District along the Silverado Trail. Hagafen owns the surrounding 12 acre property of which approximately 10.5 acres of vineyards are planted entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon.

Ernie purchased this property in 1986; at the time it was planted to Pinot Noir and Chenin Blanc. Ernie replanted in 1997 and also top grafted the Chenin Blanc to Cabernet Franc. A single grape vine still living on the property is estimated be be over 100 years old.

Ernie and Irit also own the Wieruszowski Vineyard (where they live) in Coombsville located just east of the city of Napa. They purchased this property in 2004; it was previously a prune orchard. They grow several varieties here on 6 acres including Cabernet Franc, Syrah and what is very rare for Napa these days, Riesling. In additional to their own vineyards, they source grapes from premium sites primarily within Napa Valley but also from select vineyards in nearby counties.

The winery is set back from Silverado Trail against the base of the southern Vaca mountain range. The entrance is on a long-paved road (for many years used to be gravel) which bisects the vineyards. A visit here feels like ‘old Napa’ – no flash, a small and humbly appointed tasting bar and affordable very well-made wines. Friendly and very personable hosts help complete your tasting experience. Napa Valley needs more casual; a visit here is always refreshingly low key and casual.

“Hagafen” in Hebrew literally means “the vine”. This was California’s first Kosher winery and has played a prominent role in elevating the reputation of Kosher wines. There are now at least six physical wineries in Napa Valley making some kosher wines. Five others besides Hagafen are Marciano Estate, ONEHOPE, Mayacamas, Shadybrook and VintEdge. Several individual kosher labels are also produced in Napa Valley from Napa Valley grown grapes including Padis Cellars and Kingsmark. Covenant Wines founded by vintner Jeff Morgan used to be based in Napa Valley until he moved his operations to Berkeley, years ago. And one of California’s most well-known Kosher wineries, Ventura based Herzog made their early vintages in Napa Valley.

Kosher wines in part mean that no animal products are used during the making of the wine including egg whites, which are often used during the fining process. Rather than fully boiling or nearly boiling the wine for longer periods Ernie uses a flash pasteurization technique which quickly heats the wine and then as quickly, cools it back to room temperature.

For a wine to be kosher, only Sabbath-observant Jews may touch any part of the wine making process – from picking the grapes to crushing until either the bottles are sealed, or the wine is pasteurized.

Hagafen also participates in the annual L’Chaim, the Jewish Food & Wine Festival always held in the city of Napa (typically in August).

In the past, a single tour was offered daily at 1030am (an appointment is required) but please check current availability directly with the winery. This tour starts in the vineyards, visits their production facilities and usually lasts about 20 minutes. This was one of the shorter tours in the valley but is a good introduction to the operations of a small winery.

Have you noticed fans in vineyards but never knew their purpose? As you drive in you will have an intimate view of one fan located next to the driveway. These are for frost control and are usually used during late February and into March and April when vines begin to bud out and temperatures at night sometimes are freezing or below freezing. Cold air sinks to the lowest parts of a vineyard; if the tender young buds freeze, the crop for later that year will be damaged or destroyed and even the next year’s crop may be compromised. These fans turn on when the temperature falls to a few degrees above freezing and displaces the colder air below with the warmer air above – essentially keeping the ‘fruit zone’ slightly above freezing.

We can’t say enough about the quality of their wines as well as the diversity of their bottlings. This is old school Napa, a rare experience where guests can enjoy wines other than the ubiquitous Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. And there are plenty of wines to choose from; during our last visit, 20+ wines were listed on their tasting sheet (of which several are available to sample).

In addition to the Hagafen label, Ernie produces two other labels; Don Ernesto – featuring wines that are typically lighter in style and very approachable young, not to mention available at consumer-friendly price-points. Don Ernesto is the nickname that Ernie received while working at Domaine Chandon; the Don Ernesto wines are only sold direct to consumer. And the Prix wines (reserve wines) which are produced in very limited quantities, are only sold at the winery. The Prix wines are generally aged for a longer period of time in primarily new French oak barrels.

The Hagafen wines have a long history of being served at Presidential State dinners and other White House functions dating back to President Reagan up until President Obama. Wine usher (buyer) at the White House used to be Daniel Shanks, who used to work at Domaine Chandon. Coveted menus from these meals line the walls of the tasting room. And based on placing very highly in numerous state and national wine competitions over the years and Ernie’s ‘proclivity for bling’ as one of their tasting room employees eloquently stated, wine bottles containing medals from various awards line the counters above the tasting counter and on some of the shelves.

