NEWSLETTER

Eventsapalooza

July 30, 2008

This time last month I was starting to get a little bit freaked out about how much fruit we were buying this year (I have a hard time saying no). But as we spend more time in the vineyards as we approach veraison, we're finding that the yields are waaaay down. That's great for wine quality and lowering my overbuying anxiety... but now we're scrambling to pick up some more fruit! We should be fine for the year, but probably won't have too much in the way of adoption barrels. Oh well. While we're preparing ourselves for harvest we've got a few cool events in August...

The Judgment of Paris... In San Francisco
We're celebrating the release of Bottle Shock, the controversial new film about the Paris Wine Tasting of 1976, with an Opening Night Party & Paris Tasting Redux at Crushpad - Wednesday, August 6th at 6:30 pm. We'll be pouring modern day versions of the French and California wines from the original competition - including both winners - for you to vote on. The film's producers will even be here, along with Bo & Heidi Barrett and Gustavo Brambila, who won first place among white wines at the Paris Tasting. We'll cap it all off by hopping on chartered transport for a short trip to the Kabuki Theater to view a private screening of the movie. Tickets for the evening are only $75 per person and theater availability is limited to 150, so order your tickets today.

Another Night Added to VIP Dinner (AKA Drink Brill's Wine)
Last month we introduced our referral program, which included an invitation to a special VIP referral dinner on Saturday, August 23rd. We heard back from a lot of folks that probably won't have referred two barrels, but would like to attend the dinner. So what we've done is added the night before - Friday, August 22nd as an open night where we have 30 seats available for a 10+ course winery dinner cooked by San Francisco's underground Dissident Chef. This will be served with a bunch of wines from my cellar - wines that I can no longer afford to drink (100 point Parker wines, 50 year old Italians, etc.). The dinner is $200 per person (rest assured, in good Crushpad fashion, we lose lots of money on it). RSVP HERE and watch me cry as all my great wine is drunk.

Color In The Vineyards
We are starting to see the first signs of veraison in a number of vineyards in the warmer areas of the state. This change of color takes about two weeks and then it's all about keeping the grapes exposed to sun (but not too much) and the vines well-watered until we're ready to pick. That typically takes another 45-50 days. So we should be seeing our first fruit in early September (that's only about a month away - yikes!). Again, we're seeing very small berries and clusters that should result in another high quality vintage - if Mother Nature complies.

It's Cold In The Winery
We often brag that being in San Francisco lowers our cooling costs - and that's usually when we get whacked with a week of 100 degree temps. While that used to strike terror in our hearts... no more. We have recently installed temperature control in both our barrel room and case goods warehouse. Regardless of how warm it gets outside, the wine is stored at optimal temperature and humidity. This was a long time in coming, but it's nice to have now.

2008 Harvest is Coming Soon - Get In Before it's Gone
As mentioned, harvest is on its way. We still have excellent vineyards available but with decreased volume due to the dry weather. Contact Dave Gifford (dave@crushpadwine.com) if you want to get started this year.

Wine Plans - Get 'Em Done
An extremely important part of making wine is trying to figure out what style of wine you want to make. The way we do that is with the wine planning session with a winemaker. You should have been contacted to start your plan. If you haven't please contact winery@crushpadwine.com and we'll get you going.

Community Crush Expands Into Mission, Marina
Our San Franisco neighborhood winemaking project, Community Crush, has expanded into the domains of Hipsters and Jocks. If you're in the Mission, please join us this Friday, August 1st from 7-9pm at Bi-Rite's 18 Reasons space. Questions? Contact Noah Dorrance (noah@crushpadwine.com).