When you visit Rivaura, it’s easy to notice the sweeping vineyard views, the welcoming tasting room, and the peaceful atmosphere overlooking the Clearwater River. What you don’t always see is everything that happens behind the scenes on the days our doors are closed.
While guests may think we’re enjoying a day off, our team is hard at work preparing the winery, vineyard, and grounds for the next week of visitors. These quieter days allow us to focus on the details that help create the Rivaura experience.
One of the biggest projects is giving our outdoor spaces the attention they deserve. Our expansive deck, where so many glasses are raised throughout the season, is thoroughly power washed to keep it looking its best. Patio furniture is cleaned, refreshed, and arranged so it’s ready to welcome guests back for another weekend of wine, conversation, and unforgettable views.
Inside the tasting room, it’s all hands on deck. Every surface is deep cleaned, from polishing glassware and organizing displays to refreshing merchandise, sanitizing equipment, cleaning beer lines, and tackling all of the little details that can be difficult to accomplish during busy service days. It’s a chance to reset the space so every guest walks into a tasting room that feels clean, comfortable, and inviting.
Outside, our attention turns to the landscaping. We trim, weed, sweep, prune, and tidy the grounds, ensuring the property reflects the same level of care that goes into every bottle of wine we produce. Whether it’s maintaining flower beds, freshening pathways, or simply making sure every corner of the property looks its best, these projects help preserve the beauty of the estate throughout the growing season.
Of course, while the tasting room is being refreshed, the vineyard never slows down.
Growing exceptional grapes doesn’t follow a weekly schedule, and our vineyard team continues their work regardless of whether the tasting room is open. Depending on the time of year, that means carefully timed spray applications to protect the vines from disease and pests, monitoring vine health, checking irrigation systems, managing canopy growth, and walking the rows to evaluate fruit development. Every decision is made with one goal in mind: producing the highest-quality fruit possible.
Many of these vineyard tasks happen early in the morning or on closed days when equipment can move safely through the property. They’re essential pieces of a season-long commitment to growing balanced, healthy vines that will eventually become the wines in your glass.
At Rivaura, hospitality extends far beyond pouring wine. It’s reflected in the condition of our grounds, the cleanliness of our tasting room, the care given to every vine, and the countless behind-the-scenes projects that often go unnoticed.
So the next time you join us for a tasting, know that the experience you’re enjoying was built long before you arrived. It came from a team scrubbing decks, tending flower beds, deep cleaning and scrubbing bathrooms, walking vineyard rows, and doing the quiet work that allows every visit to feel effortless.
Those closed days aren’t really days off—they’re simply another way we care for the place, the people, and the wines that make Rivaura special.
