Gung Hay Fat Choy!  This Chinese New Years greeting literally means "Best Wishes and Congratulations, May prosperity be with you!"  I think this is a very positive message in these uncertain times and I would like to extend this greeting to all of you!   I hope this note finds you all in good health and a positive frame of mind.   
 
The New Year has started off with a flurry of activity for Bumgarner Wines.  The new account placements keep adding up and include some very high profile restaurants and retailers.  Bumgarner Wines is also now an internationally known and distributed wine brand.  The 2005 vintage is over half gone now thanks in part to all of you! 
 
Final preparations are being made to bottle the 2006 vintage.  I anticipated it would be bottled by now but we had some scheduling problems due to construction being completed at ParaVi.  The bottling should be done in a couple weeks and a release event will be in the planning stages soon. 
 
I am just returning from a two week sales trip to Hong Kong where Bumgarner Wine made its international debut.  The wine was placed in some of the finest restaurants and hotels in Hong Kong and Kowloon including the W Hotel,  The Intercontinental, The Grand Hyatt, and Bo Innovations (the only two star Michelin restaurant in Hong Kong).  What an amazing city!  This town is ultra modern and very wine savvy.  They have been drinking French and Italian wines for decades and more recently wines from Down Under but US wines have been hard to find except for a few very large well known brands. 
 
As many of you know I have been involved in wine sales in addition to wine making for the last fifteen years.  I recently became a partner in a new wine distribution company called California Grapes Int'l that is importing and distributing California wines into Hong Kong and then to other markets in Asia.  With the US economy and domestic sales slowing we have a great and timely opportunity in bringing California wines to this market.
 
Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to seeing you at our next event.
 
Brian & Jennifer Bumgarner