The last of the Tempranillo is in!

It is a great feeling having all of my grapes off the vine. The last 4 tons is in from my newest vineyard that still has yet to be named- any ideas out there? It tastes good- has been destemmed, crushed and it now soaking away. Tomorrow is the big inoculation day - freedom day for the yeast! I am using a strain called T73- made to work with Tempranillo. Helps to keep down some of the smoky component and brings out the nice blueberry, blackberry that I like in Tempranillo.

This is my second full day away from the winery- yes, I am on the road- in Monterey to be specific- to attent the Monterey Wine Fest. Wasn't sure I was going to make it since harvest is running a little late this year. I work with an incredible team at my day winery- Rack and Riddle Custom Wine Services - so it made getting away a little less stressful. Also technology has made it easy to stay in touch with the team as well as all of our clients.

Though I am still working- I did get a chance to go to a place I love- Monterey Bay and sea otters. Last evening I had a little time before the event. found a bar on the beach, had a specialty martini, and watched the sea otters 'rafting' about in the kelp. Then the scene became more animated as schools of dolphin starting coming back into the bay and the seabirds perched on the floating kelp- I was in heaven! This is my place of worship- the ocean. Sometimes wish I had followed my dream of Marine Biology- then again, how can you beat winemaking- being in the vineyards, the smells of the cellar, and after all has settled, being able to share what you have done with others - very rewarding!

Enough daydreaming and back to sharing wine at the Monterey Wine Fest- hope I see some of you there,

Cheers, the Mustang Winemaker

Tempranillo Hits Unified Wine and Grape Symposium in Sacramento California!

What an exciting time! Tempranillo is making the news in the grape growing world. This was made clear at a seminar that was presented at the Unified Wine and Grape Symposium that takes place on the west coast once a year -http://www.unifiedsymposium.org/ The TAPAS organization was approached (http://www.tapasociety.org/) to organize this seminar and it was very well done. There were several grape growers in the crowd that wanted to know how, when, and where to plant Tempranillo. This is very good news to those of us who love this grape and the wines that come from them.

This was also the time for the annual meeting of the TAPAS organization. New officers were introduced and wines from those in the group were shared. This was a great time for me to acquaint/reacquaint myself with other members and talk about the trials and tribulations of this varietal.

This month you will see some updates to my website which is always sadly neglected during harvest. Please stop by and let me know what you think- http://www.coralmustang.com/
I also want to invite you to the e-newsletter that has wine specials and new recipes that I have fine tuned to go with my wines.

That's all for now- see you all next week- Cheers to good food, good wine, and good friends,
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

Harvest has Ended and the Wines are Incredible!

Back from a very crazy harvest year- construction going on as grapes are being crushed, barrels of wine dodging construction workers- craziness! But I have survived what is shaking out to be an incredible year for wine.

My day job is with a custom crush facility. This means that I got to work with many varietals and from a variety of areas. This was a cool growing season allowing the grapes to mature slowly, but it almost looked like it might be too slow for some cooler growing areas. Mother Nature did bring in enough warm waether, just a little bit of rain to give a little boost in a drought year, and, WOW- grapes at their best! I heard one winemaker say that he thought this might be the best year in the last 30 that he has seen. I can only go back 21 years, but I have to say this is right up there.

So, now that have come up out of the pomice of harvest, I would like to let you know that I have finally composed a newsletter. I will be putting this out monthly and will be attaching some kind of wine special to them. If interested you can signup on the website- www.coralmustang.com

This month's special is 2005 Rose for the holidays- no rolling of eyes- this is the perfect holiday wine! Goes with Turkey for Thanksgiving, then if you are into ham for Christmas- the best pairing.

Well, it is great to be back to the 'real' world.
Until next week- Cheers- the Mustang Winemaker