' Porter Family Vineyards - Porter Family Vineyards - Winery in the Cave

Winery in the Cave

In the center of the vineyard lies a prominent hill. Within the walls of that hill, fifty feet underground, lies our 17,000 square foot winery. Vines still stand on and around the hill—the only clue to the winery’s existence are two entrances that come up and out at two ends. It is here, in-cave, and on the adjacent gravity-flow crush pad, that we carefully craft our wines. 

Unparalleled control systems monitor and adjust environmental conditions, control fermentation temperatures, and provide immediate access to winery operations data. However sophisticated these systems may be, they cannot take the place of the human mind and senses. Amidst the high tech atmosphere, our wines are given the artisanal touch of fermentation in small, 2-ton batches, and individually tasted at all stages of winemaking.

The high tech numbers can tell us many things about our wine, but only our human organoleptic senses can tell us how the fruit from our hillsides tastes. We rely on that first and foremost. Then we learn by looking at the numbers.

Call us either smart craftspeople or artisan scientists—we’re happy with the distinction either way.
Cave Specifications:
  • 515 feet long
  • 17,000 square feet
  • Four fermentation bays with a total capacity of forty 500 gallon fermentation tanks
  • Two 1500 gallon blending tanks
  • Two 3000 gallon blending tanks
  • Two storage bays
  • In-cave wine library