Happy New Year! and 1st Post of the Year!

It has begun - 2009! And I can feel it in my bones, even with the economic outlook, I know it will be a good and exciting year.

I have learned a lot this past year with a new winery working as the winemaker as well as progress with my own brand. Talks will begin on the possibility of a shared tasting room, wine club to begin soon and a new website will be up by the end of the day. Now it is time to put what I've learned into place. But keeping up with sales and marketing and advances in winemaking techniques is a never ending process. What I put into place will need to be updated on much more regular basis-not impossible, but will be a priority. Websites like Catavino
and Open Wine Consortium have been great sources - I can't thank them enough.

The holiday has given me the chance to get back to my kitchen, my source of relaxation. Lamb roast with mustard paired with a Norman Zin, Filet Mignon with a Jordan Cab, Paella with my Temp......heaven! One day was spent going out to Tomales Bay to Cowgirl Creamery for cheese and fresh bread then onto Hog Island Oyster for fresh kumi's and sweetwaters - take all of this to the beach- YES!
Tonight is rack of lamb with a blackberry and mustard glaze, sauteed green beans with grape tomatoes and feta. I am thinking about a Tempranillo from Baja Mexico to have with it - Valmar.

My reflections on the past are generally short as I am always moving forward - learn from it and move on - so here's cheers for the new year to all!

The Mustang Winemaker

Harvest, Harvest, and more Harvest

I am five weeks into harvest and it looks like the next big rush of grapes is about to begin. Since I work with sparkling wine as well as still, it can result in a very long harvest and usually in two big groups. First is the Pinot noir for Sparkling, then Chardonnay. Short lull, then some Sauvignon blanc, Pinot noir, and smatterings of Chardonnay for still wine. Now the rush is beginning for Zin, Cabernet, some Petite sirah, and some other fun grapes that are going to be new to me this year like Orange Muscat. I love the wine from this grape, but this will be the first time I will ge to work with it. One of the great things about working in a Custom crush winery-lots of new experiences!

Saturday I will be picking my Tres Palmeras vineyard- I will be sure to take pics, especially since I was not able to with the Paso Robles grapes. By the way, these grapes are perking along quite well-which I could share the smells, one of the many things that makes harvest special.

And it is not just the fermentations; it is the smell of the earth early in the morning in the vineyards, the smell of the grapes in the bins, the tractors, and just the smell of Fall- hard to explain unless you have done it or are in it. This is the romance part that gets the press over what it really takes to make wine. But it is also the part that keeps me from remembering how much hard work it takes to make a bottle of wine-

It's 6:30a, time to get back to the winery,
Cheers from the Mustang Winemaker

Tempranillo Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the first day of the Mustang Winemakers grapes! Keep your eyes open along the 101 from Paso Robles to Hopland for the white half ton bins with the seahorses on them-you will see my esposo driving the grapes the 5-6 hour drive up.

I will take pics and post them over the weekend. Then the real fun begins- crush and destem to a stainless steel tank. Then cold soak for a couple of days. Next is the yeast - T73 a Valencia strain that works nicely for me. A week of great smelling fermentation. When finished the juice will be drained and the skins press lightly to about 1.2 bar depending on the taste and mouthfeel.

So, let the games begin!
The Mustang Winemaker- happy, happy, happy

2008 Harvest Update- Coral Mustang and More

Well, it seems like forever since I blogged!
Just got in from another day of harvest with my day job at Rack and Riddle. So far things are going well. Crop is light, but the fruit coming in looks good.

Friday will be my second harvest of my own grapes at R&R- yippee! Vista Creek Vineyards grapes clocked in at 23.5 this last weekend, so Friday I am calling them in. This is always an exciting time for me- a new vintage. Even though I have worked with this vineyard for almost 5 years now, it is like a new start every year.

I hope to bring in a Russian River vineyard the following week- a new vineyard for me that I have been watching for four years and patiently waiting for. My own Tres Palmeras vineyard should be ready next week as well. This will be the third year that I have gotten these grapes and this looks like it will be a good one.

I will be trying out some new barrels on this vintage-experimentation is good. Since I am working with several clients I have had the opportunity to try some barrels that I might not otherwise have been able to try out. Nice when you can see how they work on other wines before you try them on your own!

I have gotten a little time to do some phone video'ing and when I learn what I need to do to download them, I will be posting them- hopefully this weekend.

The weather has been perfect for the grapes- a few HOT days thrown in, which gets everyone moving wondering if the vines that go into shutdown during those hot days will recover. With the drought conditions, this can be real concern. A lot of watering going on.

Time to get some shuteye- 5a comes early,
The Mustang Winemaker, Penny

I Spy Wine!

Yippeeee! Coral Mustang has been spied by the Wine Spies http://thewinespies.com/
You need to check them out-a new wine everyday-found or discovered stealthily by the Agents. Their mission, should they agree to take it, is to find great wines that are not 'mainstream' and bring them to you along with great information about the wine.

