Just running through inventory to see what we still have about. Here's the status on all of our 2007's and the one 2008.
2008 Chardonnay Chaine d'Or Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains - Sold Out.
We weren't even able to save a single bottle for ourselves!
2007 Pinot Noir Santa Cruz Mountains - Sold Out.
2007 Syrah Eaglepoint Ranch Mendocino County - We have about 30 cases left.
$32 a bottle $180 for six.
2007 Haut Tubee California - Sold Out.
We'll release the 2008 this Fall. Allocations will be down though, we only made 1/2 of the 2008 that we made in 2007.
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Uvas Creek Vineyard Santa Clara Valley - We have about 25 cases left.
$37 a bottle $210 for six
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Santa Cruz Mountains - We have about 40 cases left.
$40 a bottle $225 for six
2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Chaine d'Or Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains - Four cases left.
Here's the closeout! Regularly this is $30 a bottle or $360 a case. For these last four cases, first come first serve, we'll do $250 a case with free shipping!
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Monday, May 24, 2010
Weekend Update -Vineyard Work
Saturday we spent the morning visiting a couple of vineyards and getting a status on how things are going. We'll use the visits to put together our work plans for the next month or so. We check on the health of the plants and look for any mildew or other problems. We also want to see how they are growing and how the weeds are. The final step is for Stefania and I to do a demonstration row. If one of us can't be on site when we send Jerry out, he'll at least have a row to look at to know what we want done.
First up was a small vineyard in Los Altos that we take care of for Big Basin Vineyards. This is the demonstration row after we've cleaned it up. Big Basin likes to have a single shoot on each spur and just one cluster on each shoot. That's what we've done here.
This is what the rows looked like before clean up. We will need to weedwhack again here. We'll wait though for another month or so to let the grass dry out. The plants are very healthy so there will be lots of thinning to do. We probably have a total of about 60 hours of work to do here in the next 6 weeks.
Stefania said she spotted the signs of an owl in the box we installed last year.
Our next stop was the Harrison Vineyard, also in Los Altos. We installed about 250 Syrah vines a few years ago. This will be the first year they get fruit.
The Harrison's are pretty independent and we just visit them every 2 months or so so they can ask questions. They take care of most of the maintenance themselves. I thought this fruit might make a nice Rose this year, but right now the vines look strong enough to contribute to the Haut Tubee blend.
Sunday Stefania went to Sacramento to see her sister graduate and I spent the morning at Chaine d'Or. There was a little work to do in the winery. Most of the morning though I was out gopher hunting in the vineyard. They are active now and it's a good time to find fresh tunnels. Chaine d'Or is the only vineyard we have now that hasn't had an owl family move in.
Today I'll be writing up the plan for the next 2 months or so. We'll be pretty busy!
First up was a small vineyard in Los Altos that we take care of for Big Basin Vineyards. This is the demonstration row after we've cleaned it up. Big Basin likes to have a single shoot on each spur and just one cluster on each shoot. That's what we've done here.
This is what the rows looked like before clean up. We will need to weedwhack again here. We'll wait though for another month or so to let the grass dry out. The plants are very healthy so there will be lots of thinning to do. We probably have a total of about 60 hours of work to do here in the next 6 weeks.Stefania said she spotted the signs of an owl in the box we installed last year.
Our next stop was the Harrison Vineyard, also in Los Altos. We installed about 250 Syrah vines a few years ago. This will be the first year they get fruit.
The Harrison's are pretty independent and we just visit them every 2 months or so so they can ask questions. They take care of most of the maintenance themselves. I thought this fruit might make a nice Rose this year, but right now the vines look strong enough to contribute to the Haut Tubee blend.
Sunday Stefania went to Sacramento to see her sister graduate and I spent the morning at Chaine d'Or. There was a little work to do in the winery. Most of the morning though I was out gopher hunting in the vineyard. They are active now and it's a good time to find fresh tunnels. Chaine d'Or is the only vineyard we have now that hasn't had an owl family move in.
Today I'll be writing up the plan for the next 2 months or so. We'll be pretty busy!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Coastview Vineyard Tour
On Saturday Paul and I drove my brother Hans and his wife Richa to visit Ian at Coastview Vineyards before driving into Monterey Bay for lunch and to visit the aquarium.
Left San Jose at 9:38, heavy morning fog, getting thicker and colder as we head south to Salinas. Exit the freeway at 10:40, turn east and drive to the base of the foothills.
Ian Brand met us at the lower gate and we followed him up the hill...past cows lazying away the morning on the road, a couple of jack rabbits, and a lot of quail.
He wasn't kidding when he told Paul to put the Jeep in 4-wheel drive once we started the incline. Awesome ride up, and we were east enough to be out of the fog and enjoying a warm, sun-exposed hilltop - complete with wine and snacks!
Looking north-west toward the Monterey Bay, under a heavy blanket of fog.
Richa and Hans taking a break from sipping wine to listen to Ian tell us about the terrain, soil, terraces, and overall geology of the vineyard.
I keep telling Paul I want to live on a hill, surrounded by vines...something like this would be awesome.
Laura Ness wrote this blog about Coastview:
http://myvinespace.com/2010/04/25/high-above-steinbeck-country-coastview-vineyard-reigns/
She captured in prose our exact experience, save for trudging up the hill because of the mud...we were able to drive to the top :-)
Left San Jose at 9:38, heavy morning fog, getting thicker and colder as we head south to Salinas. Exit the freeway at 10:40, turn east and drive to the base of the foothills.
Ian Brand met us at the lower gate and we followed him up the hill...past cows lazying away the morning on the road, a couple of jack rabbits, and a lot of quail.
He wasn't kidding when he told Paul to put the Jeep in 4-wheel drive once we started the incline. Awesome ride up, and we were east enough to be out of the fog and enjoying a warm, sun-exposed hilltop - complete with wine and snacks!
Looking north-west toward the Monterey Bay, under a heavy blanket of fog.
