Note From Jo ~

Spring ~

It brings grapevines to life, lures slumbering animals from the hills and infects sports enthusiasts with round ball fever. Baseball caps come out of the closet, and suddenly cute little girls selling cookies seem to be everywhere.  I dream about Thin Mints! I have even calculated how many additional miles I must jog to “work off” the calories from eating those gems.  My Labrador hides from me when I come home in the early evening.  “No, not another run,” I can almost hear the dog groaning.  “Take those cookies away from her!  But wait…I do like it when she takes me running into the vineyards…”

Spring is synonymous with budbreak in the valley.  Tiny bits of leaves (buds) soften the stark nakedness of the pruned vines. Our vineyards are turning green as the ground is drying out from winter rains, beckoning us outside to take leisurely strolls on the winery property.  Dancing yellow mustard blossoms bloom between the rows of vines in the meticulously pruned vineyards, creating a billowy yellow blanket. Add the vivid orange California poppies and dainty purple lupine to the landscape, and you’ll have to agree that the migrating geese overhead have the ultimate view.

One day Mother Nature may gently toss an 80-degree afternoon our way, while subsequent days might have us scrambling for jackets, gloves or even raingear.  Mid- to late April can still bring periodic threats of frost, and the droning sounds of wind machines disturb the slumber of everyone within earshot on those chilly nights and early mornings.  No need for an alarm clock.

Speaking of chilliness, our recent trip to the Midwest was not accompanied by the chilly weather I had anticipated. In fact, despite the internet “prediction” of a 60% chance of rain on Friday, April 18, the day was actually awesome (so much so that a quick trip to a large retail store on State Street was required to purchase “warm weather” attire). Temperatures were in the 70s as we enjoyed the bright spring sunshine at Wrigley field, watching the Cubbies win.

Wine club members had an enjoyable time at dinner at the Park Grill in Millennium Park.  As I noted in my opening remarks before dinner, Elena Franceschi (our assistant winemaker) and I took full credit for bringing the warm California temperatures with us.  We declined, however, to accept blame for the California-style earthquake that struck at 4:37 a.m. that morning! The evening ended with a leisurely stroll back to our hotels under clear skies with a full moon shining above the “Bean”.

Our next wine club event will be held here at the winery.  We’re excited to offer an interactive – and very entertaining – seminar conducted by Tim Hanni on the effects that specific foods/flavors have on your wine. Flavors of sweet, sour, bitter, salty and “umami” play off the various wine flavors, either enhancing or destroying the taste of the wine.  And yes, you can drink red wine with chicken and fish!  Lunch will follow the seminar.  Mark your calendars for Saturday, July 26, 2008.

Cheers,

Jo Dayoan
Wine Club Coordinator