Snow Blankets for the Vineyards

It has been a chilly week here. This is a view out my window when there was a short break in the weather. It is snowin' in the hills!

This has also been an exciting week-more awards for the Coral Mustang at the San Francisco Chronicle tasting! I really like this competition because it is one of the few that recognizes the Tempranillo varietal as its own category, meaning it doesn't get lumped with the Misc. reds..............http://www.winejudging.com/ to see the results.

The home vineyard is pruned and ready for the spring thaw- heck, I'm looking forward to the spring thaw. Did get a chance to make it out flyfishing before the snow and cold- no fish, but a great day to think about the wines and the best way to get them out to you. Any and all comments welcome! The biggest battle is with all of the state shipping regs-old news-but ever present on the minds of winemakers-especially those of us that are very small.

I would also like to welcome everyone to sign up for the monthly newsletter. In it is news about Tempranillo, coupon specials, food and wine pairings, and anything else I can squeeze onto a page.

Speaking of news- a couple of articles about Tempranillo in Bon Appetite and Better Homes and Gardens. One was pairing Tempranillo up with a holiday menu, and the other expressing how much they loved Tempranillo. There will be a session at this years Unified Grape and Wine Symposium about Tempranillo and a tasting of Temps from around the world-should be very interesting. I will write more about that after I have attended.

That's all for now-until next week-The Mustang Winemaker, Penny

Into the New Year We Go! Drink More Tempranillo!

Happy New Year All!

Over the last couple of weeks I have had the chance to make some new blog friends, look at changes to the website and see where I need to go to get Coral Mustang out to more of the wine world-it is not easy being small and a producer of a varietal that many don't know yet-but I love being on that forefront-bringing something new and wonderful. Changes to the website should be showing up any day!

You will see some new links off to the right, and down the page will be the latest Wine TV spots-Gary brings a great new perspective on wine-this is truly innovation for the wine and tech world to merge. There was also a great podcast and blog discussion about where wine blogs are going:
http://winecast.net/2007/12/19/unfiltered-7-wine-blogging-today/
http://www.catavino.net/2007/12/12/wine-blogging-in-2007-how-far-have-we-come/
I would love to hear any comments!

So on to winemaking!
The wines are in resting phase at this point-in barrels and waiting for the day that they are ready to be bottled. My wines generally do not go through any fining (example eggwhites), but I always like to keep that option as it is still a natural process-people do this same procedure with soups to clarify them. The direction the wines are going this year, I don't see that they are going to need anything except some time to age. The vineyard here in Sonoma County has seen 5 inches of rain in the past few days- this is a good thing! It has also been cold- another good thing. The vines need the rest-as they are in hibernation mode they are not using much energy to survive, thus leaving the strength for the growing season. And that will be here before you know it.

Please contact me if you would like the latest e-newsletter- it has great information about Coral Mustang Wines as well as wine specials-penelope@coralmustang.com or see the signup area on the website www.coralmustang.com.

Until next week- cheers to the New Year- The Mustang Winemaker

Happy Holidays- Looking ahead

It's that time of the year when many of us in the wine biz are looking ahead to where our business is going- where can we go, what can we do to make stay ahead of the game. One of the areas that I am very focused on is blogging! There are some great blogs out there from wine lovers, winemakers, wine retailers, wineries............what a great way to get info about what we are drinking or not. I am now following several blogs, as can be seen from the side list, and some more that I will be adding. Keep watching- I think I'm getting the hang of this and liking it!

So, the New Year is almost upon us- hard to believe. In a few moments I will be going out to taste the wines from 2007- this will be the last time this year. The 2007 Tres Palmeras is coming along beautifully, very complex- it is a 'field blend' of grapes from my own vineyard. The majority of the blend is Tempranillo with a good smattering of Grenache and Carignane. Then there are little bits of Cab, Merlot, Zin, Petite Sirah- all adding their contribution. There is warm spice, cassis, blackberry, blueberry, some plum, and a hint of dried herb.

The 2007 Vista Creek is all Tempranillo. This wine just finished it's second or malolactic fermentation-just in time for the new year. It is in a bit of a 'dumb' stage as it is trying to get itself together from fermenting. Wine is funny this way-it is always evolving- the trick is finding at what point that evolution has peaked. Hence one of the many challenges in winemaking.

On to the New Year- may you all have a prosperous, wonderful, fulfilling year!
Until Next Week-
Cheers to good food, good friends and good wine- The Mustang Winemaker