During the 2000 Presidential election, Joseph Lieberman (died in 2024) was the Vice Presidential candidate. Ernie remembers Daniel Shanks calling him personally and requesting five case of the Hagafen sparkling wine for a potential victory celebration. That never happened, but Lieberman and his wife Hadassah Freilich did visit Hagafen Cellars several years before Lieberman died.

Visitors are offered five current-release wines from their Signature Tasting (although in our experience, the staff is flexible on what they pour based on visitor preferences). It is somewhat rare to be able to walk into a Napa Valley winery tasting room and be able to try older vintages; during one of our visits, wines up to nearly 30 years were for sale and potentially available for tasting.

Select Wines
Perhaps in a nod to his time working with sparkling wines at Domaine Chandon, Hagafen produces one sparkling wine each year and is one of only a limited number of Napa Valley based wineries or brands who make sparkling wines on a consistent basis. We have tried several vintages of their Brut Rosé over the years; this wine is usually dark pink in color. It is always a refreshing way to start a tasting, especially for visitors who have appointments in the morning.

Hagafen produces several Rieslings and has produced at least one Riesling every year since their first vintage in 1980. Refreshingly they label each individual bottling with a sweetness scale on the back label ranging from dry, medium dry, medium sweet to sweet; this quickly eliminates the often confusion surrounding this variety in regard to residual sugar and palate preference. For many years they have produced their Napa Valley Riesling from their estate Wieruszowski Vineyard in Coombsville.

Rosé
The 2023 Hagafen Cellars Don Ernesto Beret Napa Valley Rosé is 100% Syrah from the Wieruszowski Vineyard Coombsville Its name Beret is in homage to Ernesto who often would wear a beret. This wine is medium copper in color; the distinctive but delicate bouquet offers aromas of white grapefruit, wild strawberries, raspberry and tangerine. Refreshing across the palate with light red fruited flavors; these include watermelon jolly rancher, the seedy small red strawberries we used to harvest in the wild, red cherry, pomegranate, cranberry and a light hint of white pepper on the finish. The colorful label was painted by Irit; this wine is only available at the winery or through their website. It was fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel. This wine would pair nicely with baked halibut lightly covered with lemon, dill and salt. Or simply porch pound it.

Sauvignon Blanc
The 2023 Hagafen Cellars Sauvignon Blanc is 52% Napa County (Oak Knoll) and 48% is from Mendocino County. We smelled this wine when it was cold on a cold day and it needed some time to open. As it evolves and warms in the glass, the bouquet reveals scents of white nectarine, honeysuckle, passion fruit, pineapple guava and light citrus blossom. Lightly herbal but the bouquet is in no way green or grassy. Balanced, bright and lively, the palate offers flavors of red delicious apple, pineapple guava, green apple, comise pear, honeydew melon, apricot and white nectarine. Lingers crisp and refreshing with a light dryness felt on the front of the palate. Easy drinking. We wouldn’t mind pairing this wine with lightly grilled scallops drizzled in olive oil, a pinch of lemon juice and garlic salt. This wine was all stainless steel tank aged.

The 2021 Hagafen Cellars Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc is deep straw in color; offers aromas of young Sitka Spruce tips in late spring pressed among our fingers (still fresh in our memory from a recent hike in Sitka, Alaska), wintergreen, freshly picked mint and green tea leaf. On the palate offers flavors of gooseberry, kiwi, green apple and lime. This wine is very well balanced across the palate with a noticeable brightness and liveliness of acidity (but it is not green or grassy). We sampled this on a 100-degree Fahrenheit day and it was extremely refreshing served chilled. If you have a pool to enjoy this wine next to – even better!

Riesling
The 2023 Hagafen Cellars Dry Riesling, Wieruszowski Vineyard Coombsville is medium straw in color; the sweetly fruited bouquet offers plenty of stone fruits right up front including of dried apricots, nectarines and yellow peaches accompanied by additional scents of honeysuckle, mango and baked apples. The stone fruited and ardent flavors are balanced nicely by a rich and bright acidity. Flavors include apricot, peach, nectarine, red delicious apples, pineapple, lime and pina colada. This wine drinks very well by itself. Lingers with both an intensity of flavor and vivacious acidity. We would love to pair this with a Dungeness crab salad – the one served at Cole’s Chop House in downtown Napa would do nicely.

The 2019 Hagafen Cellars Napa Valley Riesling, Wieruszowski Vineyard Coombsville (medium-sweet) is medium straw in color; the aromas offer a hint of petrol, freshly cut grass, honeysuckle, star jasmine, grapefruit pith and lime. From the bouquet alone, it does not smell like it would be sweet on the palate; it is not overly so. Offers flavors of lemon/lime, lemon meringue, tart and tangy lemon drop candy, honeydew melon and a very subtle mint nuance. The palate does not show a lot of perceptible residual sugar; it lingers with mouthwatering acidity which shows best when this wine is chilled (rather than served at room temperature). This is a rare and beautiful bottling of Napa Valley Riesling. Riesling used to be more widely planted in Napa Valley but economics of planting red varieties in its place have severely dwindled plantings. Incidentally this vintage earned a Double Gold Medal Winner for sweet Rieslings in the 2020 San Francisco Chronicle’s Wine Competition.

