A MESSAGE FROM CHRIS + SARAH

December 2023

CELEBRATE GOOD TIMES

It’s time to come together! Harvest is over, the latest vintage is in the barrel, and we’re so happy to have our first-ever sparkling wine in the bottle (the 2022 Sonoma Coast Brut Rosé), just in time for the holidays. We’ve long loved bubbles for any occasion. But making it was just a twinkle in Chris’ eye for years, as it requires unique winery equipment that most facilities don’t offer. With our move to the new facility last year, we’re finally able to riddle away. We recently opened our first celebratory bottle and it’s just what we hoped for – crisp, acidic, lively, and a beautiful shade of pale pink. We’ll be guzzling this with oysters, chips and dips, turkey, football, presents and pie in the weeks to come. We hope you’ll pull many a cork of this lovely wine.

Sarah and Chris pulling the first Brut Rosé off the bottling line

We’re also introducing our first and only vintage of Gros Ventre Grenache. Chris made Grenache for Skinner during our years in El Dorado, and it was a particular favorite of Sarah’s. We had the opportunity to get our hands on some beautiful Grenache grapes for the 2021 vintage only, and we took it!

Also in this batch of new releases is the 2022 Nolan Ranch Gamay from the Central Coast, near Chris’ alma mater (Cal Poly). This wine is the perfect pairing for roasted meats, especially turkey. ‘Tis the season! And it’s drinking beautifully. If your shipment doesn’t include one of these wines, and you’d like to try them, let us know.

John Henry, Sarah, Chris, Jane, November ‘23

HArvest ‘23 and the HOLIDAYS

This year, the long, cold spring and mild summer led to a slow, even ripening that we think will produce some gorgeous wines. Our only complaint about the 2023 vintage is that the late harvest has given us very little time to collect ourselves before the holidays. But we can’t complain too much – it was a relatively easy vintage, and in light of past, more difficult years, we are really grateful.

Our days and nights are filled with running around like crazy with work, sports, and family stuff. It’s hard to stop the flood of activity and get off the treadmill, but we’re aiming to do just that this holiday break. And we hope you get the chance for some rest and relaxation, too!

 

We are enormously grateful for you all, and wish you nothing but the warmest blessings this holiday and in 2024.

 

With Love,

Chris and Sarah