Dacalier Wine Blog

Master Cooper Francis Durand -

Things are humming away at the winery, we are topping off barrels, doing a bit of bottling, and lots of cleaning. Not a lot to report, so I thought I would share a short movie of Master Cooper Francis Durand assembling and toasting a barrel. (Courtesy of John Allen)

Cheers!
dave



 

Master Cooper Francis Durand from John Allen on Vimeo.

 del.icio.us  Stumbleupon  Technorati  Digg 

And Me Without My Coffee

The Tejada vineyard is a good vineyard; it is a great location and had a good climate well suited for growing Grenache (and Tempranillo). Dave and I are grateful we have a chance to work with the Tejadas, they are easy to work with and fun tobe around.

With that being said, it was time to fine tune the vineyard. Last Saturday I left the house around 4:30 am to meet the vineyard crew up at the ranch by 6. Dave couldn't join me because he is neck deep in baby diapers, but I bet something tells me he was up at 4am as well.

I digress though because there was some work to be done at the vineyard, and we wanted to complete our task before the midday heat. As with all vines, ours were pushing out a few too many shoots for comfort. With too many shoots comes too many leaves, too much shading, too much vigor, etc… All around it can create a situation that can be tricky to deal with a harvest time.

I met the vineyard management crew at 6am and I must say this crew was on the ball, my hats off to Guinness. I showed them what I needed to have done, and the crew did a solid job through all the rows. From shoot thinning to shoot positioning, these guys were definitely applying Napa Valley thoroughness to the vineyard. And for that I am grateful for as well. The cliché is “the wine is made in the vineyard”, and it is true. It’s not only the vineyard soil and climate, but the farming practices as well.

Cheers!

Eric




 del.icio.us  Stumbleupon  Technorati  Digg 

Some days are more interesting than others…

I looked through a couple of emails, and around lunch time a packed up a case of wine to ship. This is ...<< MORE >>

Rib eyes and King Crab

You see, my Father in-law is in town, which means Saturday night is Surf and Turf night. Around here, our surf and ...<< MORE >>

Memorial Day Thoughts

Here I am sitting on the back patio, it's Memorial Day and the girls have just been fed and put down for what ...<< MORE >>

New beginnings and old weather

First and foremost I need to say congratulations to Erica and Dave on the birth of their twins. I had a chance to visit ...<< MORE >>

Mexican food for their Birthday....every year

We haven't updated the blog in almost 2 weeks and the main reason is that Erica finally gave birth to our beautiful twin girls ...<< MORE >>

Shout out to AVA

"AVA is the abbreviation for American Viticultural Area, or an American grape-growing region. Like the AOCs of France and DOCs of Italy, the AVA gives ...<< MORE >>

Hawley Winery Party

Hawley Winery & Vineyards is located ~1000 feet above sea level on the Eastern side of Bradford mountain overlooking Dry Creek Valley. John has been ...<< MORE >>

Just when you think Spring is here…

Well, the first of many heartburn moments is here. The vines have woken up and started to push, Spring is here, right?...<< MORE >>