Vineyard Planning In A Storm
We're in the middle of a big winter storm here and I'm expecting the power to go out any second. Nearly 5" of rain have fallen so far and there are winds with hurricane-force gusts. Local streams are near the tops of their banks and there are fountains shooting up out of manhole covers over the city's storm drains. At the moment it looks to be letting up a little thank goodness.To all a Happy New Year! I and everyone associated with Westwood hope you had a pleasant, relaxing and safe holiday season. We are looking forward to big things here at Westwood in 2008.
First I'd like to welcome Integris Wines as our distributor in Arizona. We expect that this will be a good market for us, and profitable for everyone involved.
Second, we are committed to planting another 8(+) acres of vineyard at our Annadel Estate this year. It will be mostly Pinot Noir, and that mostly "heritage" clones. I also plan to put in a little bit of white Rhone grapes (probably Viognier and Rousanne) to co-ferment with our Syrah. We will not be producing a white. And after years of discussion with my investors I have agreed to put in a few rows of Cabernet Sauvignon. The fruit from these vines will go into a partners-only bottling (though a few bottles may find their way to our Wine Club members and sales partners). I'd like to be able to promise something totally over-the-top, but the Estate site is really too cool to allow me to build an archetypal high-alcohol over-extracted Parker-pleaser. Nonetheless I shall endeavor to persevere.
Third, in 2008 we will be releasing our first Syrah and red Rhone blend off our Annadel Estate, from the well-rounded 2005 vintage. Twenty-oh-five may have given us the smallest Pinot Noir yield on record in the North Coast, but the Rhone varietals at our Estate were perfectly balanced and exquisitely ripe when we picked them. The wines are pretty darn stunning in my opinion, and I hope they will be in yours as well. The Syrah will be a very limited bottling and 100% varietal. We are developing a new label design for the Rhone blend, which we are probably going to call simply "Red IV". The 2005 Red IV blend will be Syrah, Mourvedre, Grenache and Tannat. Both wines – Red IV and Syrah – will be value-priced at $20-$30 through our Salon and website.
In 2008 we will continue to open the Salon by appointment only. If you will be in the Sonoma area, give me a call and let's get together to taste and talk.
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