June in the Vineyards ...

Here is a dumb little video of spraying for thrips last year.  For some reason, the sound of a helicopter always remainds me of Apocalypse Now.

 The vines look good, very vigorous, but the veather is really triggering powdery mildew.  The foggy wet mornings an days in the 70's provide the perfect environment.  It happens really fast, so we need to be really diligent about spraying every 7-8 days.  A lot of the vineyards in Temecula Valley are fighting it too.

Our First Sparkling Wine ...

We've completed the first major step towards having our first Sparkling wine. It will be 100% 2010 Pinot Noir and we will be calling it Luna de Luz...or 'Light of the Moon'.  Luna De Luz is now laid up 'en tirage'.  What is that?  Well ...

The oldest and most traditional way to make sparkling wine was supposedly developed by Dom (Pierre) Perignon, a Benedictine Monk in the Champagne district of France, born in1638, and is known as Méthode Champenoise.

After the initial fermentation and aging in tank and/or barrel, producing the tiny, delicate bubbles is the next order of business.  The "liquer de tirage"(yeast and sugar) is added to the wine, bottled, stoppered, and laid up "en tirage" for a second fermentation and to trap the carbon dioxide gas produced by the yeast as it consumes its food-- the sugar.  The wine is then fermented 'en tirage' until the yeast has consumed all of the sugar and produced the coveted natural tiny CO2 bubbles.

That's where we are. We are watching and waiting as the wine goes through a second fermentation in the bottle.  Once this is done we go through 'riddling', "disgorgement', the 'dosage' and then final corking. More on this later ...

 Here is a video of the team adding the 'liquer de tirage", bottling, capping and laying up the wine 'en tirage'.  The video isn't anywhere near as romantic as the words sound...in fact the whole process was nerve wracking.

Check Out Our New Labels ...

In July we're releasing two wines and introducing our new labels. The 2010 Sweet Sophie and 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon will be available for sale in July.   We are really excited about both of these wines.  Some of you bought the Cabernet in November when we had it available for pre-release and know how good it is...and we only have 30 cases available.

SWEET SOPHIE: A blend of 70% Chardonnay and 30% Muscat Canelli, fermented and aged in 100% stainless steel tanks. There are flavors and aromas of pear and melon accented with hints of peach and apricot, with a lively acidity and a crisp finish.  

 CABERNET SAUVIGNON: This special Cab was aged in French oak barrels for 21 months. It has a soft, velvety mouth feel and a rich, lingering finish with lovely flavors and aromas of blackberry and black cherry with notes of green olive and clove.  

July Club Shipment & Pick Up Party!

The July wine shipment will be during the week of July 18 with the pick up party on Saturday the 23rd.  The 2010 Sweet Sophie and 2008 Cabernet will be included.  We have a fun party planned, and hope you can be there.

Baja Style Tacos will be making their incredible Carne Asada, Pollo Asada and Al Pastor tacos with handmade tortillas and all the trimmings. 

You will also get a chance to taste and purchase the unreleased 2010 Chardonnay and the 2009 Pinot Noir. ( BTW I think that the 09 Pinot Noir is even better than the award winning 08 ) 

If the Luna De Luz is ready, we will bring a riddling rack and a few bottles to demonstrate how riddling works and will have someone available to talk about the traditional method of making sparkling wines.

As usual, guests are welcome.  If they join at the party, we'll thank you with a bottle of your favorite Woodworth wine, including the pre-release Chardonnay or Pinot Noir.

Be sure to let us know you are coming by clicking on this link:  RSVP 

 This will take you to the members only page.  If you haven't signed on before, your email is your ID and the password is 'woodworth'.  Be sure an change your password while you are there and check out the member profile for Bruce Leonard and Julie Gorton.  

Thinking of joining and don't want to miss a great party?  Join the Green Roof club now by using this link:  JOIN NOW   You can pick up your wine at the party!

It's Summer and Time to BBQ ...

I love BBQ, and I love summer white wines served cold.  Here is a great BBQ Chicken recipe (AllRecipes.com)  to pair with our 2009 or 2010 Sweet Sophie.  It's not too complicated and would be perfect for a backyard BBQ with friends.  Good friends, good wine, good food...doesn't get much better on a summer evening!

(serves 6)

Ingredients

2 Tbls vegetable oil, 1/4 cup chopped onion, 1 clove garlic, 3/4 cup of ketchup, 1/3 cup vinegar, 1 Tbls Worcesteshire, 2 tsps brown sugar, 1 tsp dry mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, 1/4 of 5oz bottle of hot pepper sauce, 1 chicken

Directions

Heat oil in skillet with medium heat and saute onion and garlic until tender.  Stir in rest of ingredients.  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside.

Heat grill on high.  Place chicken on lightly oiled grill.  Brush constantly with sauce and grill 8-15 minutes on each side until juices run clear and chicken is done.  Discard rest of sauce.

Serve with a cold glass of Sweet Sophie!

Woof Notes ...

We hope you enjoyed this month's Newsletter.  If so, please forward this page or link to a friend.   If you received this from a friend, and liked it, please sign up for our mailing list.

As always, you can reach us at WineLover@WoodworthWine.com.  

Use this 2 For 1 Tasting Coupon to try our wines at The Collective in Old Town Temecula.

Hope to see you soon!

Gary & Marlene