Richa and Hans taking a break from sipping wine to listen to Ian tell us about the terrain, soil, terraces, and overall geology of the vineyard.
I keep telling Paul I want to live on a hill, surrounded by vines...something like this would be awesome.
Laura Ness wrote this blog about Coastview:
http://myvinespace.com/2010/04/25/high-above-steinbeck-country-coastview-vineyard-reigns/
She captured in prose our exact experience, save for trudging up the hill because of the mud...we were able to drive to the top :-)
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Touring Season
It's that time of year again. We've had visitors for three of the past weeks and we'll have more over the next four. We love to entertain at the winery so please do come by for a visit. I thought I'd share a few tips for visiting us.
First the earlier you can let us know you'll be coming by the better. We can swing things at the last minute sometimes, but other times we may have blocked the day out for vineyard work at another vineyard or have another appointment. Saturday's are usually the best day, but with enough notice we can do any day.
Let us know how much time you'd like to spend. About an hour seems to be the shortest visit we have, but we've also had people stay for 4 or 5 hours. If you have time we will prepare some snacks in advance. Also let us know of any special tasting requests in advance. I usually will pour 4 or 5 wines of our most current releases and sample from a barrel or two. If you'd like to try something from the library though we'll have to bring it from home.
Woodside is usually a few degrees cooler than you'll see on a forecast. In the summer the fog will also hang around the vineyard making it a little breezy and cool. A sweatshirt is a good idea. If you'd like to see the vineyard remember to bring good walking shoes, sunscreen and a hat.
The road up to the winery is very busy on the weekends. There is also a lot of bicycle traffic. Plan on a few extra minutes more than you'd expect. Map out your route in advance. We get really poor signals at the winery on our phones and often can't call out. We might not be able to guide you in. If you do need to reach us text messaging seems to work best in the winery.
We have two large dogs at the winery. One is still a puppy and she gets easily excited. She has done fine with other dogs and small children, but you will need to mind after them. We usually try and wear the dogs out with some fetch before visitors arrive but they do have a lot of energy.
There are other wineries in the area. Varner, Woodside, and Great Blue Heron will take appointments. Fogarty, Michael Martella, La Honda, and Domenico all have tasting rooms. Rhys is one of our closest neighbors but I understand they only set up tours on pre-determined days. Many people want to do Ridge also. You can see Monte Bello from our cellar door. It's about 7 miles away, but it takes about 90 minutes to get from us to Ridge.
It's about 2 hours to Napa from us so a lot of people like to come right from the airport, visit us then head to Napa. Just let us know your plans and we'll make sure you get on the road in time and recommend best routes. If you're planning on staying in the South Bay we'll probably make it an excuse to have a party. We can also recommend hotels and restaurants for your stay. The South Bay is actually fairly cheap on the weekends for hotels, most hotel traffic is during the week for business so many local hotels have low rates on weekends.
To reach us for an appointment it's best to email at info@stefaniawine.com or call 408-242-8598.
First the earlier you can let us know you'll be coming by the better. We can swing things at the last minute sometimes, but other times we may have blocked the day out for vineyard work at another vineyard or have another appointment. Saturday's are usually the best day, but with enough notice we can do any day.
Let us know how much time you'd like to spend. About an hour seems to be the shortest visit we have, but we've also had people stay for 4 or 5 hours. If you have time we will prepare some snacks in advance. Also let us know of any special tasting requests in advance. I usually will pour 4 or 5 wines of our most current releases and sample from a barrel or two. If you'd like to try something from the library though we'll have to bring it from home.
Woodside is usually a few degrees cooler than you'll see on a forecast. In the summer the fog will also hang around the vineyard making it a little breezy and cool. A sweatshirt is a good idea. If you'd like to see the vineyard remember to bring good walking shoes, sunscreen and a hat.
The road up to the winery is very busy on the weekends. There is also a lot of bicycle traffic. Plan on a few extra minutes more than you'd expect. Map out your route in advance. We get really poor signals at the winery on our phones and often can't call out. We might not be able to guide you in. If you do need to reach us text messaging seems to work best in the winery.
We have two large dogs at the winery. One is still a puppy and she gets easily excited. She has done fine with other dogs and small children, but you will need to mind after them. We usually try and wear the dogs out with some fetch before visitors arrive but they do have a lot of energy.
There are other wineries in the area. Varner, Woodside, and Great Blue Heron will take appointments. Fogarty, Michael Martella, La Honda, and Domenico all have tasting rooms. Rhys is one of our closest neighbors but I understand they only set up tours on pre-determined days. Many people want to do Ridge also. You can see Monte Bello from our cellar door. It's about 7 miles away, but it takes about 90 minutes to get from us to Ridge.
It's about 2 hours to Napa from us so a lot of people like to come right from the airport, visit us then head to Napa. Just let us know your plans and we'll make sure you get on the road in time and recommend best routes. If you're planning on staying in the South Bay we'll probably make it an excuse to have a party. We can also recommend hotels and restaurants for your stay. The South Bay is actually fairly cheap on the weekends for hotels, most hotel traffic is during the week for business so many local hotels have low rates on weekends.
To reach us for an appointment it's best to email at info@stefaniawine.com or call 408-242-8598.
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Bumble Bees
Why am I uploading Bumble Bee pictures? Because I'm so over bottling that I wanted a fun distraction to share. On Monday while we waited for the glass delivery and bottling truck to show up, I took some time to look at bees. I noticed that the bumble bees went from plant to plant in a group and tended to avoid hanging out with the regular honey bees. The two groups took turns going from the lavender plants.
The lizards are wary of me so I didn't get any pics of them, and the banana slugs are just gross so I let them be.
Time for a much needed margarita and long siesta - it is Cinco de Mayo after all.
The lizards are wary of me so I didn't get any pics of them, and the banana slugs are just gross so I let them be.
Time for a much needed margarita and long siesta - it is Cinco de Mayo after all.
