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Life as a Pinot Grape (Part 2)!
Watch this 1 min video for the part 2 of Life as a Pinot Grape!
Oct 1, 2009 at 2:28 PM
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Be the first to comment on this postThe Carneros Harvest Passport Experience!
Cuvaison has partnered up with the Carneros Wine Alliance to be one of 18 wineries participating in the Carneros Harvest Passport!
"Come to Carneros and celebrate harvest on October 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. with the wineries of the Carneros Wine Alliance!"
Celebrate the 2009 Harvest with us by checking out our new Carneros Tasting Room (if you haven't already done so), checking out our Carneros neighbors, and tasting the wonderful wines of the Carneros Appellation!
Life as a Pinot Grape (Part 1)!
What happens to a pinot grape after it is picked you ask?
Watch this video for the answer!
Join Jay at Chicago Gourmet!
"Chicago Gourmet is a world-class celebration of food, wine and the city's rich culinary heritage. Located in spectacular Millennium Park from September 26-27, 2009, guests will enjoy celebrity chef cooking demonstrations, a fabulous seminar series, plenty of premium wine tastings, gourmet food samplings and more."
Cuvaison's own President, Jay Schuppert will hold the wine seminar, "Carneros...Napa's Unique Appellation" on Sunday the 27th from 3:30-4:15 in the Choral Room.
So come chat with Jay, sample wines from more than 300 producers & spirits from dozens of brands, and sample food from some of the top chefs in the Chicago area.
For more information on this event go to the Chicago Gourmet official website.
The Interns Have Arrived!
Meet the 2009 Harvest Interns:
Our 2009 Harvest interns have arrived! They come from around the globe… Portugal, Argentina, Northwest Italy, & Northeast Italy… and they are all excited to be apart of our ’09 Harvest!
Steve wasted no time in putting them to work as harvest is now in full swing!
Wine Notes for the September Club Sampler
2008 Sauvignon Blanc
From a single small parcel planted to the renowned “Musque” selection of Sauvignon Blanc, our Estate SB is a distinct expression of Carneros. The cool climate and limiting soils that typify Carneros temper the natural vigor of Sauvignon and produce intense flavors of honeydew, lichi, kiwi and lime. Chilled by morning fogs and buffeted by afternoon breezes the skins thicken and the berries concentrate producing a richly scented and densely packed SB. Tank fermented and sur lies aged, this wine is bottled shortly after harvest, without malo-lactic fermentation, to fully capture its aromatic intensity and bright acidity.
2008 Pinot Noir Carneros
An unusually cool spring gave way to a gorgeous Summer in ’08, with an even, temperate growing season. Crop size was quite small and when the heat finally did arrive, it got things jumping in the winery in a hurry as we rushed to pick the Pinot Noir before dehydration could set in. Once in the fermentation vats the pure fruit and lush flavors quickly began to reveal themselves. A classic Carneros Pinot, the 2008 is brimming with fresh berry and strawberry fruit, while the general coolness of the season is revealed in the intriguing lime and orange zest notes lurking in the background. Texturally the wine is quite focused with fine, firm acidity giving away to supple tannins and sappy fruit. This wine should drink beautifully over the next 3 to 8 years.
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Mount Veeder
Deep hued tones of mocha, coffee and boysenberry jam leap from the glass. The touch of Malbec intensifies the fruity/floral aroma as the wine warms your taste buds and the silky, plush tannins coat your mouth. The forbidding slopes and free-draining soils have done their work, concentrating the fruit and focusing the tannin of this mountain grown Cabernet. It showcases the best of Mount Veeder, dense, jammy fruit backed by fresh acidity and epic tannins.
Club members....Re-order any sampler wine at 25% savings
with the promo code: Sampler
Cruise with Cuvaison
Join our President, Jay Schuppert aboard the luxurious Wind Surf yacht, operated by Windstar Cruises, for a 7 day Mediterranean voyage!
Our 6th club cruise sails from Lisbon to Barcelona departing April 4, 2010 and visits the ports of Tangier, Morocco; Malaga, Spain; Alicante, Spain; Palma de Mallorca, Spain; and Valencia, Spain.
"At nearly three times the size of her sister ships, the Wind Surf carries just 312 pampered guests.” And when they say pampered they mean a staff of 10 massage therapists, technicians and instructors, 5 restaurants, and gorgeous suites and staterooms.
