April 2009 Archives

Since most wineries incorporate food into their overall event scheme, food and food service have become the latest things to be highly monitored in the wine industry.  Don't get me wrong. We've always been required to have the proper permits to legally prepare and serve food. You know, proper equipment, sanitary food handling requirements, properly trained staff…that sort of thing. But now, the Health Department is cracking down big time to make sure that everybody is working within the exact boundaries of their permits.  And this is adding a whole new layer of anxiety and complexity to the business of running a winery.

There was a lot of last minute scrambling Friday as wineries hustled to get the right paperwork submitted. Health Department officials were quite helpful, pointing out areas of improvement and concern. Happily, all went well and as far as I know, Passport Weekend was a healthy and safe success for everyone. But going forward, I suspect many wineries may have trouble interpreting the increasingly stringent regulations of this aspect of our industry.

Spring is in the air, and it has never felt better. Having just returned from Southern California where the air is generally a dull beige color no matter what time of day, I am especially grateful to see bright blue skies and feel our warm sunny sunshine.

Springtime also means it's planting season. This is particularly exciting as we've finally begun the replanting process of the vineyard directly in front of the winery. Years ago, (I'm talking 1974) this small parcel at the corner of Dry Creek Rd. and Lambert Bridge Rd., was planted to Cabernet Sauvignon using homemade bench grafts that my father and his buddy Tom Dehlinger (of Dehlinger Winery) made. It was later T-budded to Chardonnay during the planting boom of the 1980s. When we finally realized that our Chardonnay grapes would be better suited to the cooler Russian River Valley area, we tore out those Chardonnay vines and let the earth remain fallow to naturally regenerate the soil for future planting- an important step in the practice of sustainable farming. Five years have passed and we are now in the early stages of developing one of our most exciting vineyards yet!

As avid Zinfandel lovers, we're creating an experimental Zinfandel block using 4 different clonal selections. This vineyard will be head pruned with no trellis system, much like the historic Zinfandel vines planted in the days of horse and plow.  Just recently, we completed the important first step of planting the rootstock, which in this case is St. George-a phylloxera resistant rootstock that has been used since the late 1800s. It doesn't look like much, just small lumps rising up from the ground. As soon as the roots take hold, (probably late summer or early fall) we'll then go through the arduous process of grafting in budwood from the four different clonal selections. This will essentially complete the planting process. Then it's a matter of patiently waiting the 3-4 years for our first crop.

Eventually our hope is to be able to make several different wines from this experimental vineyard. We have no idea what to expect, but who knows, one of them could be the next great cult wine of Dry Creek Valley!

I'm still chuckling. Apparently that last post had quite a few of you fooled! I've never been all that good at telling jokes, so I must admit I'm feeling pretty smug right now.

OH MY GOD.  It finally happened.  After years upon years of hoping, wishing and praying, we have finally made the cover of the glossy mega powerful wine magazine, Wine Spectator. This is just too good to be true. It's beyond cool. Past incredible. Close to nirvana. And frankly, it could be life changing.  

Here is an excerpt from their April 1 issue:

“After years of reporting on what's new in the world of wine, we've amassed a comprehensive list of tried and true wineries that are a “must have” for today's troubled times. These are brands with familiar names and iconic reputations that have consistently produced wines that surpass the customer's expectations. In some cases they are privately owned, and in some cases they are corporate entities.  For this first ever search, our editors limited their criteria to three primary objectives: overall quality, value and consistency or longevity in the marketplace. Knowing that just about anyone can make a stellar wine once or twice, we looked for companies who have been making remarkable wines for at least ten years. We then staged a massive tasting to rank over 500 different wines. One brand has emerged as this year's Must Have Brand for 2009. Read on for a complete list of contenders in this first ever report.”

April Fools!!!

Hey, it doesn't hurt to dream, does it?