The 2017 Hagafen Napa Valley Riesling, Wieruszowski Vineyard Coombsville contains 4% residual sugar. This wine simply smells good; it is very floral showing aromas of honeysuckle, citrus blossom and jasmine. An appealing palate strikes a nice balance between sweetness and acidity with both a simultaneous tartness and sweetness that lingers on the finish. It is very clean across the palate and is a wonderfully balanced wine. Recommended pairing? Try with some spicy Thai curry.

The one non-Napa Valley wine produced as of our latest update to this review is a Riesling from Lake County. The 2020 Hagafen Cellars Lake County Robledo Ranch Riesling (off dry – contains 2% residual sugar) is deep straw in color; the bouquet offers aromas of a citrus blossom, recently mowed lawn, a hint of apricot, honey and ripe red apple. This wine immediately hits the palate with a tangy acid profile and bright flavors including of lemon, lime, kiwi and guava. Lingers bright, fresh and with a persistent liveliness which begs another sip. Robledo Ranch in Lake County is one of a number of vineyard holdings owned by the Robledo family originating with family patriarch, Reynaldo Robledo, Sr who immigrated to the U.S. in 1968.

The 2022 Hagafen Cellars Chardonnay Carneros (Sonoma side) is deep gold in color; the lightly oxidized bouquet reveals aromas of honeysuckle, apple pie, baked apples, corn tassel, apricot and yellow peaches. Not oaky, nor is it buttery. The rounded and lightly fleshy palate is supported by a bright acidity. On the palate there are flavors of honey, not fully ripe Crane melon (shoutout here to the Sonoma County family who sells Crane melons out of their barn every year on Petaluma Hill Road), Asian pear and a very subtle bitter and lightly drying character noticed more on the finish. This is a distinctive Chardonnay that we hope we could pick out of a lineup of other Napa Valley produced Chardonnays of the same vintage. This wine spent 8 months in both new and used American oak barrels (small percentage is new) and it goes through partial malolactic fermentation.

The 2019 Hagafen Cellars Chardonnay, Oak Knoll District is medium gold in color; offers aromas of warm butter. Sniffing this wine made us think of the smell of rolling an ear of corn just out of the oven on a stick of butter. The bouquet also shows notes of vanilla, glazed apple and a medley of sweeter dessert spices. The aromas of butter continue onto the palate as flavor along with notes of hazelnut and lemon meringue. And the finish lingers very bright and rich with flavors of citrus and an oak influence on the end of the finish – from the 8 months aging in American oak. With that said, this is not an oaky Chardonnay.

Pinot Noir
The 2021 Hagafen Cellars Prix Pinot Noir Reserve Napa Valley (Coombsville) is pale to medium ruby in color; the higher toned red-fruited bouquet offers an aroma we have sometimes seen described as a ‘Pinot sweat’ somewhat like the smell of a an old baseball mitt being used on a hot day, damp potting soil, raspberry, red cherry, crushed dark peppercorns and a floral note including of violets and lilac. Brightly lit, fresh and youthful (we tasted this wine 3 years post vintage), the palate reveals flavors of raspberry, red plum, currant, lingonberry, strawberry and cranberry. Lingers juicy and mouth watering with plenty of energy from its vivacious acidity accompanied by a light dusty character and broadly distributed tannins showing a tumbled and rounded character. This wine was aged for 20 months in primarily new French oak barrels. Very much a food friendly Pinot Noir.

Cabernet Franc
The 2019 Hagafen Cellars Prix Cabernet Franc; the bouquet is immediately bright and lively and focused on its fruit with the oak a complementary character. And perhaps this is somewhat surprising considering this wine spent 32 months aging in a mix of both used and new French oak barrels. But its obvious the character of the fruit could take the extended time in barrel. There are scents of red cherry, red plum, red licorice, Persian mulberry, red cherry, dark raspberry, a light toasted cedar nuance and a nod to the inherent characteristic of this variety, with a subtle note of shishito pepper. Energetic across the palate, it is primarily red fruited with flavors of cherry, plum, currant and cranberry. The tannins are gravelly, broadly distributed and parallels the fruit for some time on the extended finish. Lingers with a light note of dried tobacco leaf and a dusty attribute. Highly fresh and youthful, 5 years post vintage at the time of our tasting.

