More from 2011

With all of this negative press about the 2011 Harvest, the Livermore Valley has again reached the ripeness levels that the winemakers and growers set out for in the beginning of the year. Yields are certainly down for growers in LV, but quality, (at least as far as I can see) has been up there with some of the best vintages I have seen.

The varietals I was most concerned with (BDX varieties, especially Cab Sauv) have all reached not only the desired sugar levels, but the acid, pH and flavors are tremendous. Here is a recap of the Cabs we have brought in so far:

• Smith Ranch - 3.85 Tons Harvested on 10/31 - 24.8 Brix, 3.45 pH, .57 TA - Hard to believe the first lot of CS didn't come in until Halloween, but it was well worth the wait. The aromatics coming off of the ferments are intoxicating, not to mention tremendous color extraction. The ferment is winding down after a 3 day cold soak. Really looking forward to see how the wine turns out from this lot.

• Marina Ranch - 1.92 Tons Harvested on 11/3 - 25.3 Brix, 3.65 pH, 0.48 TA - Again, another first time Cab Ranch for NC. Last year we took Grenache from this Wente Farm, this year, Grenache, Syrah, and Cabernet. The Cab sits at the bottom entrance of the vineyard. I was on my way out to look at the Grenache the day before pick and stopped the car, hopped out and started tasting fruit. I made the call and was lucky enough to be able to scoop out two tons for my program. Aromatically, much brighter than the Smith, with a little more classic Livermore Valley cherry, raspberry tone to it. Again, 3 day cold soak prior to inoculating to maximize extraction.

• Clark Vineyard - 1.38 Tons Harvested on 11/3 - 26.2 Brix, 3.50 pH, 0.44 TA - Another first time vineyard at NC. I really wanted to experiment this year with different grow sites. Really happy we did, especially thrilled that these new comers are exhibiting the flavors and aromatics that we are looking for. This is a co-ferment of clones 337, 4 and 191 from Clark Vineyard on the east side of the LV. Tremendous aromatics. Dark juice overwhelms the cap during punch downs and the bins are blowing off classic Cabernet Aromatics.

• Wisner Vineyard - 3.95 Tons Harvested on 11/3 - 25.8 Brix, 3.67, 0.58 TA - Wisner is one of two vineyards that have remained constant in our program since we moved to Vasco and opened NC. Every vintage this vineyard delivers. This is currently fermenting in one of our two new tanks. Because I have total control of temperature and it is in an enclosed environment, I was really able to push the limits on the cold soak. Five days after stemming we inoculated. I have yet to see this color in juice before adding yeast. Hard to say exactly what the flavors and aromatics are shaping up to be, but everything is positive. I am looking to this lot to pull its weight. My goal with it is exactly what body builders are thinking when they work out. "Just think big!" I am looking for a massive Cab to set the tone for the rest of the program. We are certainly on the right track.

• Still hanging - Ghiellmetti Clone 6, Casa De Vinas Clone 337 - My final two lots of Cabernet are coming in today and tomorrow. Again, ripeness is at its optimal state with great flavors in the fruit from both vineyards.

One word can describe how I feel about CS from 2011 - Stoked! Two weeks ago when we were sitting here waiting I was not so optimistic. At this point I would rank 2011 BDX varietals vintage up there with 2009, although is tough to be certain until we see how the wines mature. Look for updates on this vintage in weeks to come.

Its Been A While!

The lapse between posts is not because of lack of things to write about, but just too much going on to get it down on paper. Harvest is in full swing at the winery, bins line the floor at the winery, our barrel ferments are all complete, some going through Malo and lees stirring, others just aging. So far this harvest has been slow, but what we have in already really has me excited. Especially the white program.

This year we decided to branch out and produce Chardonnay and Viognier from the Arroyo Seco, Monterey appellation with an intention to find fruit with brighter acidity and some other cool climate flavors than we have been seeing with our Livermore wines. The result was better than we expected. The Viognier is showing a tremendously bright fruit base with loads of tropical fruit nuances. With a few months of lees stirring this wine should be bottle ready as soon as January. I am certainly seeing more potential in this Viognier than any other I have produced in the past.