Learn more about this amazing adventure: www.cuvaison.com/Club/Cruise
Harvest 2009, Carnac predicts…
One of the occupational hazards of winemaking is being asked, repeatedly, what the vintage is like before it even happens. It’s like a college freshmen pretending to know what he’ll major in…hmmm, Electrical Engineering, only to matriculate with a degree in Abnormal Psychology 6 years later.
So, like Carnac I’ll try and get straight to your most burning questions:
Answer : When they are ready.
Question: When will you start picking the grapes?
A view of our 2009 Pinot noir, clone 115. The fruit has finally colored up and is uniformly dark, always a promising sign…
Actually, the other super cool omen that harvest is about to begin…
I snapped this photo of a Red Tail hawk diving through the Pinot this foggy morning and it reminded me of the other Red Tail that signals harvest…
Yes, it takes a lot of good beer to make good wine and this morning’s sighting of the Hawk foretells a pending harvest of excellent quality. The sparkling wine makers have begun pulling in the first loads of fruit, which typically start about two to three weeks before we get going. Pinot noir is coming on fast and we could start pulling that in as early as the 8th of September, though I suspect most of it will be the week or so after. Chardonnay will start in earnest the week after that and continue through most of October.
Of more interest will be the Brandlin harvest on Mount Veeder. Given the relatively cool growing season we would expect the Cabs off the mountain to be quite late, but some years, when the cool air settles into the valley at night, it stays warmer up in the hills and the vines push through a bit earlier. As I follow the weather forecasts, like a hawk (sorry, couldn’t resist), the early trends seem to be favoring this phenomenon, which could put the Cab fast on the heels of our Pinot Noir.
Next week the harvest interns start arriving from the four corners of the earth to scrub and polish the winery in preparation for harvest! I will be keeping you all updated via our amazing new blogosphere with even better photos then can be had from my cell phone…
Join Us - 2009 Harvest Celebration
2009 Harvest Celebration
Saturday, September 26th
10:00 am - 1:00 pm
$72 per person
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Sip Spanish Cava with delicious breakfast treats as you enjoy the morning views of our Carneros vineyards
Watch as Chef Ciado of San Francisco prepares a delicious lunch of authentic Spanish Paella Shop fabulous exclusive harvest party wine offers Win fantastic prizes Dress wine country casual |
Space is limited!
Call us now to make your reservation!
1-800-253-WINE (9463) or email club@cuvaison.com
New Location: Carneros Tasting Room /Winery - 1221 Duhig Rd, Napa, CA 94559
What People Are Saying...
Listen to what guests are saying about our new Carneros Tasting room!
“Stunning, I love the glass, the views, it’s beautiful. Best new winery in Napa Valley”
“Absolutely gorgeous, can’t get much better than this”
“I love the construction it totally looks sustainable”
“When can I move in?”
“Beautiful and elegant, very, very nice”
“Beautiful location absolutely gorgeous”
Travels Through Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark, & Germany!
Every year and a half we have three day meetings with the principals of our sister wineries from South Australia (Chapel Hill) and Argentina (Finca Decero) and the owner (Thomas Schmidheiny) and members of his team from Switzerland. Tory, Steve and two of our directors, John and Jon joined us in comprehensive discussions as wide ranging as individual and group marketing, winemaking and viticulture techniques, comparative tastings and the global economy. We always schedule some time for visiting local wineries and this year it was Gantenbein and Georg Fromm www.frommwineries.com for tour and tastings of their excellent Swiss wineries.
After the meetings most returned home but Steve was off to Spain to visit some of their wines while I continued my travels with importer visits in Sweden and Denmark. Market visits usually entail meetings, visiting restaurants to gain new placements and what the rest of the world calls “Wine and Dine”, (we call them winery dinners). One night it was in Malmo, Sweden’s top restaurant call Vendel. vendelatsturehof.gastrogate.com. The chef constructed an exceptional menu that that showcased our Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot and Brandlin Cabernet. I also hand-carried our Bald Mt Zin and Espiritu dessert wine. If you do your math you’ll see there were seven courses.
The second night (after more market work and meetings) was at a seafood restaurant out along the coast. As patrons were seated Richard (my importer and friend) and I would visit the table and offer them a taste of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. We where both pleased that we’d lost none of our old restaurant expertise from our previous careers and sold 15 bottles of wine.
