Author: Judi Scherrer

This marks my thirtieth vintage at a commercial winery. It seems like a larger number than it feels, but I did the math three times and got the same answer, so it must be true. The thinning of the hair on top as well as the increasing gray in what remains provides supporting evidence of this. Fortunately, these years of experience made 2008 a fairly easy vintage to deal with those curve balls that nature threw in this year.

When asked about when to consume a given bottle, I have often said that ‘as long as the wine gives pleasure, it succeeds, so drink it when it tastes good to you.’ But the notion of deliciousness seems so implicit in the evaluation of wine to me that I also forget to discuss it in my own type of propaganda.

As you have probably noticed, we tend to adjust release dates of our wines according to their developmental needs rather than simply following an annual schedule. This re-shuffling of mailing list releases to match bottling schedules, shipping weather windows, etc. have yielded an embarrassment of riches with this release. It is the result of fine-tuning sources, advances in technique and better understanding the consequences of choices made during the growing season and vinification… probably a good dose of luck factors in as well. One of my favorite sayings is that ‘it is better to be lucky than good.’

Our low tech newsletter got a much needed face lift with a look that mirrors the more elegant brand image. And just as the new label didn’t change what’s in the bottle, the format changes won’t change the content of the newsletter – it will just be more appealing to the eye.

…the choices we make and their long-term consequences have moved to a more prominent position in my own thoughts. I reflect on my self-employment, the creative freedom it allows and the cost as it exacts time from my kids. These reflections inspired me to look back at the wineryhistory…particularly for the many of you who are relatively new to us.

Opinions on labels seem to be like faces: everyone has one. And over the past few years we have heard an increasing number of ‘suggestions’ from customers that our label does not do justice to the wine in the bottle…So after sixteen vintages under the same basic design, we were finally persuaded to consider a stronger brand image, an elegant, uncluttered design and most of all, a style that represents the quality of wine in the bottle.

As well we knew with the long cold spring and the generally cool summer (save a couple of hot weeks),
harvest began for us in later September. While in most years Fred has begun to surface by this point, this
year grapes are still coming in and the red fermentations are just reaching the right time for pressing.
With his creativity (and wit!) focused on the winemaking at this point, I’ve only been able to glean a few
newsletter tidbits from him regarding the new releases. I’m afraid the only insights on this vintage I can
provide are those of this side-line observer. Fortunately, I have an inside line! As with every harvest, there
has been a bit more heat than anyone wants, a bit more rain than anyone wants, and some really beautiful
fall weather with warm days and cool nights that everyone wants! And while it’s awfully hard to keep a
steady course in the midst of the turmoil and fatigue that these last critical weeks of harvest bring, Fred’s
vision of what the future holds for the grapes he’s working is so strong, it keeps him true to the course. The picking, the pressing, the racking, the bottling… it will happen when it needs to and not before, all in good time.