Author: Judi Scherrer

While there are afew wines that age at a similar rate to people, for the most part wine moves much faster than people do. Of course, looking at my dad still running the tractor in his mid-80’s, would make just about any wine on this planet think twice about comparing its vitality and longevity to certain humans’ potentials.

It’s also important to remember that any sense of ‘heat’ in the wine is also affected by how much other ‘stuff’ is in the wine to balance it. The alcohol number alone tells us little about the acidity and sense of freshness in wine. Just as Nigel’s gum chewing rhythm says little about the tempo of the song he is playing [how can he do that?] or the connection between the title of one of his songs and its style [why would he do that?].

Choices we make during the growing season and at harvest must be lived with for the entire life of a wine. The huge number of options and the gravity of this can be staggering and sometimes paralyzing. As the years pile up, I’m finding it becomes easier to decide what to do given what nature offers.

When I started this project 20 years ago, the mission was to make wine that recognized the hard work that goes into growing grapes and give credit where due – to the farmer and vineyard. I ultimately wanted to be able to support myself and family and, with your support, I’ve been able to do that.

As excited as I am about the new wines we are just bottling, I find it nearly impossible this year to get a newsletter out well ahead of our open house. I struggle as I really want to see the 2009 Zinfandels finally combined and bottled before describing them and what to expect from them. So to the frustration of everyone around me, I wait until the absolute last minute to write this.

As I write this, I have just begun to emerge from another harvest. Normally, there is a slight lull in the action where I can collect my thoughts and begin this newsletter. 2010 would not hear of it!

We are probably little different, though we don’t make any claims for the artwork or celebrity connections. That said, I have to admit that in this offering we can make a case of having something very special from the wine’s point of view.

We were successful starting this venture in 1991 because of your support and have not forgotten that why we are still here. While none of us chose the current economic situation, like the weather, we can make the best of it. Sometimes – quite often in fact – within challenge theremay also be opportunity.

My job is to try to understand the nature of a given vintage, the site, varietal(s) grown there and allow the wine to express all of the above in the most pleasurable form I can. Some vintages are easy to work with. Others require more effort or tough choices on my part, on the growers’ part, and are usually the vintages I am most interested in talking about.

Over the years, I have often heard that our wines have made a difference in many people’s lives. They’re part of celebrations, special days, and sometimes make an ordinary day special. I above all, appreciate that very much.