This is a busy time of the year- grapes are growing and events are fermenting. The Mustang Winemaker will be seen at :

COPIA- Aug8/9, 2008 for Grapes indigenous to Spain- - -Grown into Wines in the USA- - -Informative Seminars, Featuring a Walk-around Winetasting August 8/9, 1:00 – 4:30 pm
http://www.tapasociety.org/

Family Winemakers of California 18th Annual Tasting
Sunday, August 24, and Monday, August 25
Festival Pavilion
Fort Mason Center, San Francisco

The event at COPIA will be all about Iberian varietals-tasting included. This will be a fun and educational weekend, put this one on your calendar!

Family Winemakers is a great organization for small wineries like myself. They spend much time working on legislation that help wineries and growers. They never rest! This event features many wineries and the chance to taste a variety of wine in one place. Please stop by and say hello!

Well, off to the wines- stay tuned- a video on disgorging sparkling wine is in the works-Cheers

Wine and Taxes

It's tax time! Personal and business, fed and state-"the horror, the horror".......
Like wine it is vintage dated and brings it own challenges. And like wine you remember the good years and the not so good. So far this year has been good on both fronts. I just finished last night and now am recuperating from crunching numbers and no sunshine. Amazing how quickly the body deteriorates within a short amount of time.

So, today I am making up for lost time- checking out the vineyard and the garden and cooking. Tomorrow I will be taking time with the wines-make sure that no barrel has missed my presence. There has not been a lot to do in the cellar this past month. The rest of this month will be tasting all the barrels to start making decisions on blends that will be bottled in late May. Along with getting ready to bottle is gathering all the supples, making any label changes, getting approvals. No rest for the weary is definitely taking hold.

It is crazy to see how fast the vineyard has grown in my absence! It seems like yesterday that I was reporting that the vineyard had just burst its buds. Now the Tempranillo has 12+ inch shoots. We had some very cold days last week, but it looks like all was spared- it's good to be on a hillside, all cold rolls downhill! So far so good. But we could still use a little more rain-keeping my fingers crossed....

Today is absolutely beautiful and warm out. I have the laptop outside typing this, a chicken on the barbeque rotisserie, an iced coffee made from home roast beans, and a bottle of Tempranillo Rose' in the frig- ahhh, another tax vintage over!

Cheers, 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

Tempranillo and Paella

Well, the wine for review on Saturday was corked! Very unfortunate since I was really looking forward to it. Instead I opened up a 2001 Gundlach Bundshu Rhinefarm Tempranillo. This wine was subdued in its aroma. There was some light blueberry aromas with overtones of oak-not heavy handed oak. The wine didn't hold up to the Paella spice and would have been better with a beef dish with herbs. A younger and fruitier wine would have been a better match, but you don't always know until you try it. Then again I could have made the Paella not so spicy..................nahhh! I do recommend trying the G-B Temp- something that they have been producing on a regular basis.

On another note, it is that time of the year again for wine competitions. There is a new competition with a focus on women- Wines Women Want. As a founding member I am giving it a go this year. Then there is the San Francisco Chronicle Tasting coming up about the same time. I always wonder if the awards really mean anything to wine consumers, but it does lend credibility to the wines and those of us that make them. Still waiting for a domestic Tempranillo only competition. Maybe something that another organization I belong to, TAPAS (http://www.tapasociety.org/) may be able to get going one day!

Well, back to the cellar, checking on the wines that are resting after this hectic hectic year-
Cheers to good food, good friends, and good wine- The Mustang Winemaker

Paella and Tempranillo tonight!

It's Saturday! Just finished reading reviews, returning emails, updating Quickbooks, and thinking about what's for dinner. Paella is on the menu and with that a Rioja- a 1996 Reserva- Marques de Murrieta Ygay. This is a blend of Tempranillo, Mazuelo, Garnacha, and Graciano- can't wait to try it. I had picked this up a while back to keep up with wine styles and the competition. Report later.
So far the 2007 wines are looking, tasting, and smelling great. The Tres Palmeras Vineyard Tempranillo blend has finished with it's malolactic (2nd) fermentation and is now waiting in barrel for a pronouncement that it is ready to bottle. That won't be until next year-probably the fall for this wine. Unlike the Vista Creek Vineyard that has a lot more structure to it and will remain in barrel into 2009.
This last week has been exciting- new equipment for the winery I work for- Rack and Riddle. For those that may not know, I work full time for Rack and Riddle and have my own brand as well that I make at Rack and Riddle. What it means is that I get to work with a lot of other brands wines, which is a lot of fun. The equipment is for some sparkling wine that we will be disgorging soon- as soon as it gets hooked up!
Well, my stomach is rumbling thinking about the Paella- time to get started!
Until next week- cheers to good food, good wine and good friends- the Mustang Winemaker

I'm back- Tempranillo Tango is alive!

After a much too long hiatus, I am back! I have just transitioned into a new day job to try and keep Coral Mustang Wines alive. About a month ago now I left J Vineyards and Winery- actually I was replaced- nepotism is alive. First time I've have had this happen to me. My naivete has always led me to believe that hard work and loyalty would be worth something and get one ahead in life............I'm old enough to know that business is business, but my optimism always takes over.

