The Wine Club Deck, Part 1

Almost every Wednesday, the 4 Pina brothers meet to discuss the winery business & operations. At one of these meetings last September, I suggested that we build a deck above the winery for use during our various events for our Wine Club members. We discussed it at length and the brothers gave me the go ahead.


The first step was deciding on a location. I walked the hillside and found a beautiful spot between the two upper vineyards. The view was incredible! And it was even fairly flat, unlike most of the property. But, it was quite a trek to get there and a bit too far from the winery & restroom. So the search continued.


I found a small corner below the vineyard that could handle the 12’ X 12’ deck and marked it out for the brothers to review for input & approval.

 Davie suggested I change the orientation slightly so we could put in a bigger deck – a whopping 16’ X 16’! So I did. The brothers checked it out and liked it. Davie sent over a backhoe operator to get the area roughly leveled.

So, I started working on it. I chose to work alone in the early stages, because I needed to spend as much time thinking about the project as working on it, and I’m not comfortable with folks standing around waiting for me to direct them. Once I had the foundation under way, I called on my son Ty to help me. I knew he would be okay with waiting for me to sort my thoughts out. On top of that, he was anxious to learn about construction. We worked well together.

Ty framing the foundation.

Here, the foundation is almost complete. It was about here that brother John jumped in and treated the wood with a high quality sealer. It’s an important job that goes unnoticed - Thanks John!

In this picture, the deck was nearing completion. The rains started and it seems there were few extended dry periods for the next several months. But finally, it was time for the first official use of the deck.

On Saturday, April 24th, we had our Howell Mountain, Buckeye Vineyard Cabernet release party. Our Red Tilde Wine Club members were invited up to the deck for chocolate, pictures and wine tasting.

We opened up magnums of our 2002 Buckeye & 2005 D’Adamo Cabs. And we also poured our new release Chardonnay. They were all well received!

Even though the deck isn't too much higher than the winery, the slight increase in elevation is quite noticable.

Joe Bauer (left) took pictures all day of our Club members while Tom Shirmang poured wine at our Reserve tasting table.

And these silly ladies, Cindy Pina & Lori Bauer, greeted folks, poured wine and kept everything running smoothly on the deck.

Also serving on the deck, my son Tyler, & myself (I'm on the right)

Linda & Randy (Placerville) were the first Club Members to visit the deck

Followed closely by Sandy & Ron (Napa)

There are so many pictures to share that I will be adding additional posts to include them all. Check back for Part 2!

"Processed" Wine

"Processed" Wine

by Ross Workman

