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

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

Tango in the Vineyards- it is Spring!

It is Spring in Sonoma County and the vines are looking great. It is on these beautiful days that I have to keep in mind that it is early in the season, meaning we could still encounter frost. Or there could be rain at bloom. Or...................Mother Nature still has the upper hand! Right now, my partner/Husband/Vineyard Manager is out walking the Tres Palmeras vineyard (Coral Mustang's home Vineyard). I am hoping to get fruit off of this small vineyard this year, so close attention will be paid to making sure this vineyard's first year is a good one.

With Spring comes taxes and I am working to get them finished before I am off on a business trip to Europe on the 14th- no Easter break for me! Hopefully 'Uncle Sam' will be kind this year.

On a brighter note- Steven Tolliver sent a comment/question to my last post (please see comments on Competitions, Good or Bad). He has a lot of knowledge when it comes to Tempranillo and a blog by that name as well (see-www.manfatta.com/wineblog/). Glad you found my musings Steven and I look forward to hearing from you again.

The TurboTax program is calling my name- The Mustang Winemaker- Cheers!

Week Number Two for Coral Mustang

Things seem to be running well for the blog, next will be a link to my website! Comments are welcome.

News on the wine front: The weather has been very cold here in Sonoma County-good for the grapes, not so great for the humans. The vines are in deep, deep sleep, waiting for the longer days to arrive. The 2006 wines are doing well with the Rose looking like another winner!

Tomorrow is the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento. This is a fun day-meeting up with friends that I get to see maybe once or twice a year due to distance. It is also a chance to see the newest technology............technology and winemaking do not always seem to go together in my mind. I will be attending with some co-workers from my 'day' job at another winery, let off steam and have a beer, or I mean wine, or whatever seems appropriate at the moment.

Well, it's back to the cold cellar-again good for the wine, bad for the humans.............The Mustang Winemaker