The Chardonnay from Arroyo Seco is showing excellent as well. Aging primarily in neutral barrel, with a few new and once filled barrels, the flavors are awesome. We also produced a more buttery toasty style Chardonnay that we use more new oak and aim for a more California style. This year we sourced our Chardonnay from the Fraiser-Howard Vineyard on Buena Vista. This vineyard is making its debut in our program and flavors are great.

I finally feel like we have a grip on our white wine program. What we want to produce, how we want to produce it. As a general rule wines from Arroyo Seco will be more fruit driven, less new oak (if any). Our Livermore Valley Chardonnay, which feature predominantly new oak and a longer aging regimen, will essentially take the place of our current "Reserve" Chardonnay.

Check back soon for a more extensive harvest update with information about our Red Wines!

Fruit On the Ground

As exciting as it is to see clusters on the vine taking shape, giving me a glimpse of what this vintage has in store, it is even more exciting seeing how much fruit is sitting on the ground underneath those vines. If you are trying to find out who is farming purely for quality vs. the growers that are in it to maximize their yield just look on the ground underneath the vines.

Last night my good friend Julio Covarrubias, owner and vineyard Manager at Casa De Vinas was asked to speak at the First Annual "Petite Sirah Stars" event in the Livermore Valley. Who better to speak at this event than Julio, whose passion for growing premium Petite Sirah is no secret if you have spent more than 5 minutes talking to him.

Julio's integrity in the vineyard is unmatched, and his passion for seeing PS shine in Livemore is what inspired him to plant 1/2 of his 20 acre vineyard to it.

I was lucky enough to meet this man in 2009, right before we moved the winery to Livermore. I knew from the moment I set foot in the vineyard that this was something special. We took four tons in 2009, what we thought was maybe a little too much but figured we could blend off whatever we didn't want to bottle so we stuck with it. A little too much, we couldn't have been more wrong.

In 2010 we doubled our Petite order before the wine was in the bottle. I was confident the wine would be a hit having tasted many in the Valley and the rest of the wine world. This year NC is looking at producing 16 tons of Petite, about 1000 cases, all from Julio's vineyard.

The reason I work exclusively with Julio on Petite is simple, he has the best Petite Sirah in Livermore. There are other growers in Livermore who take their craft seriously and are pumping out some awesome fruit, but comparing these growers is like comparing a Chevy to a Ferrari. Yes, they both drive, but one is a little more exciting than the other.

The main reason why Julio's fruit performs so well is the amount of berries that never make it to the winery. The vineyard is farmed at a few different levels. At the production level, the rows situated on the furthest west end of the vineyard, about 50% of the fruit that vine produces are left on the ground. In the 5-Star lot, the highest level of farming at his vineyard, nearly 70-75% of the fruit ends up on the ground. Amazing. The clusters that stay on the vine produce tremendous concentrated black fruit characteristics that I have yet to find anywhere else.
The fruit is dropped in several passes throughout the growing season. The first pass, which took place yesterday, is all about opening up the canopy and making sure no cluster are tangled. Just after Véraison his crew goes by again for a second pass to remove anything that isn't 70% through. This assures that all the fruit that we take in will ripen properly and not produce an acid burn in the mid-palate and back end of the wine; the major gripe I have with some Petite's I have tasted.

On top of growing what I argue is the best Petite available ANYWHERE, the man is just awesome. Humble, respectful, honest and fair. He has really mentored me in the vineyard, and in life in general. I never thought one of my best friends would be a guy that is my dad's age. Julio has a way of putting a positive spin on just about anything. Just like his vineyard he is full of life and passion.

The pictures above were taken this morning. On the top right, you can see how much fruit is dropped on the first pass. All of these clusters came from a single vine above them. Below you can see a perfectly executed Vertial Shoot Position (VSP) canopy forming with all of the clusters free from each other.

