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HAPPY LUNAR NEW YEAR!
We
figured that you have been inundated with all the Holiday
emails and New Year emails so we have held off until now.
It's a slow holiday weekend, a bit of a surprise since the
roads are all clear including the passes.
Tasting room traffic tends to be mostly nonexistent in
January. Many wineries close for the winter but some of us
live and work at our wineries and keep the doors unlocked. If
you are planning a visit, it is always best to call ahead.
Posted hours may not be reliable. Ours usually are, but the
odd emergency does come up.
Free
home wine deliveries this next week. Barbara will be going
over the river and through the woods to Grandma’s house on
Friday, January 20. She is planning to spend the next week
visiting family and friends and bringing wine to doorsteps.
Call, text, message, or email us if you would like our wine
on your doorstep.
Instructions
on how to order are near the end of this missive.
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PDF Order Form or XLS Order Form
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The
Sale Continueth
Because, why not? Let's call it our January White sale, although
two of the wines are red.
We have some absolutely prime wines that are ready to drink now.
We are really enjoying the 2015
Séve and the 2015 Zort and 2015 Angelica MRS,
but we want to move them along and we would like people to drink
them now when they are fabulous.
These three wines are at the crest of evolution, they should be
drinking well for another couple of years.
Beginning of year special on our Sève,
50% off when purchasing a total of 12 bottles of any of our
wines, mix or match. The Sève
is our favorite with many Thai dishes. Thai fresh rolls on a warm
day with a chilled glass is delightful. We also drink it
regularly with stir-fried vegetables from the garden finished
with some peanut sauce. Even though I rarely have wine without
food, a glass of Sève is
often in the kitchen as I prep. I really like Chenin Blanc! I’m
especially proud that it is the first, but not last, variety on
which we have never used any type of pesticide. Planted in 2010.
Angelica
MRS 30% off when purchasing a total of 12 bottles
of any of our wines, mix or match. It is now pumpkin pie season,
great pairing with our Angelica.
Zort 2015
30% off when purchasing a total of 12 bottles of any of our
wines, mix or match. A new vintage for us chocolate lovers. Buy
two and get an Intrigue Chocolate bar (value $12). Mostly
Zinfandel with touches of Temprañillo and Sangiovese. Right now,
I’m test driving it with Intrigue Chocolate’s Guajillo Chili,
Hibiscus, Cassia Cinnamon, Vanilla Bean chocolate bar. They are
made for each other! The nice thing with Zort
is you can take a couple of weeks to consume the bottle. Just put
it in the pantry with the chocolate. The bar is 100 grams and I
find 10 grams a generous portion. I find a ratio of 2-3 bottles
per bar about right. We can also deliver Intrigue Chocolate with your
wine order.
In recognition of the increasing food prices all of us are
facing, we have decided to bring back our half-price deals on B's Blend
and Sangiovese.
There is a twist, you get the first six bottles of either wine at
half price and then regular club case pricing (20% off) on the
any other six. It can be a mixed case, of course. If it is too
confusing, just let us know how many cases and we will figure it
out for you.
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In the Vineyard with Paul
We’ve passed the Winter Solstice, the calendar has turned it’s pages.
It’s a foggy damp here. I pruned a row this morning. Barbara
has me at the keyboard this afternoon to write a newsletter.
So, for lunch, I dug into the library and pulled out a 2004 Cabernet
Sauvignon. When I opened one a couple of months
ago it was over the hill, I used it for really tasty hot spiced
wine. This bottle is lovely, I had a second glass with lunch.
Should you have any of this in your cellar, drink it now.
Really there is no reason to keep wine past ten years, unless
like for me, it’s research. 2004 is on a downward trajectory.
I’m hopeful that the 2022 will turn out as well.
Let’s see how it works as literary (?) inspiration.
The last month plus has been a bit cooler than average; we’ve
had snow on the ground since the first of December.
Temperatures have gone to low single digits. But it’s mostly
been 20’s to low 30’s. Perfect for dormant grapes. They
acclimate to the weather and are capable of handling below zero
temperatures. I prefer this week’s weather. Mostly above 32F,
snow melting away, but that means slush and mud for a bit.
Snow is a good thing. It insulates the soil and is moisture.
Here in a desert, all winter precipitation is good! The sheep
are glad the grass is accessible again.
So far, no cold damage to vines or trees, even my Rosemary is
doing OK. But we don’t relax till mid-May!
The salad greens in the garden took a beating. The plants that
have been harvested fared poorly and won’t be giving a second
cutting. The plants seeded in late October are surviving and
will take off early Spring. The plants seeded in September that
haven’t been cut yet may provide some forage this winter.
Now that I’m spending $10 a pound for salad greens that are a
week old, it makes me think again that I should build an
earth-sheltered green house. In April I often take 30-80 pounds
of salad greens every week to the local food bank. If I lived
west of the Cascades, I’d be eating out of the garden with just
my raised beds and low tunnels. Some years here I can have a
salad from the garden every day, but most winters I’m stuck
with buying greens December through Valentine’s Day.
I love 10-minute-old salad greens with 8-year-old wine!
OK, I just had to take the dogs out and the 12 ounces of wine
combined with a gray foggy day has me thinking of a nap.
Instead, I’ve made an espresso with some Intrigue Chocolate,
Cardamom hot chocolate base, what a lovely blend. Hey Aaron,
have you tried Grains of Paradise for hot chocolate?
That reminds me I promised Barbara bacon covered with dark
chocolate as a birthday present. I got some good bacon
yesterday so I better take another break and get that going.
Back soon.