Cabernet Sauvignon
The 2019 Hagafen Cellars Prix Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby in color; the higher toned and red fruited bouquet sports scents of red cherry, strawberry, currant, red plum, cranberry, shishito pepper, tobacco and cinnamon spice. The herbal character is very subtle and has just enough presence to let you know this Cabernet Sauvignon. As the wine evolves in the glass the fruit becomes more dominant. Loaded with flavor, the palate shows notes of red plum, blackberry, cherry cola, boysenberry and dark raspberry. The rounded and supple tannins showcase a creamy texture lingering with a grainy and lightly dusty presence. The brightly lit finish begs another sip. This wine was aged for 32 months in a combination of both new and used French oak barrels. This wine does not taste like the 15.4% listed alcohol and in a blind tasting we would have guessed far lower percentage.

Merlot
The 2018 Hagafen Cellars Coombsville, Napa Valley Merlot is deep ruby in color; features ripe aromatics of spicy plum, blackberry, dark licorice, tobacco smoke, cedar spice rosemary, and some hints of leather – the bouquet offers a pleasing union of both fruit and barrel influences and is somewhat savory. The palate is a rich showing of this variety with flavors of plum, dark cherry and black currant. Lingers with a spicy note and long-lasting flavor complemented by bright acidity and nicely integrated lighter styled tannins. It also shows a lingering note of dried tobacco leaf. This is an ideal food wine with its balance and liveliness as it bounces across the palate; perhaps pair it with a ravioli dish.

The 2013 Prix Reserve Merlot from the Jaeger Vineyard Block 4 is a beautiful wine from this variety. The Jaeger’s an influential Napa family with deep roots in the valley (but very much stay out of the limelight) who have been involved in multiple wineries over the years as well as prominent wine organizations; fruit from their vineyards is highly sought after. This wine shows pretty aromatics with both fruit (red cherry, currant) and secondary aromas including toffee and cinnamon. Big but balanced – the wine shows intense flavors – both red and darker fruits including black cherry. Features long lasting fairly robust tannins.

Syrah
The 2018 Hagafen Cellars Napa Valley Coombsville Wieruszowski Vineyard Syrah (the same estate vineyard that produces the Hagafen Napa Valley Riesling from) is deep ruby in color with purplish tinges on the rim; this wine is highly opaque. Offers a familiar meaty aromatic sometimes inherent to this variety including aromas of bacon fat, aromas that some might describe as barn-yardesque, mushroom, black peppercorn and dried tallow. Or one can simply describe the aromatics as earthy. The bouquet eventually opens to some darker desert spices as it evolves in the glass. Features flavors of red cherry, black currant and plum. The brightness of acidity and red fruit flavors linger for quite some time on the finish. This is a very mouthwatering wine with tannins that show a medium dry grip but are not course in their textural feel. It is another excellent Hagafen food friendly wine.

A couple of wines used to be made with varieties not usually found from Napa Valley wineries including Tempranillo and a Roussane & Marsanne blend (however, these are no longer produced). And in the past, Hagafen has produced late harvest wines of Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. It is very rare to find a late harvest Chardonnay in Napa Valley; the 2006 Prix Reserve Late Harvest Chardonnay was one of the finer wines of this style that we have tried from a Napa Valley based winery.

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The winery and tasting room were fortunately spared during the terrible fires in October 2017, although the guesthouse on site and equipment located behind the winery was destroyed. During these fires vineyards typically act as fire breaks but unfortunately a section of their vineyard was also burned and has since been replanted. The only red wine produced in 2017 was a Syrah in a tank that was located the furthest from the edge of the fire and 2020, a single bottling of Pinot Noir.

Visitors to the tasting room can pick up the latest copy of the Hagafen Gazette, a several page publication highlighting the latest with the cellar, their vineyards, some useful education content and the Don Ernesto Recipe of the Month. Occasionally Hagafen Cellars will sell older 1/2 oak barrels, which can be used as planter boxes. And a chicken coop is kept on site with fresh eggs sold daily. Hagafen also produces olive oil from the olive trees growing on on the property. They used to press the olives outside of Napa Valley, but currently they are pressed at Marciano Estate in St. Helena, one of only three wineries in Napa Valley owning their own olive press and production equipment. The other two are Round Pond and Long Meadow Ranch, both which only use their equipment for their own olive oil.

Visitors to the winery can acquire Collector Exclusives featuring library wines up to 20 years old. While most of the wines are sold direct to consumer and through domestic distribution, some of the wines are sold internationally including in Israel, Panama, Vietnam and the United Kingdom.

For more information and or to join one of their two quarterly wine clubs (Hagafen Club or the Prix Reserve Club), visit www.hagafen.com