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Remembering…
This Memorial Day I will be playing the bagpipes at our local cemetery, as I have done for many years, with the exception of last year when my right hand was incapacitated by a stroke. Therefore, for me personally and for all of us who have been sheltering-in-place all these weeks, it feels good to resume a simple act of gratitude. There seldom are crowds at the cemetery when I play and spacing is always respectful on this day, so I am resuming this tradition of thanks to those who have given their lives for all of us, so that we could maintain our everyday-way-of-life, however that may look at this time.

Last week I attended a remarkable virtual meeting of growers and winemakers of the Russian River Valley Winegrowers Association (RRVWGA). The purpose was to hear a report from a “Neighborhoods” committee tasked with distinguishing neighboring tracts of land that are not only defined by geographic features, but also bear their own unique chemical and sensory fingerprints. This investigation has yielded a large body of data, much of which already been generated by UC Davis. More definitive information will be forthcoming, but for a teaser, check out this video on the Russian River Valley Neighborhoods for more information.

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.