What a Year

It feels pretty amazing looking back at what has happened so far this year. For the winery, for myself, my family and loved ones. What a ride its been! Just ask my dad, it seems like the only thing that breaks up the arguing back and forth is something great, a gold medal, a news article, a score on wine, or a tremendous compliment from someone we haven't seen in years. Yes, my father and I can bicker band and forth a little, but at the end of the day we manage to keep it cool when it matters. (At least we make it seem that way when you guys are in the tasting room, right?)

Wine competitions have been great for us this year. We swept every major competition we entered this year, and would have potentially medaled all of our wines at Best of the Bay had we remembered to actually drop the Viognier off that we entered. Accolades keep stacking, but there will always be a moment I will never forget from this year.

Before the night at Taste of Terroir at the Palm Event Center had come to an end I was already strategizing with a fellow industry member about what I can do next year. I had written this year off. We weren't going to win. Not a chance in hell. I thought the Malbec we were pouring wasn't showing well that night, and I was surrounded by some pretty fierce competition. "We should have poured the Reserve Petite and put a little more thought into our pairing," I was saying. I was already looking at next year. "Next year our Casa De Vinas Vineyard Designate Cabernet, or the Petite, or a blend that we put together. Why did we choose the $&#^ing Malbec?!?!"

This conversation was taking place as the awards were being given out. I will never forget when Courtney Cochran, certified Sommelier took the stage and started her speech. "Ok, lets get this over with," I was thinking. After speaking highly of the event, its participants, the food, the wine, she finally started hinting towards the potential winner, saying something to the effect that this pairing, although simple in nature, made both the wine and the food taste better together. "Nottingham Cellars and The Hideaway Lounge..." I don't even know what was said after that. I was truly blown away. I took the podium, tried to address the crowd but all that came out was a series of unrelated words. When I knew I couldn't possibly calm my nerves enough to speak like a real person, I just blurted out a huge "CHEERS!" to the audience, they got the point.

Winning this award was a little different than any other accolade I have received. It is more like winning a grammy, because at regular wine competitions there is no ceremony. There aren't people who bought tickets to come and enjoy. Wine competitions are purely industry people in a small room flying through flight after flight of wine giving scores and then sending the wineries an email with there awards, a couple weeks later some medals come in the mail. This was the most personal feeling of accomplishment in the Wine Industry since we got started, because we felt like we were a part of the event. It also really hit home for us because it was so close to home

Thanks to everyone who came and showed support, thanks to the judges, Courtney, Sara, and my dear friend Laura. A special thank you to my dad, Jeff. Even though we don't always agree we always get it done.

2011 NC Harvest Forecast

I can't tell you how excited I am for our third Harvest in the beautiful Livermore Valley (sixth harvest since the launch of Satyrs' Pond in Burlingame, and my personal 5th). Our first Livermore Valley wines came in 2007 when our former Winemaker and my mentor decided to produce some Del Arroyo Vineyard wines for the program. At the time we had no idea these wines would launch or Nottingham Cellars program and LV would become our focus.

Here we are today, three harvests later in our warehouse on Vasco producing wines that we feel (and a lot of you do, too) are amongst the best produced in our region. As I have told many of you, my personal quest is to find the best fruit sources and work with dedicated growers to help us craft the wines in our program. With a couple new vineyards partners and some clever ideas with existing growers, 2011 really feels like something special.

A few things to look for down the road -

What We Already Knew - As with the previous vintage, Casa De Vinas Cabernet Sauvignon will make up about 75% of our Cabernet Production (about 40% of our total production) to establish the base of both our entry level and Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon's as well as Supremacy, Ralphi's Red Blend, and of course our Vineyard Designate Cabernet Series.

What We Can't Wait to Try - We are pleased to announce that we will be producing Smith Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon. Smith Ranch is located at the corner of Arroyo Rd and Wetmore at the main entrance to the Wente golf course. The Clone 8 Cabernet Sauvignon we selected is from block 31420 situated at the top of the bench. Smith Ranch has been on my radar for the last two vintages and I look forward to working with this reputable fruit source.

