Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Well the new year has started and thoughts of harvest for 2011 have already begun. Focus to the vineyard- pruning, discing, tying- assessing what happened last year to do what is needed to bring the vineyard to it's best potential this year. Last harvest fruit was not taken from the Tres Palmeras vineyard-a hard decision to make for me. But some years warrant that action and from what I saw this year for grapes overall, a few more vineyards might have been better off left behind as well. A tough year....

Assessing the wines and how processes worked to produce those wines is also happening so that any changes can be started now. Last harvest brought a lot of challenges- molds, less than mature grapes, sunburn- things that I see, just not in the magnitude that I had this last harvest. So being ready for these situations is always warranted- though I hope not to see this happen for at least another 20 years!

This year Coral Mustang Wines will begin a wine club- yea!!!! Stay tuned to see updates on the website as well as an upcoming e-newsletter. Update on the tasting room- open by appointment only for the winter- let me know if you are in the area and would like to taste. Or if up you are willing to go just a short 30 minutes North, you can visit the winery. Either way give me a shout or an email.

In a tribute to Tres Palmeras, I would like to re-share a clip from a previous harvest - I hope you enjoy it and on with the new year 2011! 

July and the Vines are Growing Like Weeds

Wow, last month was a busy one with all of the events going on. Things have come back to a more sane level now, maybe too sane!

Looking at Tres Palmeras has been interesting- lots of growth, but not many clusters. Instead od two clusters per shoot, there is only one and many of those have 'shot berries' that will not become full fledged grape berries. Mother nature at her best-she is calling all of the shots. The verdict is still out on how the fruit will be since we are about two weeks behind. My take on the lack of clusters is that we had a greater than average amount of rain and the vines didn't have to go into survival mode and push out a lot of clusters- trying to look into the 'brain' of a grapevine............

The tasting room has been slow- I am definitely feeling the ravages of the economic downturn. But like most of us in the wine biz, just hunkering down and hoping that an upturn will happen sooner than later. I am determined to be one of the survivors!

I am having a chance to get away and regenerate. Currently I am in Hat Creek, California attempting to get in some flyfishing- truly a love of mine- being out with nature in it's splendor.

This will end at the end of this week, then it is back to bottling and harvest prep. So far looking like a good year for harvest with my day job at Rack and Riddle. Some new wines coming in and new grapes from the vineyards that surround the facility.

I hope some of you made it to the TAPAS Grand tasting last month- I did meet a few of you- what a great event. Hopefully we will be able to have more of these events in other areas of the US- Let everyone know that Tempranillo from the US ROCKS!!!

More when I return from fishing, Cheers to good food, good wine and good friends!

It's Spring and Budbreak!

It is hard to believe how quickly time goes by. I am just cleaning up from the last harvest finishing up wines to put to bed in barrels or get ready for bottling. And now I feel the push for the new years harvest.

The Tres Palmeras vineyard was finished with pruning about a month ago. Now budbreak is upon us! The weather has been pretty cool up until a couple of days ago, but the vines are ready. The hand wringing has begun as any hint of frost will send us out into the vineyard in the early morning hours to save the buds which are the grapes for the upcoming harvest.

It is beautiful here- the wildflowers, the blue sky, green hills- breathtaking! This is also the time of the year to get out to some wonderful events to show off the fruits of my labor. I just returned from the Family Winemakers of California event in San Diego and there are more events to come which I will post on my website www.coralmustang.com and the Coral Mustang Facebook fan page.

Don't forget, if you are in the Healdsburg area, stop by the tasting room at 118 North St. - In Vino Veritas. I spend most Saturdays there and would love to share a glass of Tempranillo with you!

Off to the cellar, The Mustang Winemaker, Penny

Taking a Breath! Harvest is not Over Yet,,,,,,,,

Going non stop since August 8 and there are still more grapes to go! All of the 'sparkling' grapes are in as well as most of the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. Some of that still trickling in. Now waiting for the rest of the reds, like Cabernet, to come in. It has been an odd harvest- there is always a little lull in between the rush of the early grapes transitioning to the later reds- this year has been a big break!

Last week was the third harvesting of the Tres Palmeras vineyard- it is great to bring in the fruit that you have labored over the past year. The crop was very light due to the drought, but the flavors are incredible. It is fermenting away and will be pressed in about four days from now. Barrels are ready- time to start thinking about what will be ready to bottle.......

The break in the action allowed me to show my wines at the Monterey Wine Festival . I was able to share a table with friend and fellow Winemaker Gabriella Gazzano with Rielle wines which allowed me a few moments to view the incredible seahorse exhibit within the Monterey Aquarium . What a moving exhibit! I could have easily spent hours watching these creatures. The Wine Fest was a good one this year having moved the second day to the Hyatt- much nicer and more comfortable venue than the Fairgrounds. It was great to see some of you out there!