Friday morning I took a train from Sweden, over the straight to Copenhagen for meetings and lunch with Ole, our Danish importer. Ole like most of my associates, become dear friends over the years but I have too little exposure with them due to distance and expense of market visits. We ate at a coastal village that was the old site of the ferry departure area to Sweden before the bridge was completed over 12 years ago. We dined on traditional Danish food with a modern touch and another exceptional meal (with a bottle of Cuvaison Pinot Noir).
After lunch Ole dropped me off at the Copenhagen airport for a quick flight to Frankfurt, Germany. Having never visited the German wine regions I planned a quick three night, two day visit to the wine regions of Rhinegau and Middle Rhine. I stayed at Breuer’ Rudesheimer Schloss in Rudesheim (ruedesheimer-schloss.com) and quickly made friends with Susanne and Heinrick Breuer. Their Inn and restaurant was a perfect place to enjoy lovely accommodations and great food and wine. Heinrick stays busy with the management of their top rated winery “Georg Breuer”, and still finds time to work at the Inn and restaurant at night. Susanne never stops with managing the Inn and restaurant as well as directing guest like me with itineraries. She even found time to take a group of us guests on a four hour tour and hike of the surrounding vineyards and into the next town in the middle Rhine.
Go Big Red!
Need to score some great wine for the next big game?
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Try our ’05 Merlot, ’07 Diablo Syrah, ’06 Zinfandel Bald Mountain, & ’06 Block F5 Pinot Noir! They are all 25% off any 4 bottles, 30% off any 8 bottles, or 35% off any 12 bottles! |
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Women for WineSense Hosts Next Event in Carneros
Join us on August 13 in our Carneros Tasting Room when the Napa/Sonoma chapter of Women for WineSense will host “Wine on America’s Table – Celebrating Diversity: Matching Wine with Ethnic Cuisine!”
Wine on America's Table 2009
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Ever stumped on what wine to pair with Baba Ghanouj, Pakori or Ceviche? Be stumped no more! Join us on August 13th at Cuvaison Estate Wines' Carneros Tasting Room to learn about pairing wine with ethnic cuisine.
Ticket Includes
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| And, of course, there will be opportunities to win prizes when you buy raffle tickets and bid on silent auction items (think big, think Magnums!) -- all proceeds benefit the Napa/Sonoma Women for WineSense General Scholarship Fund.
Silent auction prizes include
SCHEDULE
COST |
An Interview with WinoBee
BEEHind the Vine: Cuvaison
The WinoBee recently interviewed our President, Jay Schuppert, to chat about what’s happening at Cuvaison.
Read the full story to learn about Jay’s journey to become President, the reason for 2 tasting rooms and the remodel, Cuvaison’s sustainability efforts & cork recycling program, Jay’s favorite Cuvaison wine (and non-Cuvaison wine), & why he prefers cork over synthetic or screw caps!
http://winobee.blogspot.com/2009/08/beehind-vine-cuvaison.html
The Perfect Pairing with Chardonnay!
Looking for something to pair with your Cuvaison Chardonnay? Try this Poached Salmon with Caper-Butter Sauce recipe, and let us know how it turned out!
Poached Salmon with Caper-Butter Sauce
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 medium shallots, very finely chopped
- 2 ¼ cups dry white wine
- 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
- 1 tablespoon capers, drained and rinsed
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 cups water
- Four 6- to 7-ounce skinless salmon fillets
- 2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
- In a small skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the shallots and cook over low heat until softened, about 4 minutes. Add 1¾ cup of the wine and boil over high heat until reduced to 2 tablespoons, about 7 minutes. Reduce the heat to moderate. Remove the skillet from the heat and whisk in the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, occasionally moving the pan back to the burner to keep the sauce very warm. Stir in the capers and season with salt and pepper.
- In a large skillet, combine the water with the remaining ½ cup of wine and bring to a boil. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper and add them to the skillet. Simmer very gently over low heat, turning once, until just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.
- When the salmon is almost done, gently reheat the butter sauce over moderate heat, whisking constantly just until hot; do not let it boil. Spread the shredded lettuce on plates. Using a slotted spatula, remove the salmon fillets from the skillet and quickly pat them dry with a paper towel, then set them on the lettuce. Pour the caper-butter sauce over the salmon fillets and serve.