MoRhone - Riding on the heals of a very successful 2010 harvest, especially with Rhone Varietals, my production plan is including double the tonnage of Marina Ranch Grenache (In my mind the most interesting wine I have created since I started) and Hayes Ranch Syrah. Both turned out to be fantastic wines with tons of flavor and true varietal character (The Syrah is a BEAST). We will also be working with Michael Princevalle's Mourvedre from the vineyard situated at the Ravenswood Historic Site. Look for Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre stand-alones, as well as a burly GSM blend from the '11 vintage.

The Outside World - If you can't beat em, join em! Just kidding, but seriously. I have decided to further our Chardonnay production and step outside of Livermore. I will continue to produce Livermore Valley Chardonnay (this year from Wisner Vineyard, which I am very excited about) but I will also be producing Chardonnay from the Wente-Made-Famous Riva Ranch in Arroyo Seco, Monterey County. The fruit is fantastic, Clone 2A Chardonnay (the Godfather of all California Chard clones) that should provide tremendous floral and tropical fruit flavors. It is exciting to work with passionate growers like the Wente Family who pioneered both Chardonnay as a varietal, and the Arroyo Seco appellation.

As Always - All lots of fruit that we bring in are broken down into Micro-lots with the intention of creating a very diverse group of blending components with tremendous complexities. This is achieved through several means including various press times, yeast trials, barrel program trials, lees stirring, the list goes on. My philosophy is to create several different blending components to create a very complex final blend. That goes with every lot of fruit that comes through our back door.

I hope that you are all as excited for this harvest as I am. Cheers to good wine, good family and friends, and health.

SALUTE!

Building A Brand You Can Trust

Question of the year - How do small business' create a market share that will allow them to stay in business? Its by building a brand that people can trust. That can be tough for any company in any market, damn near impossible for a winery whose production does not exceed the amount of gallons that most large wineries lose in waste annually.

Step one for "Brand X" - our start up company for the sake of this post - is to understand the product they are producing and who their target market is. Then you cater a very structured and efficient marketing plan to reach that audience - but be careful! If you spend a million dollars a year in marketing efforts to sell a half a million dollars of inventory then you might as well just send me a check for a half a million bucks and I will produce all the wine you can personally drink! (If your sending Checks, my name is spelled with two 'L's'...)

So Brand X hits the ground running with a perfectly orchestrated marketing plan. All of a sudden people know who you are, awareness is rising and a reputation begins to unfold about your business. Should be a great thing, right? Not for Brand X, turns out the product is terrible!

That is why every harvest, every bottling, every racking and S02 addition is so important, especially for a small winery who is trying to survive on quality, not quantity. This is why I am out looking for the best fruit sources, using the best barrels and spending countless hours doing my due diligence to create wines that you will enjoy. If I didn't I would just end up being another Brand X winemaker who is looking for a job next year. The fact that these wines have been so well received and scored well by judges and critics alike is simply a by-product for the countless hours in the cellar and vineyards.

I take pride in knowing that I control my own destiny. It is absolutely the most rewarding thing to know that people really love these wines, and that is why I am continuing to strive to outdo myself every vintage. Because with all of the things I can control to build this brand that you can trust, there is one component to the winning formula that I can't control; time.

It takes time (and in my case, several awards/accolades) for a brand to really be trustworthy. I can assure you that the list of accolades this young winery took this year is just the beginning. It takes a couple solid vintages to give the impression of consistency. If I completely tank next years Cabernet Sauvignon (don't worry, I didn't... yet!) it could be a tremendous blow to our reputation that we are building. Consistency vintage after vintage is the most important thing, whether you are a small producer like myself or Steven Kent, McGrail Vineyards, etc, or a large producer like Wente or someone in between like Ruby Hill. (BTW - all of those brands do a fantastic job of producing consistently good wines every vintage and that's why they are succeeding.)

