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TECHNICAL SPOTLIGHT WINEMAKING November 2017 WINES&VINES 81 Because of Rivers Brown's custom-crush clients, Dotzler said the partners can allow Mending Wall to grow at a sustainable pace while they secure grapes from the vineyards they want. "You can't just make a great wine," Mudaliar said. "Making good wine here (in Napa) happens all the time, but it's going to take a long time to make it great." The winemaking team doesn't have to wait on sales to secure the funds for new equip- ment, and total revenue isn't affected by the vagaries of the vintage. "First and foremost we wanted a really great production facility, and then we wanted to build a brand that allowed us those flexibilities, and that's what we can do here," Dotzler said. "For me, no matter how much money I have or we have as a group, it still has to make sense to me. This isn't necessarily about making money. It's about being responsible." The winery is home to about 15 clients, and Dotzler said they were at capacity from day one and aren't looking for any new business. In terms of production, about 80% of the wine made at the winery is for clients. And while it may be where other wine brands are produced, there is a definitive wall between them and the Mending Wall brand. "We don't do anyone else's marketing," Dotzler said. "It's about the Mending Wall brand, and we don't want to confuse those things." Custom crush also operates rather differ- ently than at most other facilities. All of the clients come through Rivers Brown and are handpicked by the winemaker, who also man- ages the wines from vineyard through bottling. "The way it works is the team here, Thomas and the team literally ride reign over the vine- yard. they decide when to prune and pick and all of that," Dotzler said. It's not cheap, and the clients cede signifi- cant control, but they are assured of Rivers Brown's talent as a winemaker and that wine- making is supported by top-notch facilities and equipment. While everyone has the same commitment to quality, winemaking is kept behind the walls of Rivers Brown and his staff. Managing day-to-day winemaking at Mend- ing Wall is assistant winemaker Tim Beranek, who gained an appreciation for wine and a passion for Pinot Noir while working as a golf pro at clubs in his native Minnesota and South- ern California. In 2010, Beranek secured a harvest internship at Kosta Browne Wines in Sonoma County, and that led to an internship at Outpost, where he would become cellar master. "Everyone's deep interest and only focus is making the best wine they can," he said of working at Mending Wall. The winery is located alongside Silverado Drive, and the drive leading up to Mending Wall provides a view from the road, through a KEY POINTS While Mending Wall Winery is an estate winemaking facility, nearly all of its pro- duction capacity is used by custom- crush clients. Winemaker Thomas Rivers Brown has complete control of winemaking from vine- yard to bottling. The winery features a mix of cutting-edge equipment and hands-on winemaking styles. The tasting room is used to showcase the Mending Wall brand and can accommodate 60 visitors per day. Destemmed berries run through a Vitisort optical sorting machine before being transferred to tank by a progressive cavity pump.