Melissa adds cabernet to the wine press in our home winery.

There are two types of Kiger Family Vineyard wines

We make non-commercial (not-for sale) wines at home from a small portion (~5%) of our estate-grown syrah and cabernet sauvignon grapes.

But most of our grape crop is sold to a winery;
Robert Biale Vineyards has been buying KFV grapes since our first harvest in 2004. 

Dave and Bob, two of the principals at Biale. Read more about their KFV wines below.

The Odyssey: 2009 marked the 5th vintage of this handcrafted, custom blend of our estate-grown Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Half of the 2008 vintage was bottled last September and the other half remains in a 110 liter barrel for continued aging. Ongoing barrel tastes of both continue to be promising!

Syrah Rosé: We crushed and pressed 300 pounds of Syrah last September, enough for ~6 cases of our third vintage of delightfully dry rosé. We bottled it just as we were finishing the last bottle of the 2008.

Verjus: We collect the grapes that would normally be left on the ground during the practice known as green-thinning, a crop-reduction activity to promote optimal ripening of the grapes left on the vine. It was crushed, pressed and stabilized to prevent fermentation. And we’re getting ready to try a new storage and dispensing plan: a stainless steel keg instead of individual bottles. This will reduce the need for bottles and corks, allowing us to fill a bottle of time and store it in the refrigerator a little at a time. Next year, we’ll do this for the rosé too.

homewinemaking with our own grapes gives us a closer connection to and understanding of how our farming practices lead to fine wines. we make these wines to enjoy with friends and family and to keep our senses sharp!  we don’t sell these wines, so if you want to enjoy them, you’ll just have to come for a visit or taste them “virtually” through the photo galleries here on the website. GO TO winemaking Photo galleries

KFV is still primarily a wine growing operation. We sold all of our

2009 grapes (minus the 800 lbs. we kept for homewinemaking) to Robert Biale Vineyards, where they make and market commercial (available in stores and restaurants) wines.

The vintage currently available is 2006; the KFV syrah grapes were put into two of its wines: (1) the 2006 Hill Climber Jack & Jill Sonoma Valley Syrah and (2) the 2006 ZAPPA, a unique blend of zinfandel, syrah, and petite sirah.

The 2007 vintage will be the first KFV vineyard-designate bottling from Biale; it will be available later this year. Stay tuned! Email Jayme (at right) at Robert Biale Vineyards for more information and to order. Tell him we sent you. You can also look for Robert Biale Vineyards wines in "better" wine shops and restaurants; the best way to get them is to join the Biale buying/mailing list or call us and ask for help!

Also, in 2005 through 2007, winemaker Gary Miller, of Miller Wine Works, purchased several tons of our syrah grapes. In 2005, those grapes went into a Rhone style blend that Gary calls The Works, released in mid-2008. Our 2006 grapes went into a vineyard-designate bottle, beautiful label below. There are about 90 cases left, and are available directly from the winery. The 2007 is in an extended barrel aging program and should be bottled shortly.

If you want to buy some Miller-made KFV syrah -- or maybe some of his excellent pinot noir or grenache, give Gary a call or visit the Miller Wine Works website.