The grapes are calling- the 'second' round of grapes is que'ing up rapidly- about 120 tons today!

The Mustang Winemaker, Penny

The Fast and the Furious Harvest

I am totally immersed in harvest - the grapes keep a comin' and I keep a pressin'. The past month of harvest has been primarily grapes for Sparkling wine and we are just beginning to see some of the 'Still' wine grapes, like Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc start to trickle in. For those of us that make bubbly, harvest starts about one month ahead of those that do more of the still. Since the winery I work with does both, it makes for a very long harvest- about 2 1/2 to three months.

Speaking of Sparkling wine, my dayjob with Rack and Riddle has partnered up with CrushPad to make bubbly- whoohooo! When they were here with their first load of grapes they did a video interview with me about the process - CrushPad Sparkling
This was a fun day with them and am looking forward to working with them on this project.

So far the grapes are looking pretty good. Yields are down from what was anticipated due to the weather patterns of the year. Clusters are undersized or have shot berries for some varietals, but quality is good. It is always interesting to me to see how the weather patterns effect the vineyards- rain or heat at critical times of growth can have major effects on the grapes- specifically at budbreak and bloom. Since not all grapes set bud or bloom at the same time, every varietal is effected differently, sometimes escaping what has effected another varietal. Last year was a good example of this- some vineyards wiped out, others not effected-an extreme example.

I have promised videos of harvest - still working on that. Today I have a bit of a lull between grapes, yeast inoculations, barrels, pumpovers, rackings, and the endless paperwork.........

Cheers, the Mustang Winemaker, Penny

Let the Harvest Begin!

Pinot Noir for Sparkling wine started coming in last week- yippeee! The smells of the grapes and the juice from the press is magical- I really don't know how to explain it. What I have seen so far are very small berries and a fair amount of shatter. This is when the blooms to do not create berries, creating a cluster that does not have all of its grapes. I will talk more about shatter later with pictures. It is early yet to see what all varieties will bring us as far as crop load.

Yesterday the bird netting went up in the Tres Palmeras vineyard. The birds are starting to come in droves and without some protection on the vineyard they can take a substantial amount of fruit. I don't mind sharing the fruit, but the birds don't take the berries, they tend to pierce them. The juice of the berries then get bacteria and mold and create a problem to the whole cluster.

I do want to 'document' this harvest and have my phone set up to be able to blog and send pics-wish me luck with my tech skills on this one.

Before I sign off, Today at 6pm, tune into KSAV radio (http://www.ksav.org/) for Wine in Real Time- The Mustang Winemaker will be talking about Coral Mustang and my dayjob with Rack and Riddle Custom Wine Services, and the new tasting room in Healdsburg. I hope you will tune in.
Cheers to a new harvest,
The Mustang Winemaker

It's April....

It is April- the month for wierd weather. First it was cold and rainy, then dry, cold and windy, now it is sunny and 90F. Later in the week it is going to be cold and rainy again. The rain will be good, hopefully it will not be too cold.

The vineyards are growing like weeds- fast and furious. This time of the year it is amazing to watch- you can actually see them change and the shoots get longer throughout the day. So far the vineyards are looking great- nice even growth. Soon the flower buds will become more pronounced and bloom, it is just around the corner!

This is the time of the year that there are many events being planned. Friday I will be at the Google Complex in the South Bay and next month Cigar BQ in Santa Rosa.

Also next month I hope to be in a new tasting room in Healdsburg, though the ABC is saying that they will not have my paperwork done by then..........will keep you up to date on that. Gotta love the permit process.

Well gotta get back to the wines- more bottling tomorrow!

More Harvest 2008

Good Morning- another day of harvest! Harvest started for me on Aug 8th- so if I am sounding a little weary, you would be correct.

This is a tough time- trying to keep track of all of the wines that are fermenting, finished fermenting, need to go to barrel, racking, ML inoculations, as well as more grapes coming in that need to be processed and begin their life change to wine.

It is also evaluation time for those wines that have completed their journey, specifically the ones that will become sparkling wines. Blending is already taking place for these wines as well. I have to say so far these wines are turning out well- good year for sparklers.


The cool weather has created a lull in the amount of grapes coming in, but I know that the next rush is coming, especially if the days warm up. Right now, the grapes are enjoying the perfect weather to bring about real maturity. But they are also on the edge of being tapped for energy for the season. Leaves are starting to drop signaling that the season is coming to a close- not full on yet, again due to the weather.

Back to the winery- Cheers,
The Mustang Winemaker