The holiday season is busy for all and we are no exception.  The last three weeks of each year find us traveling to the East Coast.  Ten days in Baltimore with family and visiting a few key accounts in Maryland, then onto visit with several friends in Pennsylvannia, New Jersey and the Finger Lakes Region of New York.  We are particularly looking forward to the Finger Lakes portion of the trip as we'll have an opportunity to visit a few of the Finger Lakes wineries.  The region is becoming well-known for Gewurztraminer and Riesling winegrowing and is a region of which I have not tasted since the late 1980's.

Year-end wine sales introduced a fun, new surprise in our first corporate gift order!  This corporate gift order was even more interesting to us because the organization shares our name....Calstar Products.  It makes perfect sense for us to work together to send out wine gifts to their customers with a similar name.  Note to self:  contact companies who share our name!

On the winemaking side, the 2009 Pinots finished up ML (malolactic fermentation) and were sulphured and reinoculations are moving along.  Other reinoculations are for two lots of Chardonnay that I’m doing in barrel.  It looks like they’ll make it on the first try though one is moving slower than the other.  Interestingly enough, ML fermentations, which usually prefer warmer conditions, are taking off and finishing in the 55-60 degree F cellar.  Go figure.  Also, I have done fining on the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc and Gewürztraminers in preparation for bottling in the next couple of months.  I like to bottle aromatic whites early to preserve their fruit character.

With that, we wish all of you a very happy and healthy New Year!