T O O RDER M ORE F EA T URED W INES C ALL 1-800-823-5527 T ODAY ! Volume 23 Number 7 The ©Vinesse Wine Club 2015 The SKU 24974 GrThe Officiala NewslepTTer fOrevine ViiNesse wiiNe club MeMbers Summer in the Vineyard Grassini: A ‘Green’ Leader A Wine and Music Getaway Wining in Carmel and Monterey G E T Y OUR D AILY D OSE O F W INE N E W S A T http://blog.vinesse.com 2 • The Grapevine • Visit vinesse.com OUR MISSION: To uncover and bring you wine gems from around the world, which you’re ediTOr’s JOurNal not likely to discover on your own, and which enhance your wine enjoyment. YOUR GRAPEVINE TEAM: Intrepid Wine Enthusiast, Chief A California 1 Wine Adventure Taster and Winehound: Martin Stewart By Robert Johnson Chief Operating Officer (aka “The Buck Stops Here”): ummertime is a great time to take a drive on Highway Lawrence D. Dutra S1 — the scenic, occasionally harrowing road that hugs Editor: California’s Pacific Coast. Robert Johnson Wine Steward: Harrowing, in part, Valley Road. Your Katie Montgomery because of the hairpin destination: Cowgirl The Grapevine is published by Vinesse, turns and narrow Winery, where an 822 Hampshire Road, Suite E, Westlake lanes, but even more authentic “western” Village, CA 91361; 1-800-823-5527. Copyright by Vinesse, LLC. Printed in USA. so because many first- experience awaits. The No responsibility is assumed for loss or time visitors are trying tasting room is housed damage to unsolicited materials. to drive and soak in in an old redwood the scenery at the same barn, and nine chickens Be good to the planet time. But if you can roam the grounds. manage to dodge them, For a totally different RECYCLE you can have a fabulous vibe, head to nearby day of sightseeing, wine tasting and Joyce Vineyards, where visitors casual dining. encounter a 1,700-square-foot industrial CHARTER MEMBER I suggest staying in Monterey, and urban and contemporary tasting room. BENEFITS: waking up to breakfast at Loulou’s Wine can be sampled at a spacious bar The Grapevine Newsletter Griddle in the Middle. If you’re or in one of several lounge areas. adventurous, or feel like solidifying You can then head back toward the Premium wine selections at members-only prices your seaside cred, try the Squiddle & ocean, check out the shops of Carmel- Eggs (tender calamari steak, lightly by-the-Sea, and then unwind with a Wine tasting as a participant breaded and grilled to a crispy brown, casual dinner at Monterey’s Jeninni on VINESSE’s Gold Medal Award Panel served with eggs as you like them). Kitchen + Wine Bar. There, you can If you have a sweet tooth, there’s choose between enticing entrees or Complimentary subscription only one choice: the chocolate chip small bites, accompanied by a glass to VINESSE’s Cyber Circle “hubcap” griddle cakes (served with of wine from a well curated list. Community butter and syrup). The menu changes daily, but if the Random giveaways of wine The nearby (everything is nearby Gazpachuelo (clams, white beans and and accessories in this quaint town) Monterey Bay local petrale sole) is available… go for Wine Finders Reward — Aquarium continues to be a world- it. identify a future wine selection class attraction 31 years after it So if you’re looking to escape the and earn a reward opened. And unlike many aquariums, heat, plan a day, a weekend or a week Perfectly matched recipes for it requires only a few hours to in California’s Monterey and Carmel featured wine selections experience everything it has to offer. area. Trust me, you won’t run out Complimentary wine tasting Next, head south toward Carmel, of fun wineries or fine restaurants to then cut inland (east) on Carmel visit. Visit vinesse.com • The Grapevine • 3 Summer in the Vineyard: Important Tasks Ahead ummer is here, and in California, grape growers and winemakers are riding an emotional Srollercoaster. On one hand, they are like other Californians in wishing This process also encourages air circulation, which helps that one of the worst droughts in the state’s history could prevent rot. be over. On the other hand, they know that too much rain After that, it’s a matter of keeping an eye on the vines in the summer can wreak havoc on the grape-growing to make sure they’re not producing too many bunches. If season. they are, they’ll be trimmed back in order to concentrate Following bud break in spring, a series of important tasks aromas and flavors in the remaining grapes. are undertaken in the vineyard to help Here’s how the Professional Friends of ensure healthy and fully ripened grapes Wine describe “a perfect wine season”: at harvest time. • Cool, wet winter provides plenty of There is the “desuckering” of the ground water. vines, removing any non-fruit shoots • Lack of