If you get the idea I’d rather walk
dogs, pet cats, and be in the kitchen, rather than be on a
computer, you are correct! Barbara prefers computer to kitchen
so it works out well.
This morning I was pruning Sémillon. It has been a marvelous
grape in our vineyard. Planted in 2006, the vines were sprayed
once in 2011 with Stylet Oil, an approved Organic treatment,
for Powdery Mildew. About 10% was sprayed again in 2012. Since
then, our canopy management has improved and the only inputs
have been water, sweat, and a little compost.
It is a fun grape for a winemaker. By itself it is beautiful if
given time to evolve, I like it when it hits about 7 years old,
the 2016
Oyster White I opened a few days ago is
reaching its top of the curve. Ready for when the delightful 2015 Oyster White
is sold out. One of the great myths of wine is “white wines
don’t age.” Yet many of the World’s most renowned old wine are
white. Like Château d'Yquem made from
Sémillon.
Marketing people and accountants have conspired to promote cash
flow for wineries. Hence, drink white wines young. It’s
expensive to park bottled wine in a warehouse for five years.
It’s not sensible business. But it makes good wine. What’s the
point of growing great grapes, making fine wine, and then
drinking it before it’s mature? Oh, I guess it’s cash flow.
I like Sémillon as a sole-variety wine, Oyster White,
AND how it plays well with others. Sémillon-Sauvignon Blanc is
the classic White Bordeaux blend. Sémillon-Chardonnay is a
common Australian blend. I do two wines that are
Sémillon-Riesling blends, B’s Blend and Angelica MRS.
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Sémillon
is used for dry table wine, slightly sweet table wines, and
very sweet late harvest types. I’ve found wines in all styles
that are scrumptious.
Woohoo! The mail just brought one of my seed orders. I think
I’ll get some things started indoors this weekend to plant out
in February. Artichokes, Joi Choi, and Tuscan Kale. Maybe some
lettuces too. In a few weeks I’ll get the tropical plants,
peppers, and tomatoes going.
Why am I a winegrower?
I like to grow things and make them into wonderful meals to share,
and wine can make most meals better.
Why are you a wine drinker? Let us know!
Below are Goldilocks in the snow and Monkey and Pippa resting
after a long snow walk. Hard to be the outside spoon when you
are so much smaller!
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Bung it in the Boot
(of
our Car)!
The next free delivery will be beginning January 20. Get your
orders in as soon as you can and we will put you in our wine
wagon and deliver it to you.
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Your honored status as our returning customer gets you 10% off of
2 bottles through 11 bottles and 20% - 50% off of 12 bottles or
more. These discounts are already reflected below and in the
order forms: PDF Order Form or XLS Order Form.
Here is the list of wines
available and their prices:
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Bottle Price
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Case
Price
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2021
Rosé Paradiso 750ml
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$21.60
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$19.20
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2015
Oyster White 750ml
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$21.60
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$19.20
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2015
Sève 750ml (50%)
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$21.60
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$12.00
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2016
B's Blend 750ml (first 6)
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$14.40
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$8.00
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2016
B's Blend 750ml
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$14.40
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$12.80
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2016
Sangiovese 750ml (first 6)
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$14.40
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$8.00
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2016
Sangiovese 750ml
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$14.40
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$12.80
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2014
Rojo Paradisos 750ml
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$21.60
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$19.20
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2015
Zort 375ml (30%) (NEW)
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$21.60
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$16.80
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2015
Angelica MRS 375ml (30%)
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$21.60
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$16.80
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Intrigue Chocolate Bars
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$12.00
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$12.00
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Want to send wine? We can do
that for you. Or you can go to VinoShipper
and do it yourself. Shipping is dependent on weather, can't do it
if it is too cold or too hot. Give us a call and we can help with
your arrangements.
Pick up the phone and call in an order, or reply to this email,
or send a text to 509-829-9000 or message us via FaceBook or Instagram. We love to hear from
you, so a call is always welcome.
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- We can deliver
wine directly to your home or to the home of your relative
or friend. Estimated delivery begins 1/20. PDF
Order Form or XLS
Order Form.
- If you are local or
want to come for a visit, we are open for tasting and sales
11-6 every day. We encourage you to be vaccinated to do our
tastings indoors. Everyone is welcome outdoors.
- You can get a
gift card from us either electronically or we can send
out a physical gift card for you. Give us a call for the
physical card 509.829.9000.
- If your wine gift
is going out of the state of Washington, you can order via VinoShipper.
Whether we can ship to that location during the winter is
dependent on the weather. If it is too hot, we have to hold
off on shipping until the weather cools off a bit. If it is
too cold, then we need to wait for things to warm up a
bit.
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If you want to keep up with us
on a daily basis, you can follow us on FaceBook or Instagram.
You are welcome to spend time outdoors, take a walk around the
vineyard, or a longer walk around our neighborhood. We can direct
you to walks of 1-10 miles, bring your dog!
We are still doing vineyard tours Sunday through
Friday if you happen to be in the area.
We are so very thankful that you include us in your wine consumption
and we hope that you will keep us in your rotation. Thanks
so much for continuing to support our tiny winery. And for
supporting zero-pesticide organically grown wines.
Asking for a bit of help
Like many small wineries depending on direct-to-consumer sales,
the past two years have been difficult.
Google reviews have become very important to small businesses. So
too, Trip Advisor, Yelp, etc. But when it comes to searches,
Google rules.
If you want to give us some support (other than the obvious of
buying more wine), the best thing you can do is to take a few
minutes and share your perspective on our tiny winery.
Go here on Google and look under reviews
and add your own. Also feel free to post a photo or two or three.
Thank you to those that have already done this for us!
All the best from our home
to yours,
Paul and Barbara
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