It's Getting Hot in Here!

So, today has been a very busy day. I'm pretty sure that by noon I should be able to leave and go home. To give you a little insider stuff, as well as co-running our winery I have taken on the position of the President of the Board for the Walla Walla Valley Wine Alliance in the future to be called simply the WWVWA. Today our grower representative, great guy, decided to hold a grower meeting. Well, most of you know we winery people typically get up a little later and then we socialize into the wee hours of every morning (o.k. not entirely true but let's keep the myth going...) so, the meeting was held at 7am! Ouch!!! actually after a cup of coffee and some really good dialogue it was well worthwhile. But, considering the hour I'm thinking I've almost put in a full day! The grower meeting was very insightful and again brought home what a fantastic area Walla Walla is to live in and source fruit from. Some really knowledgeable people who are willing to share ideas and things going on in the vineyards.

So, back to my day job. We (the Royal we) have been working on our final blend for the 2006 Calico Red. We are so excited about it! Steffan comes up with different options and then Amber, Julie and I blind taste through them. He's not necessarily putting us in the driver's seat but is looking for outside thoughts on the wines, their balance, and finish. We love the task because we are part of the effort and it's totally cool when we're all on the same page. This year we have decided that a little more Syrah (from our very coveted 2006 still in barrels, varietal program) will be used to add the fruit forwardness we are looking for and in addition completing the overall balance. When Steffan came up with his final blend that we all loved I recall saying it was like he just put the ribbon on it and it's a complete package. Yummy! We'll finish our bottling the end of August so Amber in the meantime has been ordering all of the supplies.

Amber and I are off to Seattle this weekend for a tasting at Esquin from 1 - 4 pm on Saturday. We are totally looking forward to that and then we may catch a Storm game on Sunday. We have not been to a game for years so sounds like fun.

Next Friday at 8am (why do people get up so early? ;-) I have been asked to participate on a radio show called, On the Grapevine, a local station KTEL 1490 AM. It's co-hosted by Mike Paul and Andrew Holt. Their spot is the first Friday of each month. They are great guys and I'm hoping not to embarrass myself too much. You never know what can come out of my mouth at 8am. If any of you are awake having coffee tune in so you can poke fun of me at a later date...seems to be a theme around here!

O.k. that's all for now. Have a great weekend and if you're over here on the east side, stay cool!