Sokol Blosser Wine Blog

Marilyn and Michael, two volunteers with the Prescott Western Bluebird Recovery Project, just completed their Year-End Bluebird Nesting Report for the boxes we have at the winery and in our vineyard, and here's a quick summary:

- There were 10 Western Bluebird clutches; six were first clutches and four were second clutches.
- 33 bluebirds fledged (fledged: left the nest successfully on its own). This is a positive outcome!
- There were also 6 Violet Green Swallow clutches. (Marilyn and Michael estimate approximately 17 swallows fledged successfully).
- A House Wren and a Black Capped Chickadee built nests in the boxes but they didn't lay eggs in them.

This was a great season for bluebirds at Sokol Blosser!

Posted by Littlejohn Keogh at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Out of the blue I got an email informing me that Sokol Blosser was a finalist in the 2005 Sunset Magazine’s Wine Awards. I had no idea the magazine was doing wine awards, but I was thrilled we were involved. Turns out we were one of 3 finalists in the Green Winery of the Year category. The other finalists were Frog’s Leap and Benziger Family Winery. My first thought was WOW, I’m glad just to be listed with these other two leaders in the field. The winner would be announced August 12th and I was invited to the dinner at Sunset’s headquarters in Menlo Park, CA.

Sunset Magazine is an icon in the lifestyle magazine industry and I’ve subscribed to it for many years—long before they did anything with wine. I have a love-hate relationship with Sunset. I love it for the beautiful gardens, cozy kitchens, interesting travel ideas and glossy photos showing how wonderful life can be, the Sunset way. I hate it for the sinking feeling I have as the do-it-yourself projects and plans build up, filed away for when I have time. Sunset symbolizes for me all the things I want that are beyond my reach.

The chance to visit Sunset’s headquarters and see the base for all these creative ideas was so alluring, that I decided to go, and take Alison with me, if I could get a tour of the place. That request was generously granted and Sara Schneider, the Senior Food and Wine Editor, showed us around the afternoon of the big dinner. The buildings, kitchens, gardens, grounds were authentic Sunset. I was pleased to see that the head office looked like the magazine and not a corporate office in an impersonal high rise building.

At dinner, Alison and I sat with Editor-in-Chief Katie Tamony at the awards dinner. It was great fun. The disappointment was that we didn’t win. Benziger did and certainly well deserved. But we were glad to be part of the event and my complicated feelings about Sunset were preserved.

Learn more about Sunset's Wine Awards and the nominees at Sunset's web site.

In the photo, from left to right: Editor-in-Chief Katie Tamony, Susan Sokol Blosser and Senior Food & Wine Editor Sara Schneider.

Posted by Susan Sokol Blosser at 11:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We just saw the first berries in the Peach Tree block of Pinot Noir that had turned color—the sign that harvest is approaching. It will be another month but color change is the first step. The clusters change one berry at a time, picking up speed and coloring faster as they go. Once they are all reddish purple, they deepen in color as they mature. By harvest they will be deeply purple. It has been a tough year in the vineyard. The crop is down, mildew pressure has been horrendous, and we have too much hot weather. Amazingly, the grapes that didn’t get mildew look very good and hope is still high for a good harvest.

Posted by Susan Sokol Blosser at 11:27 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

You only turn 100 once in a lifetime – if you’re lucky. My grandmother (my mother, Susan’s, mother), Phyllis Sokol, will turn 100 on September 22. She is a truly amazing women, still razor sharp and quick witted. The best part of her upcoming birthday is the wave of visiting family members from around the world who are coming to McMinnville to visit her.

The first to come were Andre and Charlie Sokol, two of four sons of my mother’s brother who live in London. For those of you who have visited the winery during the week, you’ve probably encountered another Andre – my brother, Alex’s, yellow lab. Well, introducing Andre (the person) to Andre (the dog) was an interesting experience. I don’t think Andre (the person) was very complimented, but he was quite gracious about it. Andre (the dog) is always thrilled to meet another person, especially if that person is foolish enough to start tossing his Frisbee (and in this case, Andre the person was…). But, when my other brother, Nik, mentioned that his cat was named Charlie, I think Andre & Charlie, the people, started to think we’re nuts. Well, we’re really not. I think we just have a limited repertoire of names.

Take for instance Nik’s first son, whom he named Alexander after our brother, Alex. Then look at one of Alex’s twins, named Nikolas after Nik (his other son is named Avery, which is big Alex’s middle name). Grandma Phyllis always says that she would never have named my mother Phyllis. Because, she said, people would call them “Big Phyllis and Little Phyllis� then “Old Phyllis and Young Phyllis�. She’s totally right. We have big A (Alex), middle A (me), little A (Alexander), wet A (Andre, the dog) and littlest of A’s (Avery). It’s very complicated and I am encouraging Nik and his wife, who are pregnant with a girl, to choose a non-family name (that is, unless they would like to name her Alison, in which case I would gladly accommodate another “A� in the family).

The Sokol invasion continues with more cousins, uncles and aunts coming during the next few weeks.

In the photos, from top to bottom:
1. Andre (the person) and Chef Alex
2. Andre (the person), me and Charlie (the person)
3. Andre (the dog)

Posted by Alison Sokol Blosser at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)