Greetings from the Napa Valley, where we are wrapping up another harvest – Vintage 2019. We are almost a month later than last year. This year the steady warm temperatures and prolonged hang-time gave more development opportunity for compounds responsible for taste and complexity. Our winemaker Julien is hard at work now and we look forward to the first opportunity to taste the hang-time effect on our wines.

It is also a time for celebrations. Bill and Stephen had their high school class reunions on the ranch; it was Bill’s 45th, and Stephen’s 50th. For the youngsters among us, yes those numbers may sound big but we assure you they are compatible with life. To prepare we’ve been doing lots of planting, mulching and maintenance.

We’ve had a couple of changes in the grounds as we prepared for these events and developed our setting; upgraded plantings, finished barbecue, and mulching of the planting beds. We’ve also introduced a more extensive vegetable garden than years past because we entered an arrangement with Market Restaurant. They supply the labor and we supply the land for garden full of lettuce, cucumbers, kale, and other vegetables. The juicy heirloom tomatoes are finishing the season as Tony, the gardener, is developing seedlings for cold winter crops.