Holy cold days, Batman!!! Seems as if mother nature is asking us to stay home and bundle up, and since it is January, I guess that is about right. Well, in this frosty atmosphere, what better way to kick off our newsletter than with a tantalizing tale of hops and soy sauce. Wait, I thought this was a newsletter on wine…
For the past 20 years, our winery shuts down for a day, and our team loads into a bus, and drives out into Oregon to learn something new from a business in the Food & Beverage Industry. We call this our “Day of Wonder.” This past January 10th we had the pleasure of visiting Crosby Hops and the local Yamasa Soy Sauce Plant. Both were amazing and we learned so much about how hops are processed and saw how soy sauce is made. We have such a rich and diverse Food & Beverage industry right here in our back yard! And would you know that factors such as dirt or water are instrumental in the quality of their product, sounds a lot like wine!
Our Day of Wonder serves as a potent reminder that inspiration can be drawn from diverse sources, be it other industries or our very own peers. In looking at other wineries, I have always appreciated the labels from Ridge Winery in California. They have made it very transparent as to what is in their wines, along with the percentage of varietals that are in each blend. Because our team feels transparency is key to our brand, that is something we are going to start to do as well. With the release of our 2023 Rosé of Pinot Noir this month we are excited to share that we have added ingredients, and nutritional information to our label. Now you can see that that a 5 oz pour of our Rosé has 117 calories, 3.5 grams of carbs and no fat or protein. Fancy that!
Shifting gears to our Estate wines, we just started pruning in our vineyards this past January 8th and it will take us through the end of February to finish our 130 acres of vineyards at Blossom Ridge, Kalita, and Sokol Blosser. This is cold and wet work for sure! In the cellar, Robin, who if you remember became our fifth winemaker in 2023, is leading our winemaking team in taking our 2022 Pinot Noirs out of barrel to get ready for blending and bottling before the end of winter. I’ve gone through with Robin to taste all the 2022 Pinots in December, and I can tell you that this is quite a good vintage. Get ready!
Amidst all the wine talk that ignites our passion, there’s a crucial issue that deserves a moment in the spotlight. We have a concerted push in our country to surround the holiday months of November and December with “Sober October” and “Dry January.” I am all for wine in moderation and feel strongly that wine is food and is an ancient tradition and part of setting the table which brings together friends and family and creates memories. Wine has alcohol in it and is also a drug that can be abused. I have friends and family who are touched by alcohol dependency issues, and this is something not to be taken lightly and want very much for those who need help to get help.
I believe we can have a responsible and thriving wine industry while at the same time acknowledging alcohol abuse issues and helping those with Alcohol Use Disorder. It is not a “Dry January,” or a “Wet January.” I think there is a 3rd way which is “Responsible January.”
Alex