rain or frost after the first and encouraging the vine to focus its warm days of spring. energies on those that do bear fruit. As • Fruit dropped to ensure only a the shoots grow, they must be raised moderate crop load. from the ground and attached vertically • Mild days and cool nights all to wires above the main support wires. summer, with no rain or heat wave. Next comes the more detailed task of • Vines minimally irrigated and In this vineyard, it’s almost time to trim trellising, which involves separating, back the vine so that the fruit receives moderately stressed. or spacing out, the shoots so that sufficient light through the rest of the • Warm, dry days preceding and they receive maximum light exposure. growing season. during harvest. EACH SHIPMENT WINE COLOR MIX: INCLUDES: Reds, Whites, or Both ­­— • 4 bottles of the best finds It’s Your Choice! FEATURED WINES MADE from California FREQUENCY: IN CALIFORNIA EXCLUSIVELY! Approximately • Detailed Tasting Notes • Napa • Sacramento Delta for each wine Every Other Month • Sonoma • Amador County PRICE: • Santa Ynez • Mendocino Only $15-$17 average per bottle plus shipping • Monterey ... and More! To learn more about this Club, call 800-823-5527 or visit www.Vinesse.com 4 • The Grapevine • Visit vinesse.com ® Forchini Winery: A True VINESSE Grassini Family Vineyards: American Success Story A Jewel of Happy Canyon JOIN US FOR AN INCREDIBLE WINE JOURNEY! Each Shipment Takes You to a Different Corner of the Wine World! nstead of joining the rest of the family at church on “ISundays, my grandfather, Articondo Grassini… was more Taste Exquisite Boutique religious about keeping a garden,” recalls Larry Grassini, who Wines... Savor Each Country’s owns Grassini Family Vineyards and Winery with his wife, Winemaking Tradition... and Sharon. Collect Some Souvenirs! “He’d stay home to make that planted Cabernet Sauvignon clones evening’s ravioli from the green bounty proudly bear the names of all of our EACH SHIPMENT of his garden, while enjoying a glass children.” of wine (or two),” Grassini continued. That vineyard is located northwest INCLUDES: “He also kept chickens. As a nod to of Santa Barbara, within the 40-mile- • 6 bottles of specially selected Grandpa Articondo, industrious fowl wide Santa Ynez Valley. At the valley’s roam our vineyard while sustainably eastern edge is the appellation known wines from one country or fertilizing the vines.” as Happy Canyon, an area blessed with region of the wine world Articondo Grassini had come from warm days and cool marine influences • Detailed Tasting Notes for each Pisa, Italy, in the early 1900s with his with few variations. Nestled on ridge featured wine wife, Afiora Tinucci. Their son (Larry’s and valley, Grassini Family Vineyards father), Leo Peter Grassinii, although and Winery has found a tranquil refuge he did not make ravioli on Sundays, where all the conditions necessary for was equally passionate about keeping great wine happily converge. WINE COLOR MIX: a garden to grow much of the family’s When the Grassinis decided to plant food. He shared his love for the soil vines on the property that they had Reds, Whites, or Mixed with his children and grandchildren. This firmly entrenched tradition has FREQUENCY: been lovingly passed on. A vegetable garden has been planted at the Grassini 6 times per year Family Vineyards, providing the family PRICE: with many of the treats they serve with their wine. $139.99 per shipment And now, these earthy traditions have including shipping been entrusted to the third and fourth generations. “From day one, my wife Sharon, To learn more about and daughters Katie, Corey, Mandy this Club, call 800-823-5527 and Molly, have been there in or visit www.Vinesse.com support of this exciting and enriching undertaking,” Larry Grassini says. “Different blocks of our recently Visit vinesse.com • The Grapevine • 5 reduction, hand-training and careful timing of the pick come together to produce the soft tannins and overall balance of the structure, acid levels, beautiful aromatics, and elegant mouthfeel in the resulting wines. & Each lot from the various vineyard blocks is fermented separately in small Tasting room. batches to ensure proper fermentation temperatures. As in the vineyard, owned for decades, they called upon patience in the wine caves pays off. THE Fastest-groWING Jeff Newton and Larry Finkle, the Both red and white wines are allowed CLUB IN VINESSE creators of Coastal Vineyard Care, to spend leisurely and generous HISTORY! a full-service vineyard management amounts of time in barrel in order company that applies sustainable, to mature and reach the sought-after A club for people who enjoy organic and biodynamic principles to balance.