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United States wine consumption and production changes (and what they mean for California wineries)

You probably have heard that wine consumption in the United States is rising, and poised to pass France and Italy over the next few years. What you may not have realized is how much more growth potential we have, and how positive this trend is for the prospects of California

Some nice photos of ripening Mourvèdre

We're not harvesting today, but I took a walk through the vineyard to see the state of things. We'll be bringing in more Syrah, our Marsanne, and perhaps starting the Grenache and Roussanne next week, but there is a lot more of the vineyard that is

A Symposium on Roussanne (AKA three days spent with an infuriating, unpredictable, enticing, lovely grape)

Don't be fooled by this Roussanne cluster's innocuous appearance. It's a relentlessly challenging grape. Last month we hosted a producers-only symposium on Roussanne. Roussanne has tremendous potential, and at its best makes wines with richness, striking minerality, ageability, and balance. Robert Parker has

Harvest 2008 (Week of September 8th): Viognier, Syrah, Vermentino, and Chardonnay

After a hot stretch in late August and the first few days of September caused several varietals to race toward ripeness simultaneously, last week saw more moderate temperatures and a much slower harvest pace than we'd feared. We actually had a few foggy mornings out at the vineyard

Updated "How's it drinking" Vintage Chart

We've received a growing number of inquiries over the last few months about how our older wines are evolving in bottle from customers who have the wines in their cellars and are wondering if the wines are ready to drink. We've had a rudimentary vintage chart

Harvest 2008 Begins!

Well, we've finally begun this year's harvest. Yesterday and today, we've been harvesting our Viognier, which as usual is our first varietal in the cellar. 2008's harvest started about a week later than the 2007 harvest did, consistent with a slightly later

A family wedding (and a wonderful 1983 Pommard: Prince de Merode "Clos de la Platiere")

Regular readers have probably noticed a gap of about 10 days since my last post. Yes, this means I have broken one of my fundamental rules for winery blogging, but I can only offer the excuse that I've been busy in Vermont preparing for my sister's

Pig Roast!

Each August, we hold a pig roast here at the winery. We got the idea originally five years ago because our neighbor was having problems with feral pigs and offered to get us one for an event, and have continued the event with farm-raised pigs (in the absence of

A winery blog? Who needs it?

As the Tablas Creek blog has gotten more established, I've started to receive questions from other wineries about how to get started. I have written posts on Learning How to Blog and on the (somewhat related) Usability Lessons for Winery Web Sites. Still, reading a surprisingly pessimistic assessment

Animated satellite images of Paso Robles morning fog retreating up the Salinas River Valley

We've been in the midst of a glorious weather pattern for most of the last three weeks. These days begin with fog in the mornings in Paso Robles where I live (though usually not at the vineyard) and nighttime temperatures in the mid-40s. The fog burns off