We are once again expanding underground, digging our fourth cave. Construction began in September, when completed we’ll have about an acre of naturally cooled underground barrel storage and aging space.

For a record fourth time, CYRUS has been awarded top honors at the Rodeo Uncorked! International Wine Competition held by the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo.  Over 2,600 wines from 877 different brands were tasted blind by judges, at the end of three days only one wine was named the best:  CYRUS 2014.  Over the years CYRUS has contributed over $750,000 through the Champion Wine Auction and other rodeo activities towards scholarships for Texas youth.

We’re formally recognizing our commitment to sustainable farming by being approved to add the Sonoma County Sustainably Farmed Grapes logo to our wine labels.  Each year more wines will be bottled with the new label, assuring consumers that our wines are produced in an environmentally friendly way by passionate stewards of the land.

We began construction on our business office re-model, more space is needed to house our growing staff.  We moved into this space in 1985, prior to that it was our tasting room.

Kevin Hall, winemaker at AVV, is honored at the 6th Wine, Beer + Spirits Industry Awards and is named Sonoma Winemaker of the Year. Kevin has helped Cabernet Sauvignon from the Alexander Valley appellation rise to prominence and just completed his 21st crush in 2018 at AVV.

Harry Wetzel accepts the 2018 International Award of Excellence in Sustainable Winegrowing from the Botanical Research Institute of Texas.   The award was based on the winery’s on-going sustainable programs that address the three elements of sustainability: environmental, economic, social – and the taste of our organically grown Cabernet Sauvignon.

We renew our Sonoma Green Business certification.   AVV’s dedication to environmentally sound business practices is recognized by Congress.

She takes on sales and marketing for the growing family business.  Traveling across the country, Katie poured our wines and educated wine lovers everywhere about Sonoma County, Alexander Valley and AVV.

John, Katie and Hank are actively farming their newest vineyard themselves.  The family business is growing with this 59 acre purchase across the river from AVV.

While he was Chairman of the Garrett Corporation, Harry and Maggie traveled the world and visited many of the great wine regions.  Those trips convinced them that the Alexander Valley had the same potential.  When Pacific Southwest Airlines dropped their fares from $35 to $11.49, flying from Southern California for the family of six became affordable and Harry decided that making a purchase in Sonoma County was possible.  He later wrote:  “If it hadn’t been for that I don’t think I would have bothered.  Of course the travel was the least expensive thing.”

After working on the property and interning at another winery, Hank enrolls at UC Davis in the Fermentation Science program.

The stakes were placed 8’ apart and rows were 12’ wide – 454 vines per acre.  Today, we’ve reduced the spacing to 4’ apart and rows are 6’ wide – vine density ranges from 800 – 1500 vines per acre with less yield per vine, but more yield per acre.

We are still family owned and operated; today the third and fourth generations are continuing the traditions established by Harry and Maggie Wetzel over 50 years ago on the family estate.

CYRUS is named Grand Champion & Best of Show at Rodeo Uncorked! in Houston, Texas for an unbelievable third time.  Our 6 liter bottle sells for a record $215,000.  The total raised for charity at this event by CYRUS is now over $465,000!

Continuing to grow, we built a second crush pad to segregate white and red grapes.

Taking steps to preserve the property for future generations, AVV received certification for farming a small single vineyard organically.

Certification recognizes AVV as an environmental leader that conserves resources, minimizes waste and prevents pollution.

Both are laid to rest in the family cemetery overlooking the land they loved.

AVV hires sales team to grow sales across the country.

After growing up on the property, Harry Wetzel, IV and Robert Wetzel join AVV.

Six months later he was appointed Winemaker, a position he still holds today.

7,000 square feet of naturally cooled underground barrel aging space for AVV’s growing production.

The inaugural vintage of CYRUS marked 20 years at AVV.  Honoring the valley namesake, this wine is a celebration of estate grown grapes, focused winemaking, extensive barrel aging and Alexander Valley.

The silver lining of phylloxera was an opportunity to revitalize the 130 acres of estate vineyards.  We changed vine density, row orientation, clonal selection and varietals, and finished replanting in 2009.  This began our focus on the varietals best suited for the area; Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Zinfandel and Merlot.

Tasting room, offices, permanent bottling line, barrel aging space and lab.

Hank Wetzel leads the committee that took the region to appellation status as a recognized American Viticultural Area.

A large second crop of Zinfandel and a family meal led to the decision to make a little homemade wine.

Sin Zin gains a cult following.

Everyone jokes that ‘at least it’s not last year’.

Wine world takes notice of the region after The Judgement of Paris Tasting, in which California Chardonnay, grown in the Alexander Valley, won over the French judges.  Glowing reviews of AVV 1975 Chardonnay by the press help to put AVV on the map.

The first gondola of Chardonnay grapes clattered up, Hank pushed the green plastic button to start the machines.  Nothing happened.  “It took half a day to get the first gondola crushed, I was totally devastated.” –Hank Wetzel

“There is one other bold and exciting development to record.  After a year of legal work, plans made … we have bids out to build a small winery at the foot of our cemetery hill. Hank will supervise the building process, be the winemaker …” –Maggie Wetzel

She jumps right in and has never stopped.

“We have succeeded in persuading Mrs. Goodyear, a neighbor, to let us have the 1868 Alexander Valley one room schoolhouse and it has been moved to a slight rise near a huge oak tree, where one day it will be surrounded by vineyard.  The process of restoration has begun …” –Maggie Wetzel

On Memorial Day the adobe was converted from barrel aging room to bottling line.  This was a family project and everyone learned as they went, prepping, filling bottles, corking the wines and applying the labels.  “We bottled our first Cabernet — two fifty gallon barrels.  It really is surprisingly good.” –Maggie Wetzel

“Newly planted grapestock is being budded to variety this month and all day long the crew, skilled and patient, move from vine to vine on their knees.  They have let each child have a try at budding – it looks so easy and makes us all at once so clumsy.” –Maggie Wetzel

Hank began learning about the vineyards as a young boy.  A year later his first job was tying canes and trimming vines.  He worked from 7am-4pm earning $1.50 an hour.  The real crew made fun of him, but he stuck with it.

The house had stood empty for years, five foot weeds surrounded the boarded up front porch and steers poked their heads through the windows.

“In the summer of 1962 Russ Green told me about a property which had been inhabited by a woman in her nineties, whose heirs did not want to keep it.  That winter he called and told me he had a 24 hour option on the property and did we want to buy it with them?  We slept on it and in the morning agreed to buy.  We had never set foot on the land.” –Harry Wetzel