Salud.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Last Bottling Post
We are cleaning up now. The tanks are being broken down, hoses cleaned, barrels, and putting the final touches on. I'll update all the pictures tomorrow with some details. A good day though and all the wine is safely on pallets now waiting pick up.
This is actually left over glass that I'm going to sell on Craigslist.
The crew at work finishing up a run of wine.
A finished pallet ready to go to the warehouse
And the Haut Tubee
Some challenges as always with bottling but overall it went ok and we're glad to be done!
This is actually left over glass that I'm going to sell on Craigslist.
The crew at work finishing up a run of wine.
A finished pallet ready to go to the warehouse
And the Haut Tubee
Some challenges as always with bottling but overall it went ok and we're glad to be done!
More Bottling
I took this one inside the truck. I was the primary glass loader. I was also forklift driver, winemaker, and cleaning. When I had to be away from dropping glass in, Matt did it.
Jerry loading up a full pallet. Normally we'd put the pallet right by the truck but with the tow truck issue we had to use a hand cart.
Ingrid on the bottling line. When she wasn't inside doing winemaking she'd come out and help tape up boxes.
Glass going down the line.
My station. The glass enters here and the first step is to 'sparge' it with nitrogen, then it's filled with wine.
Sophie standing guard. She's become the perfect vineyard dog since her first harvest in 2005. She was protecting the wine from bunnies and other vineyard creatures. :)
This is the end of the line where bottles come off to be packed back into boxes.
And they roll down here to be tapped up and loaded.
Jerry loading up a full pallet. Normally we'd put the pallet right by the truck but with the tow truck issue we had to use a hand cart.
Ingrid on the bottling line. When she wasn't inside doing winemaking she'd come out and help tape up boxes.
Glass going down the line.
My station. The glass enters here and the first step is to 'sparge' it with nitrogen, then it's filled with wine.
Sophie standing guard. She's become the perfect vineyard dog since her first harvest in 2005. She was protecting the wine from bunnies and other vineyard creatures. :)
This is the end of the line where bottles come off to be packed back into boxes.
And they roll down here to be tapped up and loaded.
Bottling Part II
Part of the challenge of the truck being stuck means we have to hand carry the empty and full cases up the hill. The forklift won't make it up the hill with a load.
The crew for today is Stefania, Jerry, his wife Estella, Ingrid and me. Ingrid will mostly be in the winery. She works the pumps and tank on bottling day.
We have gotten one task done today. We hand bottled nine Syrah magnums and three Haut Tubee magnums. We'll do twelve Pinot Noir later today.
The crew for today is Stefania, Jerry, his wife Estella, Ingrid and me. Ingrid will mostly be in the winery. She works the pumps and tank on bottling day.
We have gotten one task done today. We hand bottled nine Syrah magnums and three Haut Tubee magnums. We'll do twelve Pinot Noir later today.
Bottling Day Part I
Last night we got off to a rough start. We thought the septic backing up would be the one bad thing that always happens on bottling days. Well, the bottling truck one upped that. It got stuck coming down out tough gravel road. We had to call a tow truck to pull it out.
We were here until 8:30 last night and did not get everything done that we need to. That means we'll be starting about an hour late this morning.
The inside of the winery is mostly ready though.
Outside Matt is working to get the truck up and running. We are much further down the driveway than usual. We just could not get the truck further down this time. All the rain has made the gravel road soft and the truck can't get traction to push the trailer back up the hill. When we are done this afternoon we will likely have to call the tow truck again to pull the entire rig back out.
The glass is staged though and ready to go.
We were here until 8:30 last night and did not get everything done that we need to. That means we'll be starting about an hour late this morning.
The inside of the winery is mostly ready though.
Outside Matt is working to get the truck up and running. We are much further down the driveway than usual. We just could not get the truck further down this time. All the rain has made the gravel road soft and the truck can't get traction to push the trailer back up the hill. When we are done this afternoon we will likely have to call the tow truck again to pull the entire rig back out.
The glass is staged though and ready to go.
Monday, May 03, 2010
Monday Bottling Prep
The list of things to do today was more than 20 long. It was going to be a busy day getting ready for bottling. First up......
The forklift arrived. Which means we have day one of 6 this year of having a totally unqualified forklift driver on site moving around thousands of dollars of glass and wine. That would be me.
I did manage to get the glass truck unloaded though when it arrived right on schedule at 10AM. For those of you who have visited our tiny crushpad you can imagine how tight it is to unload a 28 foot truck full of glass in this small area.
A happy sight though is the glass truck pulling away with nothing broken.
We had some drama with the septic system. The sink in the winery had backed up over night. The plumber was called about 9:30. He just left at 3. It turned out to be a fairly major problem, but we worked around it all day.
The next task was to select a barrel to add to the Haut Tubee blend. We drew samples from five barrels to taste. We decided to move into the dry room to avoid the plumbing repairs going on in the wet room.
We are looking for the barrel that will make is first off least like the other four. We also are looking for something that will compliment what we already have set aside for the Haut Tubee. After a few rounds of tasting we decided on barrel #4. The final blend for 2008 will include:
Merlot 15%
Zinfandel 10%
Syrah 36%
Cabernet Sauvignon 37%
Grenache 2%
Mourvedre (trace)
Cabernet Franc (trace)
Petite Verdot (trace)
Pinot Gris (trace)
We've been topping up barrels and then had to transfer more wine around the last few hours. Next up will be staging the glass. Then we'll do the final sulfur additions to the Haut Tubee. Next will be getting the Syrah ready and we're going to bottle the magnums by hand tonight. We'll also stage the Pinot Noir barrels for tomorrow.
There's still lots of cleaning to do and I'm hopeful that the truck will show up soon and we will get out of here before 6:30 tonight. Tomorrow I'm planing on lots of pictures and short commentary.
The forklift arrived. Which means we have day one of 6 this year of having a totally unqualified forklift driver on site moving around thousands of dollars of glass and wine. That would be me.
