Harvest, Week of September 14th

We've (finally!) started harvesting our reds.  We are bringing in Syrah today, and expecting about 10 tons.  The fruit looks tremendous: low pH (around 3.35), good sugars (around 25 Brix) and excellent flavors.  It seems to me that the grapes have lots of texture and solids rather

A first look at the 2008 reds

When we have writers come and visit us at the winery, we try when possible to look both at what is current and what is coming up.  Some years, we don't have a lot of ability to look forward, because the blends aren't finished, or at

Harvest 2009 Begins... Slowly

It's clear at this point that it's going to be a long harvest.  We picked our first grapes early last week (September 1st): Viognier from the top of the tallest hill on the property -- typically the first part of the vineyard we harvest -- and

The importance of multi-channel marketing (AKA yes, print will be seen by more eyes than email)

This month, we launched the VINsider Wine Club Collector’s Edition, which gives its members access to library vintages of Esprit de Beaucastel and Esprit de Beaucastel Blanc that we’ve aged in our cellars.  As we have held back only a limited quantity of our older wines, we announced

Andalusian Gazpacho Recipe

There is no food that is more evocative of summer than gazpacho.  In the late summer, when local tomatoes are plentiful around most of the country, it's one of the easiest, most impressive ways to begin a summer meal.  With the richness of the pureed bread, it can

Corks and Screwcaps Revisited: Results from a Blind Tasting

About two years ago, I wrote a post called “Corks and Screwcaps: Not an open and shut case” that got a nice nod from Eric Asimov in the New York Times and brought a slew of new readers to the Tablas Creek blog.  In it, I made a case that

A Response to Michael Pollan: It's Cool in the Kitchen Now

This past Sunday, Michael Pollan contributed a fascinating article to the New York Times Magazine called "Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch" in which he tied together the rise of cooking shows on television and decline of cooking as an everyday part of life.  The basic facts

Introducing the VINsider Wine Club "Collector's Edition"

Earlier this week, we sent out initial notice to all our VINsider Wine Club members that we are launching a library version of our wine club.  We're calling this the VINsider Wine Club Collector's Edition. Regular readers of the blog may remember a post from last

Veraison 2009

It's always exciting when we see the first signs of veraison in the vineyard.  The red grapes start to soften and turn red, while the white grapes start softening and add a little yellow to their green tone.  It typically marks a point about six weeks from the

Robert Haas is 2009 California Mid-State Fair Wine Industry Person of the Year

On Thursday night, my father was awarded 2009 Wine Industry Person of the Year by the California Mid-State Fair.  It was a really nice presentation, with my dad's introduction given by Steve Lohr of J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines.  He was previously committed to a dinner in Vermont,