One of the most beautiful times of the year in Paso Robles is springtime.   The very day we officially crossed over into Spring, our daytime temperature reached 82 degrees, the warmest its been since last October. But at night, we are still dropping down into the low 30s.   It’s these 50 degree daily temperature swings that make the wines from this area so special. Although we pruned in late February, this past weeks warm weather has put bud-break right around the corner, probably in the next few days.   So now through April, we will have to be very concerned about early morning frost, which could be devastating.

This winter, we finally experienced “normal” rainfall (although I am convinced that there is no such thing as ‘normal’).   We had just over 16”, which is more that we have had cumulatively over the past 4 years.   Nature’s way of saying “thanks” is by putting on a dazzling display of springtime color; just as spectacular as the fall colors in other parts of our country.   This rain was much needed as it helps replenish our groundwater (we are on a well) and leaches the salt out of the soil.   The impact this will have on this years harvest is mixed… for the grape growers, they will love it because it will increase their overall production… for us, we will have to do a lot more pruning and thinning because we don’t want that much production from our vines.   We try to limit to about 2 ½ tons of grapes per acre, whereas the vines will be putting out about 6-8 tons if left unchecked.

           
Our last newsletter left off just before the bottling of our ’08 wines.   The invite to our Wine Club to help in this process was a big success, in that every bottle of this years release was once again done by the club.   This process takes place over a two week period at the end of January, so if you are interested, mark your calendars for next year.  

A few words about our ’08 vintage.   They are big, bold, luscious wines.   Seems as if ‘even years’ (’04,’06,’08) harvests produce this style of wine vs. the more food friendly, easily drinkable wines which seem to come in the ‘odd years’.   This years Zinfandel is one which will continue to improve with age.   Normally we like our Zins young…drink them the day after they arrive, but this years release is BIG and the fruit is still in the background.   For those that have the willpower, lay this one down for a year or two - we think you will be surprised.   The Petite Sirah… may be our best yet.   And for those who attended last years blending party, thanks! in that both the SFR and Menage turned out great.   The Lajur - still everything our Lajur has been in the past - another winner.   But this years biggest surprise is the wine that came from ‘orphan’ grapes - the Malbec.   It turned out - fantastic!   Unfortunately, we had just enough for each wine club shipment and not a bottle left over for our own cellar.   For those who received one but don’t care for Malbec, please return it - we will pay for return postage.

We just concluded a very successful Zinfandel Festival, which was attended by over 5,000 out of town wine lovers, and are now looking forward to Paso’s largest event, the annual Wine Festival, May 21st - 23rd.   We will begin that weekend with our Winemaker Dinner on Friday night, the 21st.   For those interested, contact us for details as soon as possible as reservations for our last two dinners filled up within 48 hours.
      


Next year we will be coming out with a new wine label for our Port.   “Sophie” (the name on our dessert wine) now has a baby sister who would be very jealous if we didn’t do the same for her.   So next year, look for “Lily” on the Port bottle!

And we would be remiss if we didn’t take this opportunity to once again thank all of our wine family, who, during these difficult economic times, have continued to enjoy our wines and support our efforts.   With over a 90% retention since our previous club shipment last May, we feel truly blessed.   We hope many of you can find the time to visit us over the spring and summer months.

Continuing to “Drink the Dream” -

      Jan & Len