I am doing all I can to build a brand that you will all trust. I mentioned accolades earlier. In three major competitions this year (SF Chronicle Wine Comp, Finger Lakes Intl. Wine Comp, and San Francisco Intl. Wine Comp) Nottingham Cellars wines have taken home medals on 100% of the wines entered for a total of 18 awards - 6 for 6 at the Chronicle, 8 for 8 at Finger Lakes, and 4 for 4 and SF Intl. These awards include 2 double gold medals, 5 gold medals and 6 silver medals. The best part is the range of price points. $18 - $46 and everything in between, so with out a doubt there will be a wine that you like that you can afford. Whats not to trust about that?

So, to recap - How do you build a brand the people will trust? A sound marketing plan, excellent customer service and a solid sales team are all a good start. But at the end of the day it comes down to the quality of the product your selling. Cheers to those Wineries that put quality first, and to everyone else taking shortcuts, its 2011 and its almost over. Step your game up!

2009 Vintage Break Down

Late last month I sat down with a distinguished group of tasters to put together the final blends for what hasn't been bottled from Vintage '09. This group included myself, my father, another winemaker in the valley with a solid reputation for many years achieving amazing results as a winemaker, the wine buyer for a prominent retail wine shop/wine bar in the tri-valley, and people from our tasting room staff and sales team. I bring in these extra pallets because they are distinguished and can often times tell me something about my wines that I haven't even noticed yet.

I go into these tastings with a group of people I select with a solid baseline of my over all program - start from the top of our line and work down. At the beginning I have a fairly good understanding of how the overall program is going to go, so this group helps me elevate the program from wines that are somewhere between good and great to wines that are exceptional.

People that have met me in the tasting room know that sometimes I am too honest. I have had wines come out that I was not so proud of - and I where my emotions on my shoulder so anyone who is around when these wines are showing can tell I am not satisfied. I will even come out and tell you sometimes and kill a sale.

What you can expect from this vintage is a fantastic line up. Already bottled from our 2009 Vintage are the following award winners:

2009 Chardonnay - This wine was fermented in stainless steel with no malo-lactic and without any oak influence to showcase the tropical fruit and bright acidity in its purest form. Double Gold - San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

2009 Reserve Chardonnay - We took the same marvelous Del Arroyo Vineyard fruit and barrel fermented. The wine was aged sur lies for 9 months in 100% new French Oak Barrels. Silver Medal - San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

2009 Malbec - Aguirre Vineyard - Bottled after only 14 months of oak aging to showcase the rich ripe red fruit and exceptional creaminess. 9% Cabernet Sauvignon was blended in to extend the finish and provide some nice complexity. Our first stand alone Malbec, this wine will be release in July. Only 50 Cases were produced. Silver Medal - Finger Lakes Intl. Wine Competition

2009 Petite Sirah - Casa De Vinas - An absolutely wonderful wine. Varietal character, depth, dark jammy black fruit with subtle toasty undertones. I can go on and on about this wine and its big brother. We have literally had people come in and say this is the best PS they have ever had. Double Gold - Finger Lakes Intl. Wine Competition

2009 Petite Sirah Reserve - Casa De Vinas - At first I wondered how the little sister out-shined this beast at Finger Lakes. Then I really started thinking about how this wine is truly built for PS enthusiasts, not just wine lovers. An absolute monster - loads and loads of dark chocolate and candied fruit integrated with a tremendous tannin structure. If you like big extraction - tons of oak and fruit - and if you like chewing on your wines then this is a winner. Only 75 cases were produced. Gold Medal - Finger Lakes Intl. Wine Competition

With a solid foundation of award winning wines - its hard to believe that we can have more on the horizon, right? Think again, the best is yet to come. Here is a little insight from the Winemaker on whats still in the barrel.

2009 Supremacy - Livermore Valley - How can we talk about the 2009 when the 2008 hasn't even been released? Well - it will be hard to compare the two because chances are you haven't tasted and in most cases heard of this wine. 2008 is the inaugural vintage. Our Supremacy is essentially our Meritage Blend. We use all five of the Noble Bordeaux Varietals for a wine that is extremely complex. We can talk more about this wine when the time is right - It will sit for two years in bottle before we release it to ensure that it is showing exceptionally well.

