Morning Ya'll,
A cold morning it is. I cannot believe it is Friday. I have been busy this week between checking things out in the vineyard and winery. This week we received our Stelvin caps. "Stel" or Stelvin is the winemaker/geek way of saying, "screwcap". Stelvin more specifically names the company that developed the technology. We do this often in language with things like Kleenex and Band-Aid. These more specifically name a brand rather than the product itself. However, these become so synonymous with the product that we call all brands by such names.
A year ago when I was looking into screw cap's they were only two companies that were producing. While cork suppliers are a dime a dozen, screw cap suppliers were few. While at Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento I noted several new producers.
The guys in the vineyard are cruising along with pruning. They are finished with the white grape varieties and have finished all of the Merlot. They still have Cab. Franc, Cab. Sauv, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Pinot Noir, and Syrah to complete. Our crew has some pretty serious arctic gear when they are in the vineyard, but when temperatures dip below 25 degrees with serious wind chill factors they do not work. I will say it many times...As a winemaker we often receive all of the credit, but any winemaker is only as good as the guys in the vineyard.
- Juan.
