The Miracle of Life

I haven't written any blogs this week because we lost our beloved winery dog, Cassie, this past week-end. Tim, Emma and I will continue to grieve the loss of this fine companion but also realize there is much to celebrate in life.

We have finished bottling our 2007 Estate Syrah and Tempranillo. This has brought me such feelings of pride and joy. It is hard to explain but to put plants into the ground, nurture them, turn out fruit and see the finished wine product is simply an awesome feeling. It makes me think of all the farmers who bring us our food and clothes and what a huge debt we own them. They toil day in and day out to bring us the miracle of life. Have you thanked a farmer today?

Hacienda Corona Get-Away

Tim and I decided to take a few days off to celebrate the end of our growing and harvest seasons. We decided to stay at Wendy and Phil Stover's lovely B&B which is between Patagonia and Nogales. It was just what we were looking for. The hacienda has been elegantly restored and has a rich history which the Stovers are excited to share with guests. Look it up at www.haciendacorona.com. I know Tim and I will go back. Maybe we'll see you there!

Week 3 Haiku Winner

Robert and Joanne Moore are this week's winners of our wine haiku contest. They sent their submission -- a haiku trilogy! -- by email after visiting our tasting room. Thanks, Robert and Joanne!

Here's how wine is made.
Pick grapes, crush them, ferment them.
Clarify them and wait.

Store in a barrel.
Pour it, put a cork in it.
Let it sit awhile.

Now enjoy the wine.
Red, white, dry, full-bodied, sweet
So many flavors!

For details on the haiku contest, visit our facebook page.

Even Cuter

Cassy and Emma are pretty cute, but every once in a while they are upstaged. Both of them have a nack for knowing when children have come into the tasting room and both of them love greeting them.  No barks, no growls, just licks and kisses.  Emma catches on first, but eventually even old Cass gets into the action.  This past weekend Jolie met a dog that was her size and Jane, Michael and Christopher enjoyed petting Cassy's soft coat.

Love is Blind

It’s over. Thanks to the assistance of five volunteers and new friends last week we harvested the last of our own fruit – Tempranillo. It is now pressed and resting in a big tank.The crush this year, which began at the end of August, was memorable.




My second trip to Willcox to pick up fruit from Arizona Stronhold Vineyards and Sweet Sunrise Vineyards resulted in a load of two tons of Chardonnay and two tons of Malvasia. Luckily driving out of the vineyard Peter noticed a flat tire on the trailer – fortunate because I was able to repair it in “downtown” Willcox. Unfortunately while tooling along I-10 at about 65 mph, the truck totally blew a rear tire. It took me about 2 hours to change the tire – a rather complex process considering I had a ton of grapes in the bed of the truck and three tons under tow on the trailer and interstate traffic was whizzing along past me at dizzying speeds.









When I finally got back to the winery at 3 pm, crush began – not ending until 3 am the next morning, even with Joan’s help loading the press. To bed at 3am and up at 6 am to get the next load of Syrah. Another flat tire, 4 new truck tires, a new trailer tire, crazy moments under tow battling semi-trucks at 70mph. Repeat for Sangiovese Clone 2, Nebbiolo, Syrah from AZ Stronghold, and the Sangiovese Brunello clone. 

I’m glad it’s over. It was much more logistically easy to harvest our own Syrah, Tempranillo and little bits of Mourvedre, Riesling and Zinfandel.

The fruit looks lovely, the young wine is yummy. Picking, crushing, pressing, racking, cleaning, pumping, tasting, worrying. Repeat as needed. That’s harvest. Romantic – on the big screen maybe. In reality – for about half a day. Do I love it? Yes

Week 2 Haiku Winner

Congratulations to Janice, who was in our tasting room on Sunday and composed this week's winning wine haiku. Thanks, Janice!

Red bottles of wine.
Juicy, sweet, tasty manna
from heaven above!

For details on the haiku contest, visit our facebook page.

What Can I Say?

Tim challenged me to put this picture of Emma and me getting ready to take a walk over to visit Lisa Callaghan. I could say Emma is just there for the weight bearing part of my exercise routine. But, what the heck. This is what one becomes after the children leave home. Emma and I both enjoy it. And Lisa never laughs at us. At least not to our faces!

Haiku Winner!

The first winner of our Wine & Western Haiku contest is Kim Carlson.

Here's her winning haiku:

sniffed the fragrant wine,
tongue touched the awesome rosé
full glass in nine months.

Congrats, Kim!

The contest is set up in our tasting room. You can also contribute online through our facebook page.