Hello To All Those Who Imbibe,

   As the weather turns warmer, my thoughts turn to rosés, barbecues and good times spent with friends.  The summer months are just about upon us and with that comes the time when you should again start considering whether or not your wine collection is stored properly.  Though we all like to have a little wine around the house, developing depth in your wine collection means long-term cellaring and that isn't practical for most residential storage solutions.  For those of you that don't know, Imbibe Wine & Spirits has a state-of-the-art climate-controlled wine storage facility located on site at Imbibe and, for the time being, there are still locker spaces available.

   In addition to the fact that this is the only one of its kind in Bakersfield, there are a few things that make our storage facility unique.  First off, the temperature and humidity are always kept at optimum levels for proper long-term storage.  Secondly, the wine lockers have been designed to reduce vibration, even in the event of an earthquake, and to limit the amount of ultraviolet light that may impact your collection.  Lastly, security is always a concern no matter the size of your collection.  For the protection of your collection, a 24-hour video monitoring system is in place and records everything that happens in the storage area.

    Some additional benefits come along with your choice to store your wine at Imbibe.  For those that are members with winery club shipments, your monthly subscriptions can be forwarded directly to Imbibe Wine to save you time and limit unfavorable weather impacts on your wine.  Also, wine storage members are the only folks allowed to enjoy their own wine in our one-of-a-kind wine bar.  Consider all these benefits, added to the fact that wine storage members never pay for corkage on any bottle, and you can start to see why wine storage with Imbibe is not only a great option, but one that may be to your advantage.

    With lockers ranging from 12 to 36 case capacities, we have the perfect space for your current collection as well as room to grow.  Stop in today and have one of our great staff members show you around and answer any questions you may have.   

  As an additional incentive, during the month of May all new wine storage members will receive a $50 Imbibe Gift Card when prepaying for a year's worth of storage.

   Until next time, keep pullin' those corks! 

- David

Late Breaking News - Tip of the YEAR! 

I just got back from Napa Valley last week and Ior those of you that read this, do yourself a BIG favor and go sign up for  the mailing list of Vine Hill Ranch(VHR). This wine is the next Scarecrow and with the team, dirt and commitment I'm seeing, VHR Cabernet will be the wine we all wished we had in our cellars. Go to vinehillranch.com and sign up for what is the most exciting wine I have tasted in the last two years coming out of Napa.  

The Team:

The Phillips Family, who have owned this ranch since 1959, sell to many of the finest wineries in Napa Valley (get this, the average is 4500.00 a ton for Napa Valley Cabernet, VHR gets 8750.00 per ton average and much more for certain blocks).

Francoise Peschon, Winemaker, studied at Chateau Haut Brion and has made the wines at Araujo since 1993.

Mike Wolf, Vineyard Manager since 1998 and is the same guy taking care of Scarecrow vineyard. Mike is the best vineyard manager in America.

This is one of one of those I told you so moments. I have signed up for the list - and I don't sign up for too many lists. 2008 is their Inaugural release.

David "I told you  so " Dobbs