Notes from the Winemaker - January, 2012

Hello to 2012 and Happy New Year to the Wine Club - I'm looking forward to spending more time with you both this year!

As you can see we have a ton of events and activities happening this year. We also have some great announcements and surprises coming up. We'll be bottling all our 2010 wines this year and 2010 was our largest harvest ever. In addition, we've got some new wines and some new wine making styles. 2012 is a very exciting year for the Fifty Barrels Crew and I'm excited to share it with all of you, who have been so supportive for all these years. Recently, a close friend and I came up with a new saying for the first pour from a new bottle that you share with a close friend: Premier Santé; which loosely translates to 'first' & 'health'.

That said, my personal motto for 2012 is 'there's Life before Death', so let's live it up with good friends, good times, and of course, good wines!

Premier Santé!

- BXV

Recommendations from the Cellar Master - January, 2012

"Old" World vs. "New" World

Sometimes you might hear the terms "old world" or "new world" to describe a wine's characteristics or origin. Ever wonder what that means?

From a strictly geographical standpoint, "old world" refers to wines from Europe. "New world" refers to those wines not from the Europe- including (but not limited to) California, Chile, Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, etc.

It's possible that you might hear this in reference to the wine's style. Old world wines tend to be lower in alcohol, maybe have a bit more acid and generally less fruit extraction (less syrupy). The wines that are aged in oak tend to be aged in less new wood or for a shorter period of time, giving the wine less of the oaky characteristics. "New World" wines will frequently be seen as approachable and delicious younger in life whereas the "Old World" wines are typically seen as needing lots of age before they reach their prime.

These are generalities mind you - but you get the idea. These and a lot of other topics are going to be covered in our upcoming wine education courses so we are looking to see you there. It'll be a good learning experience for all of us and some good times too!

See you around the wine bottle!

- BW

Dee's Dittys 1-13-12

We are super excited for 2012 - for a lot of reasons. My favorite one so far is our 'really-big, cooly-awesome, right-brain-using, creative-commercial contest'! It goes a little something like this:

We'd like to have a 90+ second commercial that we can share on our web site and social media outlets. And, we'd like you to film it. So, from now until Friday, March 30 you get free reign to film us during our business hours - video or still shots - as much or as little as you'd like. You can interview us, research us, harass us, talk to our customers, our families, our friends, the winery dogs, or anyone else you can find who will speak with you. We have no creative guidelines or parameters, what you come up with is completely up to you.

On March 30 we'll have a public viewing party (by party, I mean free Sangria!) on the big screen where the winner will be chosen by anonymous majority vote.

We only ask a couple things - let us know ahead of time if you'd like to participate, keep it between 90-120 seconds, submit your video on a pc-friendly USB drive or DVD/CD by Saturday, March 24.

And, not that I'm trying to sway you one way or another, but don't you think our upcoming Panel of 21 on January 28 would be a great time to film stuff? I'm no filmmaker, but I'm pretty sure that 21 people drinking 21 wines equals 21 different kinds of cinematic awesome-ness! Hope to see you and your camera soon!

Happy Wine Drinking!

-Dee

You can view our full calendar of events here. We are adding new events all the time, so check back soon. Or, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (or any of the social media below) for up to the minute details. :-) 

Recommendations from the Cellar Master - December, 2011

Ever wonder how much you don't know about wine? I wonder that all the time!  There is so much to learn about this fascinating field - my life's goal is to learn as much as I possibly can. 

That's why I am so excited to present our new Wine Education Series in 2012.  We are starting with a basic Wine 101 Course on Saturday, February 11.  This first class will include an overview of varietals, types, color, taste, nose, temperature, drinking, and terminology. 

Each class in the series will include wine, an informational booklet to take home, and a couple hours of entertainment - all for the low, low cost of $15 per person plus tax. 

We will have a full listing of class topics and what each class will include in our January, 2012 newsletter, so stay tuned!

Email Denise if you'd like to join us on February 11 and/or if you have any suggestions for what you'd like to see in future courses. 

- BW

Notes from the Winemaker - December, 2011

Early in 2011 we lost our next door neighbor Oceanside Ale Works, we knew that this would affect our business, but were unable to move with them. We felt like it was going to be a tough year, but in fact it was our best year ever, and it has everything to do with you, our loyal Wine Club and Friends. We had more events, more facility rentals, more customers than we ever had and that was without our OAW anchor. For that I'm feeling honored and humbled by your friendships and patronage. I look forward to 2012 and what it has to bring us.

Harvest was a mess this year, early frost knocked out large percentages of our vineyards. Then early rains during harvest keptpushing back the harvest dates. We finally received our largest shipments in early November, thirty days after we should have received it. With all that said we were still able to secure some great grapes and even some new ones that will be released in late 2012 and early 2013

Finally, a special thanks needs to be said to the entire Fifty Barrels crew:

From Denise, our 'Token Chick', who keeps the boys in line and keeps all our social media up to date and fashionable, she also manages the wine club and multiple other tasks. Basically, she's doing 3 full time jobs at the winery.

To Joe, who's at the winery just about every day I'm there and then some, plus he's the one who (behind the scenes) prints the labels, gets the corks, and for some reason manages our Federal Bond.

To Mr. Brent Wells, who manages our crazy books & the 'City', he's the cellar master and keeps the winery sterile and is really the only one who can clean the tanks right. But, most importantly, he keeps our cigar inventory stocked and up to date.

Last, but definitely not least, our 51st Barrel Crew who always show up to clean, crush, press, bottle, and label all our wines....Thank You!

Cheers! 

- BXV