I did manage to get the glass truck unloaded though when it arrived right on schedule at 10AM. For those of you who have visited our tiny crushpad you can imagine how tight it is to unload a 28 foot truck full of glass in this small area.
A happy sight though is the glass truck pulling away with nothing broken.
We had some drama with the septic system. The sink in the winery had backed up over night. The plumber was called about 9:30. He just left at 3. It turned out to be a fairly major problem, but we worked around it all day.
The next task was to select a barrel to add to the Haut Tubee blend. We drew samples from five barrels to taste. We decided to move into the dry room to avoid the plumbing repairs going on in the wet room.
We are looking for the barrel that will make is first off least like the other four. We also are looking for something that will compliment what we already have set aside for the Haut Tubee. After a few rounds of tasting we decided on barrel #4. The final blend for 2008 will include:
Merlot 15%
Zinfandel 10%
Syrah 36%
Cabernet Sauvignon 37%
Grenache 2%
Mourvedre (trace)
Cabernet Franc (trace)
Petite Verdot (trace)
Pinot Gris (trace)
We've been topping up barrels and then had to transfer more wine around the last few hours. Next up will be staging the glass. Then we'll do the final sulfur additions to the Haut Tubee. Next will be getting the Syrah ready and we're going to bottle the magnums by hand tonight. We'll also stage the Pinot Noir barrels for tomorrow.
There's still lots of cleaning to do and I'm hopeful that the truck will show up soon and we will get out of here before 6:30 tonight. Tomorrow I'm planing on lots of pictures and short commentary.
Saturday Chardonnay Filtration
Saturday morning we arrived at the winery before 10 AM. We had a busy day planned with final preparation of the Chardonnay for bottling. First up was to remove all the extra insulation from the tank holding the Chardonnay.
Then we had to hook up the filter. No small task, it's only the second time we've used it. Stef had pretty good notes from last year but it still took us 90 minutes or so to get everything hooked up. We also decided to do a final racking so instead of filtering through the bottom bottling valve we finished off the tank with a racking wand.
The wine this year has a small amount of residual sugar so we wanted to get a good filtration on the wine to prevent any problems after bottling. The picture below is the filter all hooked up and working away.
We had one set back that we thought was major, but turned out to be minor. At some point in the last year the filter had been bumped and a pressure valve was turned sideways. We didn't notice the valve was out of position and when we started to tighten down the filter, the valve popped right off. We thought we were stuck, but we were able to route around the broken valve.
I'm glad we did the final racking the tank had a fair amount of lees left. We had guests at 2PM so mostly stopped for the day and did some tasting and had snacks. Stefania cleaned up the tanks around entertaining and we were packed up and on our way home by 6:30
Then we had to hook up the filter. No small task, it's only the second time we've used it. Stef had pretty good notes from last year but it still took us 90 minutes or so to get everything hooked up. We also decided to do a final racking so instead of filtering through the bottom bottling valve we finished off the tank with a racking wand.
The wine this year has a small amount of residual sugar so we wanted to get a good filtration on the wine to prevent any problems after bottling. The picture below is the filter all hooked up and working away.
We had one set back that we thought was major, but turned out to be minor. At some point in the last year the filter had been bumped and a pressure valve was turned sideways. We didn't notice the valve was out of position and when we started to tighten down the filter, the valve popped right off. We thought we were stuck, but we were able to route around the broken valve.
I'm glad we did the final racking the tank had a fair amount of lees left. We had guests at 2PM so mostly stopped for the day and did some tasting and had snacks. Stefania cleaned up the tanks around entertaining and we were packed up and on our way home by 6:30
Friday, April 30, 2010
The Bottling Schedule
Tomorrow we will be in the winery getting ready for bottling. I'll bring my computer along and see if we can get hooked up to the wireless. If we can I'll try and do 'live' pictures like we did last year of bottling.
First up we will be filtering our Chardonnay and that involves moving it from tank to tank. Next we'll put together the final blend for the 2008 Haut Tubee and get that into tank. That will mean that the 2008 Eaglepoint Syrah will also have to go into a smaller holding tank and out of barrel. We'll check sulfur levels, and will make any additions we need to.
I will also be hand bottling 12 magnums of the 2008 Eaglepoint Syrah. The logistics of the truck just make it easier to bottle the magnums by hand and cork them with the hand corker. For now the 2008 Pinot Noir will stay in barrel. As we empty out a tank on Tuesday , I'll get the Pinot into an open tank. We'll check sulfur then and I'll also hand bottle 12 magnums of the Pinot Noir.
We're hoping everything will go ok. If we can't finish on Saturday, we'll come back up Sunday to complete the job. If not Sunday will be a hike and then the Sharks game.
Monday we'll be back at the winery. The forklift arrives at 9AM. We'll also bring all the corks and labels with us. The glass will be delivered between 10 and 1 and I'll unload it with the forklift. The bottling truck should arrive about 2 or 3 and we will help get it backed in and level. That process takes about 3 hours. It actually takes longer to get the truck backed in that it does to bottle.
Then we are mostly done for the day. Matt from the bottling company will get the truck all ready to go that night.
Tuesday we will be in the winery about 7AM. We'll have to hook the tanks up to the truck and clean all the hoses. Then we start bottling. It should be done about noon or 1 PM if all goes well. Then we will clean all the tanks and equipment and barrels! I'll help Matt get the truck back out, which only takes about an hour (it's only moving about 60 yards, but it's a few tight turns).
If we are on time and on schedule the truck will show up from the warehouse about 3PM to pick up the bottled wine. If we are behind schedule at all, we'll have to postpone the pick up until Wednesday. I'll get as many pictures and updates in over the next 5 days as I can.
First up we will be filtering our Chardonnay and that involves moving it from tank to tank. Next we'll put together the final blend for the 2008 Haut Tubee and get that into tank. That will mean that the 2008 Eaglepoint Syrah will also have to go into a smaller holding tank and out of barrel. We'll check sulfur levels, and will make any additions we need to.
