Since we last visited, very little rain has shown up here in the Santa Ynez Valley, and we are still pruning. We hope to finish soon and we really need the rain.

I have had a chance to taste most of the wines from the 2024 vintage. I even included some of the new wines to be tasted on our trip to Wickenburg, Arizona. I thought the Wickenburg tasting was a super success with 40 people crammed into my room! The wines showed exceptionally well.

Megan is busy working on bulk wine sales, and has just completed her first bottling for a couple of small wineries who buy from us. We still have a couple of weeks of pruning to go. Soon we will have bud break and our short frost season will begin!

2023 Chenin Blanc: In the 1950s, it was the Mondavi family at Charles Krug Winery who brought attention to how good Chenin Blanc could be. It was considered one of the top white wines at that time. The fact that it was a big producing grape in terms of tons per acre meant that many planted it, and there was an oversupply. But that wasn’t the only thing that caused the switch to Chardonnay. Chardonnay became the new darling of the wine world and Chenin Blanc ended up being a low-priced white grown primarily in the San Joaquin Valley. Our Chenin Blanc lives up to the image of what the Mondavis were able to do and also how things are done in Vouvray in the Loire Valley. I think this wine is exceptional and is a good example of what Chenin Blanc can be.

2021 Carmenere: This is our third vintage and this wine has become one of the most popular. Our production is low and it is primarily reserved for the Tasting Room and our Wine Club members. Co-fermenting it with 20% “Clone 6” Cabernet
Sauvignon gives it the structure needed to make something special. Very seldom can you describe a red wine as being “delicious”. This is one of those wines. It drinks well young. This wine club release will take nearly all of our inventory so if you want more, order now. It will be gone before summer.

2022 Merlot: This wine wants to be big because of extra warm weather during harvest. We grow our Merlot in Los Alamos, which is normally a cooler region where Merlot needs to be. This is a wine that you could age for a couple of years to soften the big tannins. It’s lush and bold. Needs meat to match!

Spring has sprung. It is time to load up on Rosé and put an extra chill on the Champagne. Check the events section if you need an excuse to come visit us.