Introducing the Vineyard Designate Cabernet Series:

In 2009 we sourced Cabernet from 4 vineyards. 3 of the 4 turned into such wonderful distinctly different wines that we decided to do a micro-lot offering of them to showcase the influence of terroir.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Casa De Vinas - Deep, dark black Cabernet Sauvignon loaded with rich chocolate, ripe black fruit, and an integrated tannin structure. Again another huge wine produced from the vineyard that is quickly gaining notoriety in the Livermore wine community. The biggest and boldest of the three vineyard designates - this wine would play the bass if it were in a band.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Del Arroyo Vineyard - In line with the Cabernet Sauvignon's we have produced in the past - that's because we sourced our Cabernet exclusively from this vineyard in our first two vintages. Loads of ripe red fruit, raspberry and dried dark cherry integrated with a solid tannin structure. The brightest of the three vineyard designates - look for it to shred your face off with an insane guitar solo.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, Wisner Vineyard - On its own one could argue that this Cabernet is the most balanced. The fruit came in with bulletproof lab results and transcended into a marvelous Cabernet espressive of the vineyard it was grown. Somewhere in between the Casa and the Del Arroyo - this vineyard expression will provide the rhythm on the drums.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve - We took a barrel of each of the Vineyard designates mentioned above and put the band together. Lots going on here. Tremendous balance of fruit and oak integration. Only 75 Cases were produced.

2009 Ralphi's Red Blend - Again we blended 60% Cabernet Sauvignon with 40% Merlot to give you a nice easy drinking red with tons of fruit. We experimented with Petite Sirah to see if it would improve the nice rich round red we have produced in the past - but it was clear that the blend is in place. I almost wanted it to change, but the 60/40 blend just showed so well we couldn't get away.

2009 Cabernet Sauvignon - Del Arroyo Vineyard Cabernet provided the base of this fantastic Cabernet Sauvignon. We also blended in small amounts of Wisner Vyd, and Casa De Vinas Cabernets, as well Petite Sirah and Merlot to provide complexity depth and length. This wine will provide tremendous value for those who want to enjoy a great bottle of Cabernet on any budget.

The wines were blended and barreled back down for extended aging post blending for its last two - three months. This will allow the blended components to integrate with each other. These wines are scheduled to be bottled between now and August depending on the Lot and you can expect to see perhaps a few by the end of the year - but don't count on it. We still have several exceptional reds bottle aging anticipating release. Look for the 2009 Malbec to hit the Room in July, the PS Reserve in October, and the Supremacy sometime this year - we can't tell you everything.

Getting these wines in bottle in the coming months is truly inspiration for me to take the 2011 vintage to the next level. My goal is to continue to produce rich round Cabernet's and other big red varietals from the Livermore Valley for you to enjoy, vintage after vintage.

Time to Grow

Economic woes have been the subject on just about everyone's mind in recent years. It seems like everyone I know has been hit - if your still employed chances are the same position would have paid better five years ago. Retired folks are going back to work because their pensions are shot or they overextended themselves earlier in life, or perhaps made some good investments gone bad.

Managers in the corporate world are taking on more to make up for their diminishing support teams and are lucky to be making the same money they were when they had all kinds of help. The private sector is diminishing - family owned businesses and small start ups going under are a dime a dozen it seems.

For those that can hang on, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. In the heat of all this decline we are going to see opportunities that would have never been possible. For a new company with little or no market share, any new account you add, any new business you bring is a chip at the block.

With that, Nottingham Cellars has just expanded our sales force. We just brought in three new members to represent us in the Tri-Valley/East Bay, San Jose/South Bay, and Santa Cruz/Monterey Bay, and are looking to penetrate the Peninsula and San Francisco markets in the coming months.

Our new sales teams bring years of industry experience and knowledge to our young winery and we are just as excited as they all are at the opportunity to work together. Right now Nottingham Cellars wines reach commercial accounts as far south as Los Gatos and as far north as Alamo. We look to expand on our accounts within that proximity and to further reach wine enthusiasts in search of Ultra-Premium Livermore Valley varietals.

