This week everyone at the winery has been in a tizzy. This weekend is our second annual Art and Wine Fair. The weather is gorgeous, we have over 50 artists and a few food vendors AND it is the Santa Cruz Mountains Winegrowers Association's Passport Weekend (all Passport holders receive a complimentary tasting and a free glass).

We are expecting a big crowd. But I don't think we have ever been so organized and ready for it. We brought in extra bathrooms and we bought 2,000 new glasses. Our gift packs are arranged "just so." Melanie is making posters!  And Cindy is the puppeteer, directing people and furniture, wine and cash registers.

If you are in town, please come by this weekend.  It's an all hands on deck scenario, so if you know someone who works at the winery, most likely they will be here this weekend. 11-5pm. Please click here for more information and a list of the artists attending.

 

Melanie makes a poster showcasing personalized labels.

 

Dominic and Natalie pose with a pallet of new glasses and the SCMWA passports.

 

Potties!

We picked the last of the grapes (except for anything Late Harvest) on Thursday, right before the rain. The crew is really excited about the Cab this year...the low yields made the flavors go through the roof. Looking forward to releasing that 2008 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon in three years.

We had a little bowling, beer and pizza celebration after the grapes were brought in. To spice it up, we added a little Halloween costume contest into the mix this year. First place got about $350 cash....(part of a pool we all threw in), second and third, some wine.

I will preface this by saying that yes, I am a poor loser (I came in second). However, my costume was completely homemade AND wine related. Anyways, next year I think we need a more offical voting system...I HATE losing to a blow up doll.

And the winners are.....

3rd Place, Winemaker Stephen Tebb, a bottle of Clos LaChance WIne (with his lovely wife Kathleen as a bunch of grapes).

2nd place: Me, Cheryl Durzy, VP Sales and Marketing, Cork Dork (here with the Murphy clan, Brenda as some kind of weird curly haired dancer, Bill a hippie and Kristin a Sharks fan).

And 1st place, Jason Robideaux, Cellarmaster, as Ken and Barbie.

The winners circle:

 

Clos LaChance had the opportunity to pour at the first annual Wine Bloggers Conference in Santa Rosa on Friday. It was held at the very funky Flamingo Hotel and Resort, which I would totally go back to on vacation. Reminded me of a 1970’s hotel where our family would stay en route to another destination…but it ended up being the best part of the trip. The ground floor rooms opened up to the pool and the layout reminded me of those nights when my sister and I would run around, meet other random kids and play Hide and Seek or something like that. But I digress.

Our role in the conference was to pour one wine for the Live Blogging Tasting—i.e. 150 people (a mix of bloggers and sponsors, probably about half and half) sitting at 15 tables, getting 5 minutes with each winery plus 1 minute to write. It was very loud, a little chaotic, but fun in a way. I personally read about 5 or 6 wine blogs regularly, so it was interesting to meet some of those people face to face.

We had to pick only one wine to pour—so we brought out the 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. I walked and talked for 90 minutes while Sean from Benson Marketing Group (thanks!) handed out stuff and kept me flush with fresh bottles.

One of the things I have been reading about on various blogs and heard discussions about at this event was that old wine media is dead/dying and wine blogs are the way to capture eyeballs. I admit that I have been experimenting a bit with our media samples list—I added a few bloggers this past shipment, just to test the waters.

A few thoughts:

1.       We (and every other winery out there that has wine to sell) send our wines out to publications for scores. I keep my fingers crossed for a good score—and if I get one, I crow about it to anyone who will listen—we put it on the web site, we put it in the tasting room, we tell our distributors etc—in hopes of selling that particular wine and increasing the value of our brand. And a good score = Point of Sale marketing: a shelf talker (that little piece of paper that goes under the bottle in a retail store) or case card (usually a full sized document pasted behind a case stack). Retailers love nice looking POS—it helps sell the wine without much work on their part.  Anyways—to get to the point, I have yet to see a shelf talker with a bloggers score/quote on it. Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, Parker and Wine & Spirits still rule, along with Connoisseur’s Guide (puffs!) and some local pubs in various markets (the SF Chronicle, Chicago Trib etc).

 2.       James Laube of Spectator, Steve Heimoff at Wine Enthusiast, Robert Parker of The Wine Advocate…these guys also have their own blogs. So they are in a sense old media AND new media. Which just raises the volume of their voices louder then anyone else.