I will also be hand bottling 12 magnums of the 2008 Eaglepoint Syrah. The logistics of the truck just make it easier to bottle the magnums by hand and cork them with the hand corker. For now the 2008 Pinot Noir will stay in barrel. As we empty out a tank on Tuesday , I'll get the Pinot into an open tank. We'll check sulfur then and I'll also hand bottle 12 magnums of the Pinot Noir.
We're hoping everything will go ok. If we can't finish on Saturday, we'll come back up Sunday to complete the job. If not Sunday will be a hike and then the Sharks game.
Monday we'll be back at the winery. The forklift arrives at 9AM. We'll also bring all the corks and labels with us. The glass will be delivered between 10 and 1 and I'll unload it with the forklift. The bottling truck should arrive about 2 or 3 and we will help get it backed in and level. That process takes about 3 hours. It actually takes longer to get the truck backed in that it does to bottle.
Then we are mostly done for the day. Matt from the bottling company will get the truck all ready to go that night.
Tuesday we will be in the winery about 7AM. We'll have to hook the tanks up to the truck and clean all the hoses. Then we start bottling. It should be done about noon or 1 PM if all goes well. Then we will clean all the tanks and equipment and barrels! I'll help Matt get the truck back out, which only takes about an hour (it's only moving about 60 yards, but it's a few tight turns).
If we are on time and on schedule the truck will show up from the warehouse about 3PM to pick up the bottled wine. If we are behind schedule at all, we'll have to postpone the pick up until Wednesday. I'll get as many pictures and updates in over the next 5 days as I can.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
H.R. 5034 a Real Threat to Our WInery
There is a real threat to wineries and winemakers brewing in Congress. Alcohol wholesalers have convinced lawmakers to introduce House Resolution 5034. If passed into law, H.R. 5034 would give states the right to ban wine shipping without having to defend themselves in court. In essence, H.R. 5034 takes state alcohol laws outside the orbit of the the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause, it is that provision of the Constitution that led the Supreme Court in 2005 to overrule the plethora of discriminatory wine shipping bans that existed across the country.
This bill would devastate wineries, particularly those that rely on direct to consumer shipping, and of course, it is an attack on consumers who merely want to obtain wines by mail that they cannot find locally.
I urge you to help oppose H.R. 5034. You can do so by immediately using Free The Grapes "Write Your Congressperson" system to send off a letter to your representative: http://www.capwiz.com/freegrapes/issues/alert/?alertid=14948676&type=CO
In addition, if you are on Facebook I urge you to become a fan of the STOPHR5034 page to get regular updates on the bill: http://www.facebook.com/STOPHR5034
The proponents of H.R. 5034 work for the beer and wine wholesalers and are extremely powerful. They are working very hard to get this bill passed. Without an aggressive effort those that value free trade and the ability for consumers and wineries to interact with each other, many wineries will be hurt and consumer rights lost.
Stefania and I have worked very hard to build our winery from the ground up and this bill would be devastating to ourselves and other small family wineries that count on people like you to buy our wines.
This bill would devastate wineries, particularly those that rely on direct to consumer shipping, and of course, it is an attack on consumers who merely want to obtain wines by mail that they cannot find locally.
I urge you to help oppose H.R. 5034. You can do so by immediately using Free The Grapes "Write Your Congressperson" system to send off a letter to your representative: http://www.capwiz.com/freegrapes/issues/alert/?alertid=14948676&type=CO
In addition, if you are on Facebook I urge you to become a fan of the STOPHR5034 page to get regular updates on the bill: http://www.facebook.com/STOPHR5034
The proponents of H.R. 5034 work for the beer and wine wholesalers and are extremely powerful. They are working very hard to get this bill passed. Without an aggressive effort those that value free trade and the ability for consumers and wineries to interact with each other, many wineries will be hurt and consumer rights lost.
Stefania and I have worked very hard to build our winery from the ground up and this bill would be devastating to ourselves and other small family wineries that count on people like you to buy our wines.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Bottling Day is Almost Here!
Stefania has been hard at work pulling together all the moving parts. For those of you with some manufacturing in your background, this is 'Just in Time' manufacturing at its best. Here's Stef's summary:
Bottling Itinerary:
Bottling Itinerary:
This Saturday, Paul and I will be there to filter and transfer the Chardonnay and prep one of the red wines into tank. Sunday we'll be back up if there is anything else pending from Saturday, otherwise we'll be back up again on Monday.
Nitrogen delivery tomorrow 4/27
Forklift 9a.m. Monday 5/3
Glass delivery from CWT before noon also Monday 5/3
Matt, Artisan Mobile Bottling, after noon Monday 5/3
Bottling 8a.m. Tuesday 5/4
Corks, labels and foils are now all on hand. Foils will go on the bottles that get the Chaine d'Or label. We'll be bottling four different wines.
If I can get a network connection on Tuesday I'll try and get pictures up every few hours.
Corks, labels and foils are now all on hand. Foils will go on the bottles that get the Chaine d'Or label. We'll be bottling four different wines.
If I can get a network connection on Tuesday I'll try and get pictures up every few hours.
Friday, April 23, 2010
My Moving Day Updates
I did manage to get one picture taken.
The day went off pretty well. Just that little bit of traffic that slowed us down but otherwise no issues. Enterprise had TWO trucks for us this time, just in case something was wrong with the first one :) I brought back a couple bottles of wine to thank the staff there. We were even able to return the truck early.
Stefania made us some Chowder to watch with the Sharks game:
4 red potatoes
1 leek
2 ears white corn separated
1 cup crab
1/4 c whole milk
3 TBSP olive oil
3 C Beef stock
Sauté sliced leek and cubed potatoes in olive oil add half the cob corn and select pieces of crab meat add beef broth bring to boil them simmer til soft.
Blend on medium speed add milk to thin as needed.
Return to pot add remaining corn and crab.
Garnish with a squeeze of lime and cilantro leaf.
