Hahn Family Wines

About Hahn Family Wines

Hahn is a family owned California winery, Sustainably Certified (SIP), specializing in premium wines from Monterey, Santa Lucia Highlands, California. Hahn Founder, Nicky Hahn, grew up speaking German. In his native language, ‘Hahn’ means rooster, which is why a depiction of this bird has always graced the label of Hahn wines. From the beginning, Nicky strove to produce exceptional varietal wines from Monterey County where Hahn’s vineyards and winery are located.

Sustainable farming is more than adapting sensible practices that save water, conserve soil, cut down on energy use and reduce use of pesticides and other chemicals. Sustainability is a never-ending quest–a way of looking long term, past the span of our own lives, to make decisions that not only pay off today but will be of benefit for generations to come.

In every phase of grape growing and winemaking, we are committed to sustainable practices that result in healthy vineyards and the well-being of our workers. Hahn’s four SLH vineyards are certified under the rigorous Sustainability in Practice (SIP) standards which encompass water and soil conservation, efficient energy use, natural pest management and health and safety measures for our employees.

Representative Biography

Vince Berry, Sr. Director, Marketing and Direct to Consumer

Vince Berry, Sr. Director, Marketing and Direct to Consumer, manages commercial and trade marketing, Public Relations and DTC operations for Hahn Family Wines. In this role now for 4 years, Vince and his team drive brand strategy, packaging, promotions, advertising for all portfolio products. Additionally, in a DTC capacity, he oversees a staff managing tasting rooms at Hahn Estate and in Carmel, CA. Prior to the wine industry, Vince spent his early career working for global advertising agencies in New York and San Francisco.

Why We're Cool

Hahn Family Wines is located in Monterey County, and our vineyards are primarily in the Santa Lucia Highlands, one of the coolest growing regions in California. Hahn Estate owns over 1100 acres of vineyards total, and of those, 120 acres are planted to Chardonnay in Santa Lucia Highlands. We have approximately 12 clones planted. We feel that we have extraordinary circumstances to grow outstanding Chardonnay. Our two primary influences are wind and soil.

WIND: In Monterey County, the Santa Lucia Highlands and the Salinas Valley feed directly into Monterey Bay. This bay is one of the deepest bodies of water in the world, with a trench that is deeper and longer than the Grand Canyon, but underwater. That means that the water stays cold and therefore the air above it stays cold. In the heat of the growing season, as the area furthest down valley (towards Paso Robles) heats up, the natural influence is for the cool air to flow to the hot areas. This creates something of a wind tunnel through our vineyards, cooling the grapes in the heat of the day. The wind also tends to dry out the grapes, meaning smaller berries and more intense flavors. As a result of the wind, our diurnal swing is only about 20 degrees Fahrenheit on any given day in the growing season.

SOIL: Our soil is called Chualar Loam. The primary metamorphic rocks of the Santa Lucia Highlands are Gneiss (pronounced ‘nice’ and much like granite) and Schist (which is primarily mica). Over time, erosion from water and glaciers dropped down the mountains becoming alluvial fans, almost like massive mud slides. Combined with further weathering, this broke down the rocks into the soils that help make up the SLH. At one time, a river engulfed the entire Salinas Valley, eroding away the sides of these massive alluvial fans. This created the ‘Bench’ that the vineyards sit on. This gives us a well-drained soil as well as a mineral flavor component to our Chardonnay.
Regarding our winemaking style, we try to let Mother Nature show her best. The Chardonnay is aged in French oak (new barrels-roughly 33% and neutral-67%) for nine months, and the barrels are hand stirred every two weeks to add complexity to the wine.