Newsletters from the President of Keenan Winery

We have received about 80% of our 47-year average of rain this year. And while this doesn't qualify as officially ending California's drought, it has been enough to make a significant and noticeable difference in our environment. The natural environment around us has seemingly exploded with growth, quite a contrast to the last two extremely dry years. As a result, we've had to mow the cover crop in the vine rows more often this season, which is great news as a healthy cover crop is the main way to restore key nutrients into the soil. There has also been an explosion in the bee population. There is a hive…

Despite the continuous barrage of recent negative news concerning the latest Variant threat, the world as seen through the lens of our winery is looking increasingly normal. Visitation at the winery seems to be back to normal. We are seeing people from all over the country, not just the Bay Area, which was the case after we initially opened up after the original state-mandated shutdowns. Distributer sales from all over the country are back to the best levels we have ever seen. Most of our distributors have brought back all of their sales teams, and restaurants are bouncing back better than I thought they would. The third leg of…

It’s always a great feeling knowing that something truly exciting is on the horizon. After coming through the cauldron of the last 15 months, it is quite a relief and a pleasure to look in the cellar and see the wines we will show over the next three years. 2018 through 2020 is quite simply one of the greatest three-year runs that we have yet to experience, and that is really saying something.

The Keenan team at the thankfully still standing winery wishes you a happy holiday season.