I received a call just as I was about to take a nap before my afternoon shift:
"Would you like to take a ride around Alexander Valley? I'm dropping off Harvest Baskets to some of my clients." Robin, of M.A. Silva Corks, was on a mission to deliver goodies she personally put together for her winery friends. Dropping off beer and snacks always makes a person welcome.
In Dallas, with the heat and the lack of scenery, the answer would have been --- "click-- dial tone." No way I'm giving up my nap before a shift. But, this was an intriguing offer.
Thirty minutes later I'm winding through and high above Alexander Valley. An overlooked gem in wine country. We had time to stop at three places. By coincidence they varied in size small, medium and large. Stuhlmuller, Stryker and PreVail.
Stuhlmuller is a tiny picturesque red barn-like winery with the Press, Tanks and other various winery equipment outside under a canopy. The Red Barn is the barrel room and was brimming with barrels right to the door. It was just the winemaker, Leo, and two interns. Robin loves these wines. A busy time at Stuhlmuller. We'll be back to taste the wines when I am off.
I was a guest of Ferrari-Carano back in 2004. It was amazing to now roam the vast and ultra-modern PreVail property. Something that was talked about 5 years previous. A high-tech, modern gem with caves included. Their caves criss-cross under the mountain like a small town. Peter, PreVail's enologist, was very friendly and did not seem to mind the interruption at all. He seemed to enjoy speaking to us about the place. He was there from the inception in 2003. The caves came first, then they built the winery. Just a breathtaking place. Check out this view from their driveway (a mile or so long driveway).
Stryker's architecture is a thing of beauty. Look at the background in the final photo. They use the slotted screens in a unique way so that visitors can also view the working winery and vineyards from inside the tasting room or from the patio decks. That's Jen, the assistant winemaker with Stryker's co-founder, Craig surrounding Robin.
Ironically, they were working on a load of Martinelli Chardonnay grapes that was also destined for Ramey. I would be working on those same Martinelli grapes in just an hour or so.
Harvest can be a hectic time. It is both gratifying and stressful. Think about it - the winery's whole year depends on closing out these last few months successfully. Any setbacks or misfortunes and a whole year is wasted. Just look to Southern Brunello last year - 7 minutes of hail ruined many acres right before the harvest. A Harvest Basket is a gesture of goodwill and a thank you, not something that will make or break your season. Still, it means someone was thinking about the people they've worked with all year; maybe for many years. All ships rise. Their success is your success. (and besides, a little love is always a good thing).
ps - later when I was at work, that girl from M.A. Silva Corks dropped off some beer and a basket of goodies for the Ramey crew!
