MCV FARM NEWS - 8.1.09 - Spoiler Alert...

Hey ya'll,

       Well, I apologize for my recent weeks of silence.  In any event lots of things have transpired since my last email.  The vineyard is in full swing.  Jim and the guys have been doing a great job of managing the canopy.  One thing is "for true"... the yields will be quite small this year.  One of the benefits of having a large vineyard is that we have lots of vines which yield fruit.  On a typical year we sell fruit to other local growers.  On a year such as this we either don't sell or reduce the quantity that we do sell.
      This year we will only be selling a small amount of fruit, so we will be able to meet our needs in the winery.  Quality is a question and concern of many people I speak with this year.  To be quite frank mother nature has been....hmm...how can I say this...a bit challenging is a nice way to describe her behavior.  However, as of late we have been quite sunny and warm.  Sure, we have been getting rain, but this has been occurring at night maximizing sun during the day.  
     Because the yields are so small the vine will have less fruit to ripen.  So, even though it has been a cooler year historically speaking the yields in the vineyard are quite low.  I am hopeful that this will balance out in the long run.  We have a lot of hang time left and I am hopeful that we will see this year turn around. 
     The winery has been busy churning out bottles of the 2007 reds.  These babies are going to be nice.  Spoiler alert...these wines are AwEsOmE!  The combination of sexxy new packaging and great wine will be sure to have people talking about Martha Clara.  I am quite excited to have these wines hit the market.  These will be the first red wines that I have created fully as a head winemaker!  These are the nicest wines that I have been involved with in all of my years in the industry.  I know there has been much abuzz about the 2007 and 2008 whites, well the 2007 reds will follow that trend when they are released!  I cannot wait!
     That's the news for now... Talk with ya'll later!

      Cheers,

         - Juan.