Looks like everything is coming together for bottling. Keeping our fingers crossed though.
The day went off pretty well. Just that little bit of traffic that slowed us down but otherwise no issues. Enterprise had TWO trucks for us this time, just in case something was wrong with the first one :) I brought back a couple bottles of wine to thank the staff there. We were even able to return the truck early.Stefania made us some Chowder to watch with the Sharks game:
4 red potatoes
1 leek
2 ears white corn separated
1 cup crab
1/4 c whole milk
3 TBSP olive oil
3 C Beef stock
Sauté sliced leek and cubed potatoes in olive oil add half the cob corn and select pieces of crab meat add beef broth bring to boil them simmer til soft.
Blend on medium speed add milk to thin as needed.
Return to pot add remaining corn and crab.
Garnish with a squeeze of lime and cilantro leaf.
Looks like everything is coming together for bottling. Keeping our fingers crossed though.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Birds and the Bees Part II
Last year I posted a blog about the birds and the bees. Well guess what, they're back! I've been waiting very patiently for them and finally, they made an appearance. The crimson clover is buzzing, literally and the little flitty birds that like to hang on the wires have been passing through.
It took awhile this morning to track down the Common Yellowthroat. I have two bird books here but neither had a photo that matched the little dude I saw with his black mask. Such a little cutie bird. Also looked up a really large orange bee that I've never spotted before. Turns out he's not really native to this locale, more of a southern Cal kind of guy. After reading up on it, I think I've identified this bee as a male carpenter, except there were two of them chasing each other around....I kind of got the impression they were solo adventurers but there were definitely two of them.
This morning while I was peering out at the vineyard, a black headed Phoebe perched on the wire and peered back at me. She's been a constant in our yard for months now. Usually we'll hear her in the backyard about an hour before the sun sets and she gets her fill of bugs.
It took awhile this morning to track down the Common Yellowthroat. I have two bird books here but neither had a photo that matched the little dude I saw with his black mask. Such a little cutie bird. Also looked up a really large orange bee that I've never spotted before. Turns out he's not really native to this locale, more of a southern Cal kind of guy. After reading up on it, I think I've identified this bee as a male carpenter, except there were two of them chasing each other around....I kind of got the impression they were solo adventurers but there were definitely two of them.
When we got home the other day, a pair of baby cedar waxwings were splashing in the rain water that pooled in the gutter across the street. They were so little and cute!
This morning while I was peering out at the vineyard, a black headed Phoebe perched on the wire and peered back at me. She's been a constant in our yard for months now. Usually we'll hear her in the backyard about an hour before the sun sets and she gets her fill of bugs.
The photos are all stock pics I pulled off the web - the camera I have now would never be able to capture clear shots in my yard. While I was sitting up front the other day trying to identify the Common Yellowthroat I watched one of the crows that's always hanging around chase off the Coopers Hawk. For a suburban neighborhood I get a lot of great bird traffic!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Friendly April 20th - The Dude Abides
Isn't that code for "pot's ok with me"? 420Friendly? Well, yesterday was April 20th and I only wish I had been stoned for part of it.
Instead, Paul took one of his rare and treasured PTO days so that we could try again with the Ag Dept. appointment and rental truck reservations to move barrels. Woke up to heavy rain, groan, this is not going to be a fun day.
By the time we arrived at Enterprise the rain had mostly let up and there were giant billowy clouds with pockets of blue sky and bright sun (yay!). Transferred our stuff from our vehicle to the rental and we were off...right into morning traffic. We missed the carpool window and hit the road with all the other slackers that were late for work.
Made it to the Ag Dept, 45 minutes away, for a 2 minute appointment so Paul could sign some pesticide papers (gov't agencies don't have enough funding for fax machines I guess). Not to mention their office is in a sketchy neighborhood. I knew he'd be right out, but none the less opted to accompany him into the office where I picked up a couple of flyers about pest management for roses.
I have a monstrous hatred for aphids and would rather nuke them dead than try any sort of organic holistic approach like asking them to move on to other gardens. The advice on the flyer says "Choose rose varieties that are disease-resistant.then in the same paragraph)...No roses are completely disease-free, but many can be grown with minimal care." Needless to say, I've had rust, black spot, powdery mildew, aphids and white flies at any given time during the year in my rose garden. The good news though is that Paul can spray the same anti-fungals and oils on my roses that he uses on the vines and I rarely have problems anymore...except for those pesky aphids. Maybe I should try getting them stoned.
Paul signs the forms at the Ag Dept and we head up and over Hwy 84 and take the Scenic Route to Big Basin Vineyards. And it was scenic. Twice I spotted the waves breaking on the coast and there were pockets of steam and fog rising all around us on the mountain. So cool. Ethereal.
We spent the ride bantering about Robert Parker and his scoring "system" and how it reflects on what people are buying and who he is persuading and who he is alienating. At one point, I said, for me, why would I be inclined to trust his tastes? We have nothing in common. I'm a stubborn, head-strong, female, and in my 40's...how are his point ratings going to have any bearing on what I'm buying? They're not and they don't. Like all things artistic and subjective to personal tastes and preferences, it really depends on how much you can be honest and trust yourself.
I bought one wine one time based on a write-up in a subscription Paul has. I happened to flip through the section on Oregon pinots and read the tasting notes. There were 27 aromas noted, one of them being cassis. It was a maker I had wanted to try for a long time but was too timid to spend the money on it, "what if it sucks?". Now I buy (er, Paul buys...) 2+ cases per year for my side.
Got to Big Basin, met Joe there and he loaded up our two barrels of Syrah. Tied them down, in a light rain shower, and got back on our way within 20 minutes. If you've ever driven through Boulder Creek, I'd say they are a lot 420 Friendly folks, some of them stoned more often than not. Not that there's anything wrong with that, just a friendy stereotype I'm making about the area.
