Bill and Mary Massarweh welcome you to our sunny hillside of 200 Pinot Noir Vines nestled between olive trees and lusch landscaping.

For many years since moving to Moraga in 1979 we had planned to landscape our 1/2 acre property; especially the hillside which the developer littered with pine trees. Finally, after an extensive search for a landscape architect who could bring our vision to fruition, we embarked on this massive project in 2005. Sometime in early 2006 our 200 pinot noir vines were carefully placed into their permanent home on the hillside.

We are pleased with the result! Especially the fact that all 200 vines took nicely to their new surroundings and have flourished in the predominantly clay soil. With a Southwestern exposure, the vines get plenty of sunshine all day long. One of the issues we may have to monitor is that the vines may get too much sunshine.

2008 was our first harvest! As many of you are well aware, 2008 was a very hot year, especially in August and early September. The grapes ripened quickly and we had to rush to pick on the day after Labor Day, September 2. We picked with the help of family and friends and a couple of hired hands to help with the arduous task of lugging 40 lb boxes down from the hillside. We worked well into the evening with crushing. In fact, immediately after the grapes were safely crushed and put into their fermenting barrels, sometime around 8 PM, I had to rush to a Lamorinda WGA board meeting.

The 2008 inaugural vintage is now safely tucked away in a 30 Gallon French Oak barrel, and we are encouraged by its development as we periodically taste the wine before toppiing off the barrel.

Stay tuned and please enjoy some pictures of our lovely vineyard. We hope to soon post pictures of our first harvest as well. Thank you for viewing our section of the website, and Mary and I hope that one day we can enjoy a bottle of our pinot noir with you and yours.