Feature in Food & Wine Magazine
Pull out the July edition of Food & Wine magazine and look for a feature on Cuvaison’s 2007 Chardonnay, Carneros! If you don’t have the magazine in front of you, here is what Food & Wine’s expert panel had to say about our 07 Chardonnay.
The special offer ends on our 07 Chardonnay this Friday! >>
| In the Carneros region, characterized by a morning fog that keeps grapes from quickly heating up and afternoon breezes that lower leaf temperature and dry the morning dew, this cool- climate wine delivers clean and balanced flavors with pronounced fruit nuances. Light lemon curd aromas and a crisp citrus flavor produce a bright and penetrating acidity that elevates this wine from Chardonnay mediocrity. - Anthony Giglio |
| A lot of California wines billed as cool-climate styles don’t really deliver on that promise, coming off hot, fat and tropical regardless of their source vineyards. Not so with this clean, balanced, Carneros-grown bottling, which skews toward the citrus end of the vast Chardonnay flavor spectrum. Its aromas of lemon curd are bright and penetrating, as is the acidity, which really distinguishes this wine from the mass of flabby, buttery styles out there. – David Lynch |
| This sustainably made wine and solar powered winery will turn anyone into an earth-loving hippie. Cuvaison was one of the early pioneers in this cool climate corner of Napa Valley, planting its first grapes there in 1979. The ripe, peachy and flowery nose gives way to a medium-bodied and good textured wine. Juicy, frosty acidity holds it together. A wonderfully light summer wine that’s perfect to pair with a white- fleshed fish, such as cod or halibut. – Daniel Johnnes |
To read more about the expert panel go to: http://www.foodandwine.com/promo/classicwines/
Put A Cork In It!
Need a place to recycle your wine corks?
Cuvaison has partnered with Yemm & Hart, a recycling company that converts cork into self-sustaining products, to create a recycling program that promotes the education and collection of corks!
Why recycle wine corks?
There are 13 billion (yes, billion!) natural cork wine stoppers sold into the world market each year. At present, the majority of them end up in landfills. Cork is ideal for recycling. It is biodegradable, renewable, energy efficient, sustainable and 100% natural.
What are recycled wine corks used for?
Recycled wine corks can find a new life as shoe soles, fishing rod handles, bulletin boards, place mats, flooring tiles, building insulation, gaskets, packaging materials, under playground equipment, and even as a soil amendment in compost.
What makes natural cork environmentally special?
Natural cork is made up of billions of cells. This gives cork its buoyant, elastic quality as well as the ability to absorb and retain nearly 9 grams of C02 throughout the life of the cork. And, with 13 billion corks sold each year worldwide, cork is an important source of C02 retention.
Where can I send my corks to be recycled?
Make Cork Recycling a Way of Life! Drop your corks off at either one of our Tasting Rooms OR ship them directly to Yemm & Hart:
| Wine Cork Recycling |
| Yemm & Hart Ltd. |
| 425 North Chamber Dr. |
| Fredericktown, MO 63645 |
Carneros Ribbon Cutting Ceremony!
Last Saturday was a beautiful day for the Grand Opening of our Carneros Tasting Room! The Ambassadors of the Napa Chamber of Commerce came out to help us celebrate our 40th anniversary and Grand Opening! Come check out our new Tasting Room, if you haven’t done so yet!
Napa-Sonoma Marathon Results!
Yesterday was a beautiful morning for a marathon! Over 3,000 people from all over the country showed up to our Carneros Winery and Tasting Room location to start the race!
While everyone is a winner, special kudos go out to Eli Rodriquez of Whittier, CA who won the race with a time of 1:09:25 beating Ed Baker of Palo Alto, CA and Tesfaye Dirba, of Ethiopia. On the women's side it was Julia Malon Stamps of Miami, FL with a winning time of 1:22:01 just edging out Lisbet Sunshine of San Francisco and Christine Keenedy of Los Gatos, CA.
A lot of excitement for 7:00 in the morning!
Calistoga Open House & Ribbon Cutting Ceremony!
The Grand Opening of our Calistoga Tasting Room was a success! As the party was coming to a close, we were able to take some photos:
It’s always interesting when you give a winemaker a large pair of scissors. Check back for some video of our Winemaker, Steve Rogstad cutting the ribbon!
