After a very wet December, January turned out to be a drying out period. This gave many growers the opportunity to get into their vineyards and complete pruning.
At the winery, bottling took off again, and our 2010 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc was bottled for a March release. As winemaker Evelyn White pointed out in our latest blog –“Conversations with Evelyn”– winter months are not the drowsy time many imagine. Rather, the time is well used cleaning everything, topping barrels, maintain machinery – keeping the place in shape.
February’s big event is the release of our 2010 Sonoma County Rose of Pinot Noir. Over the past several years this has become a staff and local favorite, and we have quickly sold out each vintage. We made a bit more of the wine in 2010, and we will release it on Valentine’s Day weekend, starting Saturday, February 12th. Join us at the Tasting Room, where we will pair the wine with some appropriate goodies.
We also look forward to Saturday, January 19th, where we will pour our award winning 2008 Russian River Valley Chardonnay Garagistes, 2008 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir, and the 2009 Russian River Valley Chardonnay at the San Francisco Chronicle’s American Wine Competition Tasting at Fort Mason in San Francisco.
The year is off to a good start, as Laurie and Clayton continue to grow our retail and restaurant accounts list. We hope to continue expanding our in house sales, and will keep you posted as new events unfold.
We’ve begun preparations for Next month’s Russian River Wine Road’s Annual Barrel Tasting (March 4th && 5th, 11th && 12th). In the meantime, we are enjoying the opportunity to greet visitors and share with them our family of wines; including our newest members – 2010 Russian River Valley Pinot Gris and 2010 Sonoma Count y Pinot Noir.
Come join us.
Cheers,
Mike Tierney
President, Taft Street Winery