This has been a fortunate turn of events as it made me get out there and see where else I could use my skills. I am now part and partner to a brand new venture! Very exciting- retrofitting an empty warehouse into a working winery- before harvest- this year- in fact in a couple of weeks! So far it is looking good. Press and destemmer are in, floor finished tomorrow, then tanks will arrive. Most of the lab has been set up, then there is the myriad of paperwork- yikes- gotta love the government. This new facility will also allow me to make my own wines on site, which will make my life a lot easier.

With all of that going on, I have just arrived in Paso Robles where the grapes I source for my wines are located. It's a five hour drive from where I live, but this is a great vineyard. I am going to be checking on the sugar levels and taste lots of berries to get a feel for what I'm in for this year.

Also this year I will get a chance to see how my own vineyard grapes will be for wine. So far the fruit is pretty tasty, which is a good start.

Well back to work on paperwork for the new venture-see you next week!

The Mustang Winemaker

Twitter for Tempranillo

Wow, how the world has changed- getting smaller in some ways. It has become so easy to communicate, very exciting stuff! I still remember working in research and how exciting it was to be able to hook your phone receiver to a cradle that then could transmit and share data with another computer............ Here is my newest venture into the Tech world :

follow CoralMustang at http://twitter.com

I have to thank Wine 2.0 and meeting with some people from companies that are trying to use the technology at hand, for bringing me into the world of communication. It will be very interesting to see what this does in the big world of wine.

News Flash- Just received an email from the San Francisco International Wine Competition- Silver for the 2005 Tempranillo to be released August 1, and a Bronze for the 2006 Tempranillo Rose'. It is pretty cool to think that out of all of the wines that are tasted that my wines are getting recognition! Now if I could just get through all the regulatory #*&% for interstate shipping.........

Rose' Season Part 2- and of course,Tempranillo

Well we are well into the season here in California- nice weather! I am running into the notion that Rose' needs to be very young. If it is not 2006 vintage, then it must be too old.

Most of my customers are asking for 2006 vintage, but I have to say that the 2005's, my own included, is tasting absolutely incredible. Part of this may be due to the use of certain varietals that can stand the test of time. I say this as it seems that Rose' made from Pinot seems to tire and turn orange, whereas Grenache, Syrah, and Tempranillo don't. In my opinion some of these even get better! Look at some of the vintages of French Rose' out on the shelves- not many 2006.

And even with all of the press that Rose' seems to be getting, it is still a tough sell. It is too sweet, too dry, only good when it is hot out- still some rough bumps before acceptance of one of the most versatile wine types out there.

So a little plug- I have an incredible 2005 Rose' still for sale(www.coralmustang.com). I have had to release the 2006 and I hope that this time next year I will have a 2007- the verdict is still out on whether it makes sense to continue making what I feel is a great deal for this versatile, yummy wine.

I am a glutton for punishment, I make Tempranillo, which is also a hard sell. But I can feel the excitement that is being generated by those that are looking for something different. The 'tipping point' is coming, I know it. Then again, you need to know that I am the 'eternal optimist'.......................untill next week, cheers to good food, good wine and good friends- the Mustang Winemaker

It's Rose' Season!

The weather is warm here in the Alexander Valley of Sonoma County- actually it is summer desert hot for this time of the year. The warm/hot weather spells the beginning of Rose' drinking! Do I hear a cheer?

This has got to be one of the most versatile wine types, IMHO, but one of the least thought of when perusing the aisles of wine shops. And the notion that there is a season, (late spring and summer) for Rose', well, that's just hogwash (in nice terms). What wine goes with fall and winter dishes like ham, turkey, stews, soups- it's Rose'. One day I know that those who don't know this wine will and will wonder why they didn't give it the credit that it is due.

But enough ranting. I just have to have faith that the word will get out and all of us that love to make and drink this type of wine will make it through another year.

I have missed writing the past couple of weeks due to a business trip to Italy and Portugal. More on that next week- hey, I have to have something to keep you coming back!

Until next week, drink more Rose' (and Tempranillo)!
Cheers from the Mustang Winemaker

Wine Competitions- good or bad

Tis the season for wine competitions- newspapers, fairs, magazines. Making the decision what is the right competition or whether to compete is difficult. And for good reason. You never know what the outcome will be. One taster loves you, the next thinks you are not worthy of mentioning. Then, if you have a varietal that is not mainstream, well, you never know what you are going to be compared to. For example, Tempranillo. The standards are from Spain and even there they are going through a major evolution- so I say standard somewhat loosely. There are not that many of us making Tempranillo yet, so these wines get lumped in as Miscellaneous Red. That can make coming up with a fair evaluation a challenge even for the most experienced of tasters. So, I am challenged- any comments, recommendations- how do you look at competitions?

Take a look at Tempranillo wineries and vineyards @ www.tapasociety.org/ - this is an organization that is growing and gaining some momentum. When I started with this group there was just a handful, now there are four. A recruitment drive is on, so I expect we will see this list grow.

I also wanted to share a couple of sites that are promoting varietals and appellations : www.avawine.com and www.appellationamerica.com - another good source for domestic Tempranillo as well as other fun varietals.

Well, it is time for a glass of wine and watch the rain- Cheers from the Mustang Winemaker