Retraced our steps back through the Santa Cruz Mountains to Chaine d'Or and unloaded the barrels into the winery. Popped the bungs, thieved out two samples (one new oak one neutral barrel) and gave it a whirl. Awesome! The Eaglepoint Ranch fruit is great to work with, and I love how it develops in the Seguin Moreau barrels, just awesome. I could have spent the rest of the afternoon thieving Syrah from the barrels.
Put the tailgate back on the truck and headed back to drop it off and get on with the day. Only something evil happened to me. I don't know when or how I did it, but I re-injured the left Trapezius muscle. Oh wow, does that hurt.
Headed home, cleaned up and ventured out for a late snack and a beer (or more) at Rock Bottom. They were pouring a Scotch Ale from cask, so smooth, so creamy, so satisfying. Split a basket of chips and guacamole and a reuben sandwich. The whole time I could overhear our barmates chatting up the countdown to 4:20 and giggling about having some 420 on 4/20 at 4:20. Oh how I wished I could have been stoned and feeling no pain in my back. It's medicinal you know, but I don' thave a prescription.
Got back home and UPS had arrived and delivered a small heavy box. A good friend of mine had to put her kitty down earlier this year, he was 20 years old and she had named him The Dude. In honor of The Dude, I planted a Midas Touch yellow rose (not disease-resistant) in the garden and ordered the rock, it arrived on 4/20. I couldn't have planned that on purpose if I tried....
Monday, April 19, 2010
Weekend work and Paul & Stef days.
Saturday was a full day.
We were out in the vineyard at 8:30 am. The project for the morning was the Sesson Vineyard in the Coyote Valley just south of San Jose. Jerry had already pruned the vineyard but it needed some technical work. It's a young vineyard and many of the plants needed some retraining and repair from some issues last season.
We were out in the vineyard at 8:30 am. The project for the morning was the Sesson Vineyard in the Coyote Valley just south of San Jose. Jerry had already pruned the vineyard but it needed some technical work. It's a young vineyard and many of the plants needed some retraining and repair from some issues last season.
It's the type of work that Stefania and I really need to do ourselves. Each plant needs to be evaluated and a repair plan for it put together based on the plant strength and the position of the new buds. We are training Jerry to help, but it will probably take him a couple years to fully get the concepts down.
Once you 'get it' it goes pretty fast and the three of us were done by 11:30. I really like the potential of this site. The local geography is a lot like the premier and grand crus vineyards of Burgundy. It is on a gentle slope at the base of some very stony hills. There are several layers of soil down to the water table making for a complex mix. The weather is well suited for Cabernet Sauvignon and that's what we've put in.
I've had my eye on this area for many years so we're excited by this project and hope we'll be able to make some wine from the vineyard soon. Below you can see Stef working away.
There is something though in the vineyard that gives my allergies a terrible time. I took several different drugs but finally had to head off to the gym about 3:00 pm. When my allergies get really bad 30-40 minutes on the bike at full speed really seems to help. I'm not sure what it is maybe just pushing all my blood really hard through my system helps.
That night Stefania and I were pouring at a Rotary Club fundraiser with a 1960's theme. It was a good chance to bring out the tie dye. We poured for a few hours and finally headed home about 8:30.
Sunday we got to have a 'Paul and Stef day'. That's what we've started to call the Sunday's we have with no work or obligations. We got up early again and headed to the beach at Pascadero. We walked the beach for about 40 minutes, then headed to Pillar Point harbor. A few years ago the harbormaster there started to allow the fishermen to sell directly off their boats. We bought three Dungeness crabs and a flounder.
We made civiche out of the flounder and Stefania boiled the crabs on the back patio. We lounged in the backyard all afternoon and enjoyed a Chardonnay from Sea Smoke with the fresh seafood. We're still trying to keep Sunday's clear and I hope we can head back to Pillar Point next week!
Flounder Ceviche:
12 oz very fresh flounder or other white fish
1 avocado
1 cup Jicama
2 green onions
1 mango
1/4 cup cilantro
1 small serrano pepper (diced very small)
Chop into bite size bits and mix in a glass bowl with:
Juice from 4 lemons and 3 limes
Allow to sit for 2 hours.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Public Events
"Winery registration fee is $550"
$550! That doesn't include the wine we'll pour, and if it's away from home, which they always are, the travel and hotel. I think I'm declaring that we are done with these events. We'll still do charity events to support charities we like, but the 'for pay' wine event just does not make any sense for a winery to attend.
First there's the cost. $550 is outrageous. The winery is the attraction, it's the reason there is an event. No wineries, no event. So why charge so much? One thing these events always try and promote is that they are attracting 'high income buyers'. Bullshit. I'll say it. Bullshit. If you want to attract high income buyers, charge $50 not $10. $10 attracts drunkards.
Many events don't even try and pretend about that aspect anymore. Instead they promote a 'trade session'. The idea is it's closed to the public and only open to 'trade buyers'. Yeah, more bullshit. The big distributors and retailers give out the trade tickets to their employees and customers. They treat it like a free drinking party.
If I'm going to spend $550, 2 cases of wine and travel on a party it's not going to be to get a bunch of people I don't know or care about drunk. I'd much rather spend that money getting out and visiting personally with people who already buy our wine. Better yet I'd rather spend it entertaining them at the winery and our home.
So we are taking that budget money this year, and saying no to the public events. We're hoping to have some travel plans together soon. We'd like to get to the East Coast, DC, Philly, NJ/NY and Boston. We also would like to get to Florida this year. It's always better to pour wines for friends!
$550! That doesn't include the wine we'll pour, and if it's away from home, which they always are, the travel and hotel. I think I'm declaring that we are done with these events. We'll still do charity events to support charities we like, but the 'for pay' wine event just does not make any sense for a winery to attend.
First there's the cost. $550 is outrageous. The winery is the attraction, it's the reason there is an event. No wineries, no event. So why charge so much? One thing these events always try and promote is that they are attracting 'high income buyers'. Bullshit. I'll say it. Bullshit. If you want to attract high income buyers, charge $50 not $10. $10 attracts drunkards.