3.       The wine blogs that I read the most tend to focus more on issues in the wine industry—personal opinions on wine industry news and somewhat controversial subjects (drinking ages always seems to get people fired up). I also like the in depth discussions about wineries and people. Some blogs focus entirely on a tasting room experience, but digs down deep into it. I just don’t see blogs as the best place for wine ratings—yet. Hence my experimentation with the samples.

In any case, I think the conference was a good one. I was glad we got to participate and enjoyed meeting the bloggers. It will be very interesting to see how this new media translates in the future for this industry and ultimately the producers themselves.

A few of the reviews for our Cab from the bloggers I tasted:

1winedude
Wine Sleuth
Cheap Wine Rataings
Domaine547
Lenndevours
Good Grape, A Wine Manifesto
Vine Views
Wine Case

 

We held our Annual Investor's Dinner on Monday here at the winery. About 100 people attended, and a great time was had by all. Bill, Stephen, Cheryl and Paige spoke about  the overall "state of the winery," Harvest 2008, sales and marketing, and our growing private label business.

Le Papillon did the food. It was incredible, as usual. The pairings were spot on and the presentation was gorgeous.  We also debuted our new retail items....clothing and gift packs.

Click here for pictures of the event, the food, the people and the fun.

The menu, prepared by Scott Cooper of Le Papillon in San Jose. If you haven't been there, you must go. It is a wonderful dining experience.

Passed Appetizers:
Housemade Mortadella with Grain Mustard
Lobster Brandade w/ Browned Butter Vinaigrette
Trout with Dashi Cream in Fillo
Truffled Hamachi Tartare with Preserved Lemon
Lamb Terrine with Horseradish Sabayon 
 

First Course

House Smoked Sturgeon with Rasin-Almond Relish and Lemon Emulsion
Paired with 2005 Liebeler Vineyard Chardonnay

 

Second Course 

Roasted Breast of Mary’s Organic Chicken with “Coq au Vin” Jus & a Foie Gras Biscuit

Paired with 2005 Biagini Vineyard Pinot Noir

 

Third Course 

Duck Ballotine with Chestnuts

Paired with 2005 “Lila’s Cuvee” Special Selection Series Rhone Blend

 

Fourth Course
Braised Shortribs of American Kobe Beef with Parsnip Puree & Pressure Cooked Cocoa Nibs

Paired with 2005 Special Selection Series Meritage

 

Cheese Course 

Vermont Cheddar with Dried Apricot & Lavender

Paired with 2006 Estate Late Harvest Semillion “Nectar”

 

Dessert
Black Mission Figs with Chocolate & Zin Syrup

Paired with Estate Zinfandel Port

 

 

 

Had a great dinner earlier this week...it was at the winery and hosted by us for a group of media from Europe. CordeValle provided all the food. Here's the menu: Amuse: Marin Gold Brie with Huckleberry and Port sauce, paired with Amber's Cuvee Sparkling (new release coming soon!) Watsonville Artichoke Soup with Crisp Pancetta and Lemon Oil, paired with 07 Sauvignon Blanc Semolina Dusted Crab Cake with Fennel Celery Root Slaw, paired with 06 Santa Cruz Mountains Chard Prosciutto wrapped Angus Beef Short Ribs, Butternut Squash, Potato and Blue Cheese Gratin, Pomegranate Port Wine Jus, paired with our 2005 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Spiced Warm Apple Dumpling, Mascarpone Cheese, Whiskey Carmel Sauce, paired with our 2006 Late Harvest "Nectar" Semillon

OND stands for October-November-December. It is our busiest season (usually about 40% of our business happens in the OND timeframe).

It is only the first day of October, and I can already feel the pressure of OND start to build. And in the midst of it all, harvest is in full swing and the grapes are steadily being brought in for processing.

A few snippets of things going on here at the winery:

-Paige is working with Dimitar and the bottling team to bottle and label up 9 different products, today. It takes about half an hour for EACH label change on the line. And this is if things go smoothly. She has also been on the phone with a client and label printer dealing with "issues."

-Kristin is dealing with a vineyard customer that is angry about not getting the fruit yields he was hoping for. No comment...just click here or here or here. 

