Vintage Wine Club Newsletter

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Vintage Wine Club Newsletter

May, 2011~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

in this issue

2010 Gewurztraminer

2009 Syrah

2007 Carignane

Greetings!

Winter is over and the lovely, green hills are beginning to fade into the golds and browns of our California summer; the growing season is upon us once more. It was great to receive all the rain from December to April that was so sorely needed here. Our local reservoirs are filled to the brim and have been overflowing while the nearby Santa Ynez River is running broad, swift and clear in a scene more reminiscent to me of Idaho than the Central Coast of California. Speaking of Central Coast we have for you this month our new 2009 Central Coast Syrah, just in time for the grills of summer! Added to that delectable red is our rare and Limited 2007 Santa Ynez Valley Carignane, now 4 years old and tasting great. And for the white fan in all of us, our freshly bottled and already Gold Medal winning 2010 Santa Barbara County Gewurztraminer which is properly dry in the Alsatian style. Do chill and grill sound like a good combo here? At least it rhymes...but think in terms of shrimp on the Barbee and it starts to sound not so far fetched! Once again, this electronic version of our newsletter is in lieu of the paper newsletter formerly packed with your wine shipment. You WILL find a paper order form/price list tucked in with your wines for re-ordering purposes so I have not listed prices, etc. in this e-version.

All the best for a Great Summer! Daniel Gehrs - Winemaker

2009 Central Coast Syrah ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This rich, dark and smooth Syrah comes from the cool micro-climate of the Edna Valley appellation. With ripe and juicy black stone fruit flavors and a luxurious, silky texture it is a very satisfying Rhone-style red. The relatively modest alcohol, under 14%, and the deft use of heavy toast French oak used for finishing accents an earthy complexity with emerging aromas of sizzling bacon reminiscent of the classic wines of Hermitage or Cote Rotie. This is a highly drinkable Syrah and I especially recommend it with Mediterranean-style foods and grilled meats; perfect for the long days of summer! It is drinking very well now and will benefit from further bottle aging over the next 3-5 years. We also bottled 60 Magnums and 12 Double Magnums so if you want to make a bigger impression for upcoming special occasions just give us a call at 1-800-275-8138 or send us an e-mail to find out more. We can ship these bottles individually, too.

2007 Santa Ynez Valley Carignane
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This rather unique and now quite rare red wine used to be one of the mainstays in California as well as in both Spain and France in the 19th and 20th centuries. It is of Spanish origin but there was more acreage in France, concentrated in the Midi region in the sunny south, until the latter quarter of the 20th century. Plantings anywhere in the past 30-40 years anywhere have been negligible. Fess Parker had a few acres planted in the 1990's at his Camp 4 Vineyard near the town of Santa Ynez and I bought some in 2007 thinking to blend it with a Zinfandel I was planning to make. When said Zinfandel was ripped out by a new owner Plan B took shape in my mind; bottle a 100% Carignane! Why not? The wine is very, very good, as you will soon see. Rather than go overboard trying to describe it here I challenge you to open your bottle soon then call us back with your re-order before it's all gone; only 117 cases were bottled, one and a half years ago.

2010 Santa Barbara County Gewurztraminer - White Hills Vineyard ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sometimes I wonder why I have such a magnetic attraction to French wines, in this case Alsatians. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm about one-quarter German and the beautiful Alsace region is just across the historic Rhine River from Germany. Whatever. I love Gewurztraminer with its pure, spicy-flowery bouquet, surprising ageability, that slight "fatness" on the palate. This wine represents our first vintage of Gewurz. from Santa Barbara County and specifically from the White Hills Vineyard south of the town of Santa Maria. The vines are mature; 30+ years old, the ground sandy (hence the "White") and sloped for extra good drainage. It was cold fermented in stainless steel down to a third of a percent residual sugar and so is dry ala Alsace. Bottled in early February, 2011 it has already received a Gold Medal at the San Diego International Wine Competition. Only 411 cases were bottled so don't wait, don't hesitate to open your bottle and order some more while the getting is good.

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Contact Information

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phone: 1-800-275-8138

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Save 25%	Remember, Vintage Wine Club members always enjoy a full 25% discount on all of our wines purchased at or through our friendly Los Olivos Tasting Room at 2939 Grand Avenue. We're open every day from 11-6. Will Call orders can be picked up at any time to save on shipping charges. Complimentary tasting for a member and up to three guests is included automatically in your membership as well.
Offer Expires: Never, as long as you're a member!