2023 Cellar Event - LAST Call!

Hello and Welcome,

Well, there is no denying it now - here we are. December 5th is the anniversary of the Repeal of Prohibition. We are sure that (to some people), it seemed like a good idea at the time. But the patience of the electorate wore thin, and change was inevitable. And people found a way to get what they needed anyway. Many went through the completely legitimate, medical supply chain no less!

We will be hosting a merry little “celebration of repeal” event THIS weekend. Please join Dena and Ernie (and an intrepid fruit fly or two) beginning Friday, December 8th through Sunday the 10th. We are scheduling appointments beginning at 10 am each day, with our last appointment time of 3 pm. If you can’t join us, please consider ground (or air) shipping. We offer insulated shippers at no cost this time of year. We can also hold your wine until the next weather appropriate shipping window.

Tell Us What YOU Think
If you have a moment, we are conducting a very brief, informal poll. The question is regarding the timing of two events. Is it better to face the crowds of holiday shoppers BEFORE or AFTER you go wine tasting?
 
Option A: Go WINE TASTING first and then go holiday shopping.
 
Option B: Go holiday shopping first and then go WINE TASTING.
 
Option C: Go WINE TASTING and then shop on Amazon, while drinking wine.

Just in Time Delivery
Not unlike that jolly old Elf himself, our label printer has a deadline to meet – and they did. This means we are releasing a couple of new wines this holiday season. We know, it’s been a minute…

We start the weekend off by introducing our Book Club series wines. We are beginning with a 2022 white wine made from Gewürztraminer and Viognier. We were first introduced to this aromatic blend when Dick Erath brought a bottle from Arizona to dinner some years ago. While we have tried over the last few years to make this blend, it never worked out. Vintage 2022 will be our first. Please be gentle. (45 cases produced.) {A-List Release}

And if you are looking for something to read so you can open the wine, check us out on Substack: Winemaking: The Continuation of Terroir by Other Means ®

Easing into the red wine program is 2022 Pinot Meunier. While often left behind in the shadows of Pinot Noir, it is a bad-ass wine grape in its own right. Elegant aromatics of raspberries and rose petals and light on the palate, Pinot Meunier is one of the most food friendly wines you can serve during the holidays. Equally at home with the nosh plate or transitioning to the main event. Firm, palate cleansing acidity is this wine’s superpower. (107 cases produced)

2017 The Reserve will get the Pinot Noir party started. It seems like the “TR” always takes longer than any of our other wines to come out of bottle shock. We select this barrel of wine based on its effortless ability to fully engage the frontal lobe. We choose elegance over power. Once it’s bottled though, it takes a while to fill out all the nuances in all the right places. Swirling in the glass, just eye candy, it is not. (24 cases produced) {Optional A-List Release}

2019 Wadenswil Clone Pinot Noir. We jumped the shark with the 2019 vintage as our featured wine in this year’s International Pinot Noir Celebration. The IPNC brings fellow travelers from around the globe to showcase their interpretation of Pinot Noir. We chose Wadenswil, the Swiss clone of Pinot Noir, grown in our sedimentary soils. You don’t see much Wadenswil coming out of Burgundy. But not one to miss an opportunity at having the French on, Ernie asks them about it anyway. (48 cases produced) {A-List Release}

2016 Mistletoe Ridge® Pinot Noir is our commemorative AVA bottling. While the name finally chosen for our little slice of heaven on earth is (in our opinion) a marketing failure, it doesn’t prevent us from making a statement. The blend is 100% Pommard clone from the most distinctive section of our vineyard, and the only place inside the AVA where we have found ironstone. Maybe one day we will become a sub-sub AVA with a great name. Until then, we have Mistletoe Ridge®. (97 cases produced)

2009 Estate Selection Pinot Noir Retro Release! Here is something you don’t see every day. Unlike the most recent vintage, 2009 had an early flowering and corresponding early harvest, before the birds, rain and rot set upon us. Vintage 2009 took some time to find its footing after the much celebrated 2008, but came around in spectacular fashion. So much so, that Ernie stopped selling this wine so he could see how those whole cluster stem tannins would develop. Vintage 2009 plus 14 years, this is your opportunity to experience matured stem tannins, or more commonly known as “the tail of the peacock”. (19 cases available) {A-List Retro Release}

2018 WTF Syrah. Both the Satisfaction and Top Barrel Syrah wines have been released. This is something other. In winemaking, you can research and postulate all you want, but until you actually put 60 gallons of wine into a $1,200 barrel and wait a couple of years, you don’t really know. Well, now we know. This particular cooper’s barrel was not ready to show us its magic after 2 years, or 3 years. Ernie became concerned at the 4 year mark, as that is the typical barrel maturation period of the most celebrated Côte Rôtie Syrah wines. But he wouldn’t let it go. Hope springs eternal, and by spring 2023 the planets had aligned to where we could finally Waft The Fruit! (Single barrel production, 24 cases produced) {A-List Release}
 
Cheaper. Buy the Dozen.
 
Please request a tasting appointment with your preferred day and time for this weekend, Friday December 8th thru Sunday the 10th. Dena will verify the schedule and confirm your appointment request via E-mail.

If your plans have you somewhere other than here for the weekend, the Big Blue Button can co-locate your wines with YOU. Flat rate ground shipping is in effect for the continental US. And shipping is included on all wine orders over $350!

For A-List members who cannot make it to the winery this weekend, Dena will reach out to coordinate your shipment with you. As a reminder, all 12 bottle orders receive an A-List 20% discount AND domestic ground shipping is included! It's better on the A-List.

We suggest a UPS or FedEx drop point to allow you to pick up your wine at your leisure. Please email Dena for shipping options to Alaska and Hawaii.
  
Kindest Regards,

Dena & Ernie