The Confidence to Be Complex: Judd's Hill and Blended in Action

A Winery Built on Craft and Care

From their vineyard in the eastern hills of Napa Valley to their hospitality and production facility along the Silverado Trail, Judd’s Hill Winery & MicroCrush has spent decades building a reputation for expressive wines and deeply personal service. For the Finkelstein family, winemaking is more than a craft — it’s a multigenerational expression of creativity, care, and connection. What began as garage winemaking experiments in the early 1970s evolved into a full-scale family winery in 1989, when they purchased a 14-acre vineyard and released their first official wine: the 1989 Judd’s Hill Cabernet Sauvignon.

From the start, their vision was intentional. By capping production at 3,000 cases per year, the Finkelsteins ensured they could stay hands-on with every decision, from vineyard to bottle. That approach still defines the winery today, led by two generations and grounded in their motto: “Having a good time making great wine with family.”

But Judd’s Hill is more than a boutique producer. Through their MicroCrush program, they manage hundreds of small-lot wines — many just a few barrels in size — on behalf of more than 150 clients. They also offer custom crush, host AP producers, and have expanded into sparkling wine using both Charmat and méthode traditionnelle processes. It's a complex, high-touch operation that demands precise coordination across people, processes, and inventory.

On the surface, it all worked. The winery had a winemaking system in place. Lots moved. Bottles shipped. Reports were generated. The software wasn’t great — it was slow, outdated, and hard to navigate — but the team knew how to work around it.

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“We thought we were doing fine. We’d been using the same system for years. It was clunky, but we made it work.”

— Susie Dineen, MicroCrush Manager, Judd’s Hill

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And they did — until they realized what that work was costing them.

The Quiet Cost of “We’re Fine”

Judd’s Hill took the leap into winemaking software years ago, moving beyond spiral notebooks in hopes of gaining efficiency. On the surface, it looked like progress. But in practice, the system was clunky, rigid, and full of friction.

Even routine tasks—like recording a transfer or adjusting barrel counts—required navigating a maze of clicks and menus. With harvests to manage and cellar work always pressing, their winemaker, Eric Lyman, simply didn’t have the bandwidth to sit in front of a computer for hours each week. That’s where MicroCrush Manager Susie Dineen stepped in, picking up the data entry to keep everything moving.

As the winery grew, cracks deepened. Key contacts at the software vendor moved on, and support became slow and distant, offered by overseas teams with little knowledge of Napa‑style operations. Meanwhile, tracking lots became a game of follow-up, and understanding costs meant digging through spreadsheets that never quite matched up.

Still, the team reassured themselves: this is fine. But deep down, they knew something wasn’t right.

“We were doing everything we could with what we had,” Susie said. “But as we added more clients and more complexity, we started to realize how much we couldn’t actually see.”

And in winemaking, what you can’t see can cost you.

The Search For Something Better

Susie and Eric began looking for alternatives. What they found initially was more of the same: bloated systems full of nested menus and overcomplicated workflows.

Then they met Matt Witte, CEO and Co-Founder of Blended.

“It was an immediate yes,” Susie said. “Blended just made sense. It was fast, clean, easy. I remember saying during the demo, ‘Wait, that’s it? That’s all we have to do?’”

More than that, Matt was local. He understood Napa. And he was willing to get hands‑on to help make Judd’s Hill successful.

“We’re complex,” Susie added. “We’re proud of that. And we’re so grateful when someone shows up ready to work with it—not run from it.”

A Simple System for a Complex Operation

Getting started with Blended was fast. In just a few working sessions, the team had their core operations configured and their team trained. From day one, the difference was clear.

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“Suddenly, everything was easier. During harvest, I used to work on my days off just to keep up. With Blended, I honestly don’t know how many hours we’re saving, but it’s a lot.”

— Susie Dineen, MicroCrush Manager, Judd’s Hill

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The platform’s protocol-driven workflows and mobile interface allowed real-time data entry across all corners of the winery. No more logging notes on paper to enter later. No more double-handling.

But the real breakthrough was financial visibility.

From Gut Feeling to Financial Clarity

Blended doesn’t just track lots—it tracks the true cost of every decision. Labor, materials, overhead, and more are automatically tied to the right batch at the right time. With just one click, Susie can see what a barrel has cost to date—and how much margin is left.

“I use Blended every day to quote barrel prices,” she said. “It’s not just a production tool—it’s a sales tool.”

The Edit button, once a fantasy in their old system, lets the team quickly correct errors without waiting on support or creating audit risk. “This kind of financial clarity would’ve been impossible with our old system,” said Susie. 

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“We didn’t even realize how blind we were—until Blended turned the lights on.”

— Susie Dineen MicroCrush Manager, Judd’s Hill

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Evolving With Ease

Judd’s Hill continues to evolve—expanding into larger commercial projects, onboarding AP partners, and building out sparkling wine programs in both Charmat and méthode traditionnelle styles. What once felt like a stretch now feels not just possible, but manageable.

“Blended is running exactly the way we need it to,” said Susie. “And it just keeps getting better. In this day and age, it has to be simple, because we have other things to do.”

For a winery that once thought it was doing just fine, the move to Blended revealed how much potential was being held back. With the right system in place, Judd’s Hill isn’t just producing great wines—they’re making smarter, faster, more confident decisions. And in a business where conditions shift quickly and complexity is the norm, that kind of clarity isn’t optional. It’s essential.

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Complexity is part of the job. Clarity doesn’t have to be optional. Read how how other world class wineries are using Blended or book a demo to see for yourself.

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To learn more about Judd's Hill, or explore their micro and custom crush services, check out Judd'sHill.com or drop Susie an email at Susie@Juddshill.com.

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