From Sandra's Desk:

April 2019

As I write this we are in the final days of the rainiest winter in years in Carmel Valley.  The hills are as green as the hills of Ireland and the wildflowers are showing a super bloom in every corner.  Lupin and poppies are pushing their heads above the tall grasses around our vineyard. We say "Hallelujah the drought is over".  But we say this knowing full well that drought is always in the background here but for now.....we are celebrating.
 
In the vineyard we are enjoying the first rays of sunshine and warmth.  After pruning we welcome this change but farming teaches us to never take anything for granted so we now must watch for early bud break and the dangers of frost.  Marshall starts sleeping in the vineyard and we all pray and keep our fingers crossed for the next month or so.  
 
We are in the process of bottling our Barbera, Syrah, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Rose and our first vintages from the new vineyard are in the barrels.  It's always exciting to taste the wines as they go into the bottles and this year there's the added excitement of the new Bordeaux varietals!
 
Alan has just completed three years of film work with the final scoring of "Avengers End Game" and we are looking forward to being in the vineyard and maybe even making his wine again. Hallelujah again!
 
So welcome Spring 2019 and the new growth!  We will be watching and praying for a great year ahead for you and for the vineyard!.
 
Salute!
 
Sandra

Alan Completes The Score For






Opens April 26, 2019

From The Winemaker:

Happy Spring everyone, 
    So much rain this year, what a relief and good fortune. Every fall, winter and spring we pray for rain and cold and this year it is happening, woohoo. Life is funny in that we hope for the best and prepare for the not so good and the vineyard and winery lives the same way. All this good fortune can easily turn to bad if the weather doesn't change, remember 2010/2011, the 2 coldest summers on record, although I remember someone saying they were hot, weird. 2010 I think I noted that we didn't see an 80 degree day till mid August, crazy. Anyway, my point is wine vintages and the health of the vineyard don't necessarily coincide with each other's fortune. We have just started bud break so it's too early to tell what's going to happen but I'm hoping for a few more rain events then a really hot late spring/summer/ and beginning of the fall, then cool down and cruise into harvest. That would be ideal.

   We just bottled some new wines last week: the Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Rose, Syrah, Red Ranger Syrah, and Barbera. All the wines are exceptional, some things to note: the Rose is for the first time 100% Grenache from the new upper vineyard and is incredibly pretty, and the Barbera is quite possibly the best wine I've made in the last 15 years. I really can't imagine there is a better Barbera out there....anywhere. Cheers to everyone and as always thank you for the continued support - Frank