Many events don't even try and pretend about that aspect anymore. Instead they promote a 'trade session'. The idea is it's closed to the public and only open to 'trade buyers'. Yeah, more bullshit. The big distributors and retailers give out the trade tickets to their employees and customers. They treat it like a free drinking party.
If I'm going to spend $550, 2 cases of wine and travel on a party it's not going to be to get a bunch of people I don't know or care about drunk. I'd much rather spend that money getting out and visiting personally with people who already buy our wine. Better yet I'd rather spend it entertaining them at the winery and our home.
So we are taking that budget money this year, and saying no to the public events. We're hoping to have some travel plans together soon. We'd like to get to the East Coast, DC, Philly, NJ/NY and Boston. We also would like to get to Florida this year. It's always better to pour wines for friends!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
The Best Laid Plans
The climatic scene in Goodfellows came to mind today. In that scene Ray Liotta runs through everything he has to do in his busy day - "pick up his brother...make the meatballs...sell the guns...move the stuff....stir the sauce....catch the plane" and it all comes tumbling down when the ATF shows up on his front driveway.
Well no ATF in my driveway this morning, but a highly scheduled day fell apart pretty early. My PTO days are like gold. I only get so many every year from the day job and I try and save as many of those as I can for harvest time. When I do take one I try and jam as much into it as I can.
The plan this morning: Get up at the normal time 6:30 AM, coffee and paper in bed, then out quick by 7:15. First up Enterprise Rental Car. There I'd reserved a pick up truck for the day. Stefania would drive me over to Enterprise then we'd both head over to Skip's Tires. The FJ Cruiser is in need of new tires, and since it's our only car, the rental truck would mean we could leave it for the day with out worry.
Next we'd be off to the San Mateo Department of Agriculture to renew our operator ID number at 10am. For some reason, the Ag department thinks it's easier for me to come in during a workday to spend 4 minutes getting a stamp on a piece of paper than figuring out someway to do it over the phone. So a 45 minute drive each way to a bad neighborhood in Redwood City for a 5 minute meeting.
Next it would be over to a rock supply company, also in Redwood City. We need about 400 pounds of rocks to replace some posts in the vineyard at Chaine d'Or. Normally it would be a good chore for Jerry B. to do, but I know trying to get all the steps to purchasing the rocks into Spanish, given my poor Spanish, would lead to mayhem. So I figured I'd pick up the rocks and then drive them the 20 minutes up to Chaine d'Or.
From there it's a 50 minute drive through the mountains to Big Basin Vineyards. See if I have the pick up truck, I can load in the two barrels of 2008 Eaglepoint Ranch Syrah I have at Big Basin and move them to Chaine d'Or for bottling. I had it all set up with Joe at Big Basin, and if everything went right we'd be back unloading the wine at Chaine d'Or about 2:30-3:00 PM. Then just an hour back to Skip's Tires, pick up the FJ, then shoot over to Enterprise and return the truck before 5 PM.
Yeah, right.
I'm standing at the counter at Enterprise at 8:00 AM hearing about how there are no trucks in San Jose until 10am. I'm trying to send Joe a message at Big Basin on my iPhone when one comes in from Bradley at Big Basin saying Joe can't do it today after all. Plans - done.
Skip's was ready for us though. I'd gone in on Saturday to pre-order the tires I wanted and get everything set up for today and they were ready for us. Stefania and I walked about 3/4 of a mile to a bookstore to wait out the tires. They look great and should hold up better off road than the old ones did.
Everything else, well it's rescheduled now.
Well no ATF in my driveway this morning, but a highly scheduled day fell apart pretty early. My PTO days are like gold. I only get so many every year from the day job and I try and save as many of those as I can for harvest time. When I do take one I try and jam as much into it as I can.
The plan this morning: Get up at the normal time 6:30 AM, coffee and paper in bed, then out quick by 7:15. First up Enterprise Rental Car. There I'd reserved a pick up truck for the day. Stefania would drive me over to Enterprise then we'd both head over to Skip's Tires. The FJ Cruiser is in need of new tires, and since it's our only car, the rental truck would mean we could leave it for the day with out worry.
Next we'd be off to the San Mateo Department of Agriculture to renew our operator ID number at 10am. For some reason, the Ag department thinks it's easier for me to come in during a workday to spend 4 minutes getting a stamp on a piece of paper than figuring out someway to do it over the phone. So a 45 minute drive each way to a bad neighborhood in Redwood City for a 5 minute meeting.
Next it would be over to a rock supply company, also in Redwood City. We need about 400 pounds of rocks to replace some posts in the vineyard at Chaine d'Or. Normally it would be a good chore for Jerry B. to do, but I know trying to get all the steps to purchasing the rocks into Spanish, given my poor Spanish, would lead to mayhem. So I figured I'd pick up the rocks and then drive them the 20 minutes up to Chaine d'Or.
From there it's a 50 minute drive through the mountains to Big Basin Vineyards. See if I have the pick up truck, I can load in the two barrels of 2008 Eaglepoint Ranch Syrah I have at Big Basin and move them to Chaine d'Or for bottling. I had it all set up with Joe at Big Basin, and if everything went right we'd be back unloading the wine at Chaine d'Or about 2:30-3:00 PM. Then just an hour back to Skip's Tires, pick up the FJ, then shoot over to Enterprise and return the truck before 5 PM.
Yeah, right.
I'm standing at the counter at Enterprise at 8:00 AM hearing about how there are no trucks in San Jose until 10am. I'm trying to send Joe a message at Big Basin on my iPhone when one comes in from Bradley at Big Basin saying Joe can't do it today after all. Plans - done.
Skip's was ready for us though. I'd gone in on Saturday to pre-order the tires I wanted and get everything set up for today and they were ready for us. Stefania and I walked about 3/4 of a mile to a bookstore to wait out the tires. They look great and should hold up better off road than the old ones did.
Everything else, well it's rescheduled now.
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