-Melanie is working on closing a big corporate holiday gift program. Keep your fingers crossed.

-Cindy just ran Wine Club, so her phone hasn't stop ringing with people updating their credit cards, changing addresses, canceling (we hope not!).

-Colleen is dealing with our sales reps requests and trying to help them with computer issues. As well as developing the International channel for the brand. She's getting ready to go to India and Korea this year!

-Linda is plugging away at "retro-fitting" our accounting systems to be more streamlined.

-Cheryl is writing this blog entry, doing label approvals for the next vintages, running end of month and quarter reports, reviewing orders and depletions, filling out forms for potential National Account placements, writing sales materials, creating POS. And has her fingers in (or has at least heard about and expressed her sometimes wanted, sometimes unrequested opinion on) all of the above.

-Bill is playing golf with a customer today, left after the third hole to come back to the winery to help with the corporate presentation, then went back to playing. Should be on about 14-15 by now?  Tough work, but someone has got to do it (I need to learn to play golf).

-Not sure where Brenda is, but she's on email somewhere.

-Stephen and Ben are bring in grapes, grapes and more grapes. Stephen cut his hand pretty badly yesterday while giving a retailer a tour. He is doing one handed grape sorts today.

-Dominic is celebrating his Saturday today (since he works on the weekends).

I am sure there is a lot more, but I have got to get back to multi-tasking. Welcome to OND!

 

  Another harvest update from Clos LaChance:

The weather has cooled significantly. We had a number of dramatic heat spikes in the early part of the month. The cooling trend has slowed things down, which is perfect. The sugars can catch up with the flavor development of the grapes. The tonnage is still looking pretty light, but from what we hear, that is the story with most wineries around the state due to the Winter/Spring growing conditions. But low yields can often mean more concentrated, robust wines. Things are tasting that way thus far.

More details straight from winemaker Stephen Tebb: 

 And this video is proof that no matter what our winemaker says, he is always working very hard. We recorded this today, September 24, despite what Stephen says in the video.

 

 

Another update from our winemaker Stephen Tebb on the 2008 harvest. It was hot last week, so we expect things to start coming in fast.

 

At this time of year, our vineyard manager Ben Scorsur is very concerned about the birds. Birds love to eat sweet grapes. So when the sugars get high enough, the birds flock, ready for a feast of a lifetime.

For many of our small vineyards, Clos LaChance uses bird nets. The Estate Vineyard is much too large for nets. They are expensive, take a lot of labor to put on and take off, and birds do get caught in them from time to time. Last year, Ben looked into more sustainable bird control options. He came up with what I like to call the Squawk Box.

The Squawk Box is a series of distress calls from different types of birds, on tape. A horror movie for birds, if you will. Turn your volume way up and check out this video.  The device is located up in the tree.

 And voila...no birds!  It seems to be working. It replays every 30 seconds or so. Although the birds do get smart, so Ben and his team move the box around the vineyard from time to time.

 

It's officially the harvest season! Our first few bins of Estate Sauvignon Blanc came in on Monday, August 25. Winemaker Stephen Tebb gave a nice toast....and sabered a bottle of sparkling to officially start the 2008 Crush. Tom took this great video of the monumentous event.

 

This makes me wonder about other wineries' harvest traditions. We always do a toast over the first bin of grapes.  We also have Family Dinners, Crush tee-shirts, a Bocce Ball/Bowling event at the end of the season with slideshows and a hilarious awards ceremony hoasted by Stephen.  This year we added a "Family Day" event at the winery...since we have so many employees here with young kids.

Happy Harvest!

 

 

We are gearing up for harvest here at Clos LaChance. Winemaker Stephen Tebb has predicted that we will start on August 26 with Sauvignon Blanc from the Estate Vineyard.

Please click here to visit the first of Stephen's Harvest 2008 Video Blogs. In this edition, Stephen discusses the 2008 growing season...the ice, the fire, the wind...a challenging growing season, nevertheless.

Click on play below to see our very first video blog.

 

 

Clos LaChance regularly submits its wines to the press for review. Wine Spectator, Robert Parker, Wine Enthusiast, Wine & Spirits, Wine News, Connoisseur’s Guide to CA Wine, to name a few. Plus a number of daily and online publications and blogs…the list is pretty long. We do about 4 or 5 shipments of new releases to 40+ reviewers per year.

