It is Wine Event time of the Year!

The vineyards are growing strong, the wines are resting in barrel, taxes are done, summer is nearly here- now it is time for wine tasting events. Next month there are a few that I will be attending:

TAPAS Grand Tasting - June 5 at the Herbst Pavilion in Ft Mason-The consumer tasting will run from 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. Consumer tickets are available at tapas2010.eventbrite.com . The most extensive annual tasting of domestically produced Spanish and Portuguese varietal wines in North America along with great food- can you say Paella?

The Monterey Wine Festival - a multi day event June 11-12 in Monterey. There is a great evening event in the Aquarium- giving you a great chance to see the Seahorse exhibit!

CigarBQ - June 19th at the SaraLee vineyard in Santa Rosa. This benefits the YWCA of Sonoma County- a fun event whether you are into cigars or just tasting wines along with some great food vendors from the area.

A busy month, but a fun break from the winery and a chance to share the fruits of our labors.

Back to wine talk- the vineyards are looking pretty good considering there have been below average day and night time temps, but above average rain. The real effects of the temperature and the rain will be better viewed next month when we can see the fruit coming on. We are also dealing with the Grape Moth quarantines taking place in Sonoma, Mendocino, Napa counties. It has not made its way to the Tres Palmeras Vineyard, but the line is not far away. Big debates on how best to deal with this critter, especially for the organic vineyards which are becoming more prevalent. This really brings home the effects of bringing in plants, animals, insects, etc. that are not indigenous to an area and how quickly they can take over when their natural inhibitors are not present.

I hope to see some of you next month- or if you are in Healdsburg, stop by the tasting room- In Vino Veritas- and taste some wine and if I am not at an event I will be there as well!

The Mustang Winemaker, Penelope

Is it really Spring??

It's April and it's cold here- below average cold. We even had snow a couple of days ago. This is not good for the tender shoots that have appeared in the vineyards. There is an interesting dichotomy of discussion about the vineyard vs weather- one branch that is worried and wringing their hands and the other that accepts that Mother Nature always has the upper hand and there isn't a lot that can be done so why wring your hands. Farming is hard and a livelihood for many and you do what you can, but ultimately there are things that cannot be controlled, like the weather. I talked with one vineyard owner that had snow on his porch, but none in his vineyard a few yards away- this is how weird the weather has been the last week. We won't know what damage there may be until the weather clears up which the National Weather Service is predicting is at least a week away............

In the meantime there are wines in the cellar waiting for bottling and wine to sell- plenty to do! And of course, events to attend. Some great events are coming up at Angel Island in the SF Bay, The Monterey Bay Aquarium event, and a couple of wine and food events in San Diego- never a dull moment and fun for me to be able to share my wines and hopefully pick up an account or two that want to have my wines in their establishments. You can check out my events on my Facebook Coral Mustang Fan page- I hope to see some of you out there.

Selling wine this year has been a challenge- lots of wine out there and good wine. But tightening of the pocketbooks are keeping sales down. But I am seeing more requests for Tempranillo and an acceptance in general of varietals that may not be mainstream- variety is the spice of life! Why only drink the usual suspects when you can have something new and exciting especially in this trying time.

Well, tax prep is waiting for me........the Mustang Winemaker, Penny

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