Like the vines that produce the fruit for our award winning line of wines, we've established a foundation, grounded our roots, now it is time to grow.

The Impact of Our Decisions

When you are starting and growing a business, especially on a small scale with very limited budget and string of assets, it is important to utilize your resources to their fullest potential. With every decision comes opportunity costs. Knowing that going into every decision made - whether it is regarding production, sales, staffing, spending, marketing, timing, etc - makes you look into every small detail before you pull the trigger on anything. Especially when your blood is in the deal. My Father and I started Nottingham Cellars with this mind set, and so far, it is panning out very well.

I would be lying to you if I said that every decision we have made so far was the best possible. I can, however, confirm that it becomes apparent very quickly whether or not a given decision panned out the way we wanted it to.

One decision my father and I stand by - and if you know us, we don't tend to agree too often - was not cutting corners on production. That means sourcing fruit from a very select group of growers whose dedication to growing the best possible fruit matches our passion for turning that fruit into wines that you will enjoy. The majority of our budget and time is spent visiting and revisiting our Vineyard Partners. They are the ones who are responsible for what is in our bottle.

We are not a large winery with a million blending options who can hide or mask flaws in wines by blending it away. Our wines are what they are. And so far, our customers, as well as judges from the west coast, and the east coast seem to think we are on the right track as well. In 2011 we have submitted wines to two competitions. The first, The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition - the largest competition of American wines in the world. NC Submitted six wines and took six medals. Riding on the heels of that great success, we entered in our first international wine competition at Fingerlakes. Widely regarded as the most prestigious wine competition in the world with entries from wineries in 15 countries, 9 Canadian Provinces and all fifty states - a total of over 5,000 wines, NC entered eight wines with hopes (not expectations) of taking home a medal or two. Amazingly enough, we took home eight medals, including a Double Gold on our 2009 Casa De Vinas Petite Sirah, as well as Three Gold Medals; 2009 Reserve Petite, and both of our Bordeaux Style Red Blends - 2008 Ralphi's Red (60% Cab 40% Merlot) and 2008 Supremacy (61% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Merlot, 11% Petit Verdot, 7% Cabernet Franc, 7% Malbec)

I have never in my short life been in a situation that consumers can literally taste a decision I have made. Weird to think, even weirder to say out loud to myself. But it really is true. Had I slightly altered any number of things on a given wine we would have achieved different results. Whether it is fruit source, yeast strain, time on skins, barrel type, barrel time, blending options, bottle aging etc. Just changing one of these things will ultimately change the final product.

Could I have done some things better in the past? Absolutely. Am I striving to outdo myself every vintage? Please believe this. The 2008 Vintage was really my second year of making wine. I still don't feel like I have figured it out - and I hope I never do. That way when it comes time to making important decisions I can continue to go into them with an open mind and not get stuck doing the same old thing and just become another winery lost in the mix.

My decision is made indefinitely on one thing, however. I will continue to seek out the best possible fruit, meticulously craft micro-lots of ultra premium wines with fruit sourced from Livermore Valley's finest vineyards. At no point will a decision be made that can or will negatively impact any wine in my production. I will continue to promote the Livermore Valley because I do believe in what we are doing here as a community. I will not be misguided by any negativity towards our Valley, and I will continue to ride this wave of momentum so that I can proudly say, "I made this" and never be ashamed of any bottle my name is on.

Rhone varietals shine in LV

Its crazy how some wines really end up the exact opposite than you thought they would at harvest. Especially when you are working with new varietals for the first time and really your only guidelines for what to expect are other peoples wines made in the past from the same area.

2010 was a large vintage for Nottingham Cellars. The largest in our small history, including when we were making wines in Burlingame. This year I really wanted to do something special for our following, something the club members will love. The focus at Nottingham Cellars will remain Cabernet Sauvignon and Petite Sirah, but we also produced small lots of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre to produce our first ever GSM and our first stand alone Grenache and Mourved - Both of which wines are absolutely gorgeous.