Critics have very different tastes. More often then not, we will get very high scores from one publication and mediocre scores from another.  For example, our Special Selection Meritage).  In Wine Enthusiast it got a 92. In Connoisseur’s Guide, only an 87.

Wine Enthusiast, March 2008):  Clos LaChance 2004 Meritage (Central Coast) - Juicy and ripe, this Bordeaux blend is an elegant young wine with earthy flavors of blackberries, cherries, and new smoky oak; Notable for its exceptional balance, it should hold well through 2012.  92 Points

The Connoisseur’s Guide to California Wine (December 2007):  There is a real kinship to be found between this blend and the winery’s Estate Cabernet in that both are built along smooth and supple lines, and both are easy-to-access offerings. While one finds plenty of ripe cherries, oak and brushy spice at work here, things get a touch of dry and drift off to chocolate at the finish, and the wine argues for but mid-term keeping.  Rating: 87 Points, One puff

But then you go to our Estate Syrah. Connoisseur’s Guide gives it 91, and Wine Spectator scored us at only an 86. An 86 is certainly not a bad score (and the write up is quite nice).  But in a lot of retail wine buyer minds (scores are most important when trying to sell wine into retail accounts), anything below a 90 is not saleable, unless you already have a well-established brand.

Connoisseur’s Guide to CA Wine (March 2008): 2005 Clos LaChance Syrah, Central Coast - Intense themes of plums and blackberries are given a big lift in sweetness by the creamy oak that appears through the length of this very deep and well-crafted opus, and, if never a Syrah of extravagant spice, it is still wonderfully juicy and rich.  Full on the palate and still impeccably balanced, it shows uncommon polish for the big wine that it is, and its fine-grained finishing tannins are overlain by layers of lingering fruit.  Although so mannerly as to tempt early drinking, it has the depth and reserve to grow for five or more years.  91 Points, Two Puffs.

Wine Spectator Review (March 31, 2008):  Clos LaChance Syrah Central Coast 2005 ($35): Rustic, yet appealing. Plum and forest floor aromas and firm black cherry, anise, and cracked pepper flavors finish with firm, cedary tannins. Best from 2009 through 2012. 510 cases.  86 Points.

How best to deal with these conflicting scores?

From a marketer’s point of view, I scream and holler about the high scores….but I don’t mention the lower scores (although I do post them on the Reviews section of our web site, as I like our customers to see all opinions in one place). The high scores, we will make shelf talkers (those annoying pieces of paper you will see under a bottle of wine at a retail store—and half the time the shelf talker doesn’t match with the vintage/and or varietal…but that’s another topic), sell sheets (just an 8 ½ X 11 sheet that has a bottle shot, logos and a GIANT quote from the respective high-scoring publication, hand them out to everyone in the field), email newsletters and tasting room displays.  

From a wine consumers point of view—find a reviewer that has similar likes and dislikes as you…(do you like pears? James Laube at the Spectator likes them, cause he scores wines that have pear characteristics higher then those that don’t) and then follow their recommendations. There are a ton of wine critics out there—and growing everyday with all the bloggers out there.  

A lot of people in the industry have very strong opinions about the 100 point wine scoring system. I don’t mind it, especially when I think of other industries that have much more severe rating systems. I will use the film industry as an example here. One of the most well-known movie rating systems is very simple: “thumbs up” or “thumbs down.” At least the 100-points system has a little something in between the two extremes.  

Others are disgruntled about the 100-points scoring system because it can be so black and white. While it is nice to have beautifully written descriptions of a wine’s aromas, palate and finish. And those that have time can read them and research a wine pre-purchase to their hearts content. But more often then not, who the hell has the time for that? I got two kids, a husband, a dog, and a full-time job. Just give me something quick to look at that says the wine is good, per so-and-so, and I will take it.

The closest thing to the “thumbs down” in the wine industry is Connoisseur’s Guide. They have a symbol in their publication…an upside down glass, which means “stay far, far away from this wine.” Thankfully, we have only received that once. But that was over a decade ago when we had a “rental” winery, a different winemaker and purchased Central Coast green-beany Merlot grapes. We hope to never receive one of those again!  Although if we do, you will never hear about it, because we won’t tell you.