Happy Passover, Easter and Spring from Alquimista Cellars
Listen to and watch Greg in his Gravenstein apple orchard, as he sends a message of hope and renewal, and also describes some of the things going on in the vineyard right now.
Surrounded as we are by uncertainty, our instinct for self-protection tells us to look for what is predicable and dependable. I count myself among the lucky ones in that I am an agriculturist and my work has been deemed “essential” by the powers-that-be, so I am in the vineyards and winery as an AG producer on a daily basis, working to make the agricultural product called “wine” for all. This is my certainty. The vines are now budding out and growing like gangbusters, heedless of the chaos around them and reaching for the skies, requiring our undivided attention to their efforts.
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Announcing the Arrival of Futures!What’s a better way to celebrate winter than tasting through the 2019 barrels in Alquimista’s cellar? We are happy to announce that our 2019 wines are moving along and mostly ready for barrel tasting, and we will begin selling futures of these wines beginning now. Though a couple of the wines are still struggling to finish primary fermentation, the majority have pushed through even malolactic fermentation and are now starting to take shape.
Read moreReflections on the Past Three Years in Sonoma County
As Christmas is now barely in the rear-view mirror and New Year’s Day coming up fast in Sonoma County, we have much loss on which to reflect, and much to be grateful for in the coming year. It is not a stretch to say that the defining events of 2017 and 2019 have been the disastrous fires in The North Bay, most of it inflicted upon Sonoma County. My co-winemaker/proprietor of Alquimista Cellars, Patrick Dillon, has written eloquently about first response and what we were all doing in the throes of the Tubbs fire in his “Alquimista Cellars, Earth, Wind, Fire and 500 Frittatas”.
With Mother Nature’s support, the 2019 growing season provided fantastic grape growing conditions.
“This has been a nearly ideal winegrowing season in Sonoma County,” says Sonoma County Vintners Executive Director Michael Haney. “There was just the right amount of heat early in the growing season to acclimate the grapes, mild temperatures continued throughout the season and offered superior flavor development.”
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In this article originally published in GuildSomm.com. and written by Fred Swan, our own Greg La Follette is interviewed about his unique approach to bringing forth the ‘terroir’, or character of a wine that is driven by its environment.
Read moreJoin us for a special Russian River Valley Event, celebrating the resilience of the wine industry and Sonoma County after the devastating Kincade fire this past fall.
Half priced shipping on 12-bottle cases and a special winemaker curated exploration with verticals! Please email us to inquire about fees and learn more!
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Now that harvest is winding down, it is once more time to reflect upon just why it is that we hose-draggers pursue our own version of heaven: the romance of winemaking.
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The word “hero” is often used to describe exceptional people doing exceptional things under extraordinary conditions.
Have you ever known someone who is so constant, so unswerving in making this world a better place over the years that the governor should pin a medal on her or his vest?
Read moreFire on the mountain and ferments in the vats…
As everyone has heard by now, fires have once again struck in parts of Wine Country. Though much of Sonoma County is open for business, there is a large swath of the Russian River, Alexander and Dry Creek valleys that are under mandatory evacuation orders, including the two wineries where we make Alquimista wines, Owl Ridge Wine Services and Ektimo Winery. Both are in the Green Valley of Russian River Valley and are miles away from the fires, but history has taught us that, with high winds expected to kick back up in the next few hours, miles are not measures of safety. Already over 100 square miles have been consumed in the Kincaid Fire, so the authorities are exhibiting a wise abundance of caution.
