Packed Weekend

It is Sunday evening - Frank and I are finally sitting- on the deck Mojito in hand. Yesterday was CigarBQ and it was hot - damn hot! Even the red wines were in the cooler and it was hot enough to wonder if there was any wine worth drinking without an ice cube.........wish I would have brought my plastic cubes that I keep in the freezer just for days like that.

Thank you! to our friend Blaine for taking the photo- a fellow Tempranillo fan that is getting ready to plant some vines in the Russian River that could one day end up in our RRV appellation wines.

Today is another scorcher- >100F in some spots. I had a tasting room meeting earlier today and one of the winery owners vineyard sensors were lighting up his phone like fire alarms. Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler-let's hope so. The Tempranillo vines in Tres Palmeras vineyard are days away from bloom-hopefully they are not getting fried! It did reach 98F here.......

Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend and I will be off with the family, though still near a computer! The following weekend my 30 day wait for my tasting room license will be done and a license issued-then let the tasting room fun begin. The weekend after that will be Taste of Alexander Valley- I will have some wine from my Tres Palmeras vineyard there-futures anyone? The following week is the TAPAS grand tasting- I am lining up volunteers-so far have about 12 - let me know if you would be interested and I will be getting the coordination of tasks going!

Cheers and I hope to see in the tasting room soon- the Mustang Winemaker

Tasting Room Opening this Month

This is an exciting time for me- something I really wasn't sure would become reality....my wine in a tasting room!

The New tasting Room is on 118 North Street in Healdsburg, California - Vino Veritas. For those of you that know Healdsburg it is across the street from the Raven theatre. There are six of us sharing this space with myself being the only Tempranillo and the only Tempranillo Rose' in the house. There is great artwork on the walls by the man, Ken Schilling, that started this venture by getting the investors needed, getting the permits, and working to make the space 'livable'.

The other wineries are Kelly-Young, Hook and Ladder, Milano, Marcucci, and Kenneth Schilling. Nice cross section of varietals and styles-something for everyone. Will have to start thinking about bringing in some bubbly-about the only thing we are lacking at the moment!

On the Coral Mustang front- this coming weekend Coral Mustang will be at CigarBQ. Then next month is the second annual TAPAS event- in between will be grand opening of the tasting room.

Hope I will see some of you at these great events!
The Mustang Winemaker

Two More Inches of Rain=Happy Grapevines

We have had a nice bit of rain here in Sonoma County-actually saw the Russian River rise and it was muddy. Even with the rainfall, here in Cloverdale we are on water rationing and making decisions on the water regimen for the vineyards as well as ourselves-very short showers these days! Check out my weather station data for rainfall udpates- Palomino Lakes/Tres Palmeras Vineyard

Aside from the weather I attended a great event at the Sonoma Mission Inn supporting the YWCA -what a great event-Women, Wine, and Cheese benifits the YWCA women's shelter and features women winemakers and cheesemakers. An auction lot of wines made by the winemakers there landed $4,000 - not bad!

There is another Benefit coming up May 16 - Cigar BQ -always a great event whether you are into cigars or not- great wines, great foods, and it all goes to charity- what a great mix!

Not much to report on the wines- they have all finished with their '2nd' or malolactic fermentation and are resting peacefully in barrels.

Pending licensing, the tasting room is a go! I and 4 other wineries have joined together to have a tasting room in Healdsburg- Yippeee! The room is across from the Raven theatre - 118 North St.
Will be having a Grand Opening the first part of June- but will be open for some limited tasting beginning this weekend.

Well, the cellar is calling-
Cheers from the Mustang Winemaker