Thursday, September 28, 2006


2006 Catie's Corner Viognier Picked !!!


We're off to the races. Our 1st harvest & crush was on Tuesday 9/26. We picked over 3 tons of Viognier from the famed Kunde estate in Russian River Valley. We hand sorted, then crushed and pressed off our Viognier all on Tuesday the 26th. An exciting and very long day for us.

Clear racked pressed juice is measuring at
brix --> 26.8
pH --> 3.51
Ta --> 0.64

If you've ever tasted fruit cocktail from the can, that is what freshly pressed Catie's Corner Viognier juice is tasting like. Yummy.

Now its off to the fermentation tanks, we will age this vintage in stainless steel barrel once ready. May have more peach & apricot flavors versus the more lemony citrus 2004 vintage but I think will be just as aromatic and delicious. Can't wait to try as it evolves and ages.

Will be keeping you posted as our harvest crescendo rises. Next up --> our Mourvedre grapes from the Alta Mesa Vineyard down in Cuyama Valley.

Questions, please email me at bettina@sansskana.com

Monday, September 25, 2006

Harvest Update, 9/25


We wait and wait and wait....

Despite hot September days up and down California, our grapes are ripening slowly. Brix levels are all over the place. We maybe, report MAYBE picking Catie's Corner Viognier this week, brix on CC Viognier is up at 23.5 as reported by Joanie our vineyard manager this weekend. If that's the case, then we will be sorting soon.

Slower ripening conditions with Broken Leg Vineyard in Mendocino, Las Madres in Carneros, White Hawk in Santa Barbara. Probably next for harvest is Alta Mesa in Cuyama Valley. This is the big one, we rent a truck and pickup our grapes at dawn, can't wait.

But the name of the game in the last few weeks and up to harvest is tracking the low and high pressure systems over all of California. The trick is to keep the canopies and leaves pumping and ripening fruit without plumping the berries. Canopies are green & happy, Its a pretty sight...

We're keeping our fingers crossed, there's a long way to go...

Tuesday, September 19, 2006



Harvest Update, 9/17/06

Temperatures have climbed again in California, this is all good for grape ripening...

Here's some recent updates from our growers

From Catie's Corner Vineyard in Russian River Valley - brix on Viognier up to 23.5, we usually pick around 24-26brix, so its soooon. If weather holds, maybe we'll be picking and crushing our 1st lots this weekend.

From White Hawk Vineyard down in Santa Barbara - brix on our Syrah clones are still in the 17.5 brix level, we're estimating another 3-4 weeks before we're going to be ready.

From Alta Mesa Vineyard down in Cuyama Valley (east about an hour from Santa Maria), our Mourvedre grapes are in the 20brix level. David Corey our rock star vineyard manager is estimating harvest to be either last week in September or 1st week in October. maybe just before Fish C's birthday!

I'll keep you posted as we get updates from our nervous & excited vineyard owners and managers.

We share the nerves and excitement. It never ceases to amaze us how this time before harvest is the LULL BEFORE THE STORM!

Q's, please email me at bettina@sansakana.com

Thursday, September 14, 2006

Stranded at the Clubhouse

In August of this year, Bettina and I went down to Cabo San Lucas for a long weekend. The trip was only slightly spontaneous; aside from getting the biggest barbecue in Northern California, Bettina wanted to take a trip for our anniversary. Cabo was chosen because, from San Fran, it is a quick 2.5 hour flight and a 30 minute bus ride between fog and sun on the beach, and at this time of year, the place isn't overrun with tourists and the pace is very relaxing. Now Cabo is a lot more about margueritas than wine, true, and let's just say we discovered the invaluable pacifying effect of citrus and tequila on the human nervous system, but we both love exploring the wines of different regions and Mexico is no different.

We had 3 nights' meals there, tried to explore what wines show best. The selection (aside from the expected selection from California) leaned heavily toward South America, and also showcased several Mexico wineries, as well. As Mexico (like much of California) was settled by the missions as part of Spanish rule, it is not surprising to find many old and established wineries in the region. Our surprise was the explosion of growth in wineries in the Baja peninsula, with many bottles available for $100 or more. I can't say that we tried enough to pass judgment on these wines versus those of other regions, but the passion we found for their local wines was encouraging -- perhaps another trip is needed to explore these regions more carefully.

Disappointing in the experience was not so much the wines, but the state of wine storage: Baja is still desert environs, and though the beer is stored cold, the wine is not. We had 2 bottles delivered so warm that we insisted had to be chilled before we could taste it, and one which obviously went bad from poor storage conditions. In my view, the restaurants are still learning this aspect of their service, though they were all apologetic for the state of the wine and I believe this will change in the future.

When we were in Buenos Aires a few years back, we got great exposure to the wines of Mendoza. In Mexico, it seems the bias is toward Chilean wines, and we found several selections which were joint ventures from many of the French chateaux; more bourdeaux style than the mendoza region, though our sampling was probably biased by what wines and styles the distributors wanted to push, and not truly representative of the breadth of winemaking going on in that region (so, another trip is needed!)

This isn't meant to be a review of specific wines we tried, but rather my impressions of the experience in Cabo, and interest in seeing how things develop in the future. In the end, you always are reminded that you are in Cabo and not Loire -- when the flash flood stranded us on the golf course and we were rescued by workers cutting through the barbed wire to truck us back, our survival while trapped at the clubhouse depended solely on margueritas and ceviche!

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Wine Tasting Events


Arriving at the restaurant 2 hours before opening, you are greeted when you enter with a frenzy of activity as everyone hurries to get the floor set up in time for opening. Standing there with 2 cases of wine for the tasting that evening, you feel as out of place as, well, as a fish out of water. It's like that dream where you're naked and nobody notices, except you aren't dreaming, you definitely are not naked, and your arms are getting tired holding these 2 cases!

As you make the way across the floor towards the bar finally one of the wait staff notices you. Surprised, in a don't-we-have-a-security-guard-watching-the-door kind of way, she reconnects after a second and says "Yes, that's right, we're all looking forward to the tasting tonight!" You believe her anyway because you know that they are trying to set up a hundred salt and pepper shakers in under 2 minutes, and there's place settings and glass ware still to be put out.

These tasting events are great events in that the owner, the staff, the customers -- everybody likes to see the event and everyone loves having a great wine pouring at a special event! And, to be sure, for us who are doing the pouring, it's a great and hectic night (though standing and talking and pouring non-stop for 3 to 4 hours takes Olympic stamina from just about anyone!)
Usually our biggest fans are the chefs and wait staff themselves -- these are people who make their living around fine food and great wine, and who develop acute sensitivities to the differences in flavors and tastes over time. Their endorsement of San Sakana really does mean something (so the next time your wait person recommends a San Sakana wine, take it to heart!)

For us, we are always hoarse and exhausted after the end of the evening, another hundred pours, hopefully a new handful of San Sakana fans and wine club members. In the end, a great night's sleep and the chance to do it again!

Thanks for attending some of our tastings, for updates on our upcoming events, please check our website at www.sansakana.com