Lets talk Grenache - When this wine was pressed it was so light in color - a ruby red grapefruit juice color. Absolutely elegant light-bodied wine with an italian blood orange pallet bursting with vibrant flavor. In just under six months of barrel aging time I have watched this wine evolve into something tremendous. After three months, I went from describing it as light bodied to medium bodied. Now - a rich full bodied red wine. As the wine has progressed, my rationale for what was happening was that the oak extraction was providing the dark color and developing the body of the wine. I still think this is true to a certain degree. But really what I think the reason for the sudden progress is the Grenache maturing at a fast rate. It is still a beautifully vibrant ruby red hue but dark - like no other wine I've ever scene. I know that this will be instantly eaten up by the club - I've only got two barrels and one is probably dedicated to a GSM blend.

Mourvedre - An exact flip flop of the Grenache. When the wine finished fermentation it had a dark purple hue and really was showing pretty deep body for a freshly pressed wine. It still has that purple hue to it, but very light in color, almost Rose-ish. A wonderful wine with tons of flavor. It is weird how this wine really ended up developing into such a soft, elegant wine when I thought it would be such a powerhouse. I guess I know what to expect for this year's harvest - but do I really? We have to remember that this past harvest came after one of the oddest growing seasons in years.

These wines are produced purely for our valued club members in 75 case lots or smaller. This small Rhone program is "just to get my foot in the door" on what I think are the most intriguing varietals to work with and definitely grown to perfection in the Livermore Valley. I look forward to making these small lots again this year and I can't wait to share them with you when the time is right.

First Rack/First Blog

For over a year now I have been on the fence about starting a blog about my life as a winemaker. In the past I have felt many inspirations to do so, but never acted on them. We all get busy, and it is easy to pass on something that is not already a part of our routine. It takes something very special to break that routine. That special something happened today, and it is only 9:00 AM.

Today I started racking my 2010 Vintage wines. I got in early to get going, because my program is very complex. I have 126 Barrels to rack, which will probably take the better part of two weeks. The complexity is what this blog is about today.

Many of you who have come in to the winery while I am here (which is about 99% of my life - not a bad thing) have heard me talk highly of the 2010 vintage in general. The state of California seems pretty skeptical because of the extremely mild weather which brought a really late pick in most vineyards, and in a lot of cases fruit left hanging that never got ripe. Let me assure you that NC 2010 vintage will deliver some seriously complex Cabernet Sauvignon. Let me tell you why:

Starting with the 09 vintage, I will be releasing a Vineyard Designate Cabernet Series, as well as my standard Livermore Valley, and Livermore Valley Reserve Cabs. The VDCS will be an extremely small production from Casa De Vinas, Del Arroyo Vineyard, and Wisner Vineyard. 2009 is showing amazing, as it should. It was a healthy growing season, we had outstanding fermentations with little or no issues, we used several different coopers to increase complexity, and we sourced fruit from all the right places.

So why is 2010 different? Well, I can't speak for the state of California, or even the Livermore Valley, but in the case of Nottingham Cellars, we took that level of complexity up a notch. We kept the three vineyards noted above, and tacked on Ghielmetti Clone 4 Cabernet. For Casa De Vinas, our largest volume of production, we split the ten tons into 4 different lots and fermented each using different yeast strains. These 5 lots are the source of my happiness today. Every single lot is completely different from the other in terms of flavor, body, tannin level, color, mouth feel, etc, and these wines are babies. Less than 6 months old. The variance in flavor profile will only grow from here.

With the other 3 vineyards I worked with (a total of 4 more lots) we are seeing tremendous variance in flavor based purely on complex barrel programs. THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT.

All in all, we have 9 lots of Cabernet Sauvignon from v2010 which are broken down by Vineyard and Yeast Strain. Factor in our different barrel programs within those given lots, and we are looking at a total of 36 different "versions" of Livermore Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. All are tremendously unique flavorful delicious wines - even in their youth.