Surprisingly, people are surprised that wineries that should be competitors actually get along so well. It turns out that having a good relationship with your neighbors can save your bacon during crush.
One winery we especially get along well with is Hatcher Winery, owned and operated by brothers Matt and Sewell Hatcher. Matt started his winery the same year (2002) that we started Twisted Oak - in fact, we started in the same building - a custom crush facility in Lodi. In 2003 our winery facility was not yet completed, so we moved in with Hatcher and made our 2003 vintages together as well - Matt had the good sense to not build a new building to house his winery, instead installing himself in the old Murphys Creek Brewery building near Angels Camp.
So - when Matt needed some help last week - a stainless steel tank he expected to be delivered was delayed and he had a few tons of Grenache to deal with - we were only too happy to offer the use of one of our tanks. Pictured below is Matt, having just finished shoveling out all the Grenache must from the tank. (And below that is a picture of Matt from that first 2002 vintage, just for fun! click either image to enlarge)
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