NEWSLETTER
Our Second Birthday
February 22, 2006Today we turned two years old! For a moment there I was feeling like a grizzled wine industry veteran… then it occurred to me that we really haven't been at this all that long. As always, I feel like there are ten million things that we should be doing and just enough people to keep our collective head above water. So, here's how we're celebrating our second birthday:
Jenny Just Submitted Her 100 th Label
Stop the presses! Actually, don't… we've got bottling to do. But I just got word that our creative director, Jenny Doll, has submitted her 100 th label for approval. She probably designed 85 of those from scratch in the past year. She doesn't sleep and often forgets to eat, but I think she's done a phenomenal amount of great work and I know she wouldn't trade this experience for anything.
2006 Allocations are Underway
This is our third harvest and we've got our strongest lineup yet. We've added more great syrah, cab and pinot to the sources and are still in the process of pulling in a few more vineyards. But, like last year, the smallest allocation vineyards go first. If you're interested in making wine in 2006, please contact Dave Gifford ( dave@crushpadwine.com ) or me ( michael@crushpadwine.com ) and we'll get you going.
Crushpad Commerce Goes Live
From the beginning, we knew that there were many folks that wanted to create their own small wine brands. For some, it was just a way to do something with 25 cases of wine. Others wanted a “hobby with benefits.” Still others had the commitment to build a business out of wine. To address this, we created Crushpad Commerce – a service that removes all of the insane regulatory, logistics and financial complexity of managing a wine brand. It took us longer than we thought, but we're now bringing on our first live customers and things look promising. If you're thinking of “going pro,” please drop me an email or call me at 415-902-7097 and I can walk you through the process.
2005 Samples Going Out
If you've not stopped by or requested samples, we will be sending out samples of the 2005 vintage by the first week in March. Almost all of the wines are now through malolactic fermentation and are in their correct barrel (the demand for zebra barrels was huge and it took us time to get them all made). For those of you planning to blend, we will be assembling our new “Blending Kits” over the next several weeks. You'll be able to do your blending here or, if you can't get to San Francisco, wherever you live!
Crushpad Customer Mash Up – March 25th
OK, so it's not really called a Mash Up, but we don't know what to call it yet. On March 25 th , from 3-6ish, we are inviting all customers (2004, 2005 and 2006) to Crushpad to taste their wines, others' wines and to generally have a good time. This is a great opportunity for you to taste a number of wines side-by-side and see the impact of winemaking decisions. We will organize sections by vineyard/varietal, but you're free to wander around and taste anything you want. Please RSVP to dave@crushpadwine.com so we know which wines to pull. Note that this is not our public Open House which will be held in June, but definitely bring a friend along.
Crushpad Vineyard Caravan Starts Up in May
We've heard from many of you that you'd like to start getting more involved with your wine before harvest. One of the best ways is to come with us on vineyard visits. There's not much happening now, but beginning in May it starts to get interesting. If you're interested in being updated on what vineyard visits are when, Dave is maintaining the list, so please send an email to him at dave@crushpadwine.com and he will give you an update as we get closer.
Crushnet - разработка идет хорошо
I'm told that means “the project is going well” in Russian. Why Russian? Well, we've decided that our next generation of MyCrushpad (now called Crushnet) needed a more modern Internet feel and a lot more functionality and so we've decided to work with a new firm that is located in Russia. They have a huge amount of Internet application development experience and things are going well. A couple of weeks ago I had one of those “world is getting smaller” moments when I was emailing a customer in Europe while participating in a Skype teleconference between the Russian developers and our designer in the Philippines. In any case, it looks like we'll be ready for the first beta testing in April and a rollout in May/June.
See Us at Rhone Rangers
The 9 th annual Rhone Rangers tasting is at Fort Mason in San Francisco on Saturday, March 18 th . Check out www.rhonerangerevents.org/sf/ . We'll be pouring a gaggle of 2005 barrel samples as well as a couple of finished 2004s. If you're planning on attending and would be willing to wear a brand new 2006 Crushpad t-shirt (blue), let me know and I'll get you a t-shirt before the show. Or, as always, kick it old school style in a 2004 or 2005 t-shirt.
Check out Vie Winery
Crushpad's largest commercial customer, Vie Winery, is finally ready to release their first wines. Their lineup includes Las Madres Syrah, Beatty Ranch Zinfandel and Last Leg Cuvee (which is a killer blend of zin, syrah and petite sirah they worked up at Crushpad). Their Release Party is on March 1 st at Swig Bar in San Francisco. Check out their site and sign up for the party at www.viewinery.com/party.asp . I'll be there, but don't let that scare you away!
Adopt A Barrel Program Continues
The 2005 Adopt A Barrel program has been very successful and we're down to a few cab barrels. We still have an excellent selection of syrah and Rhone whites though. If you missed 2005 and don't want to wait a whole year, check out Adopt A Barrel.
There's a lot more, but I'm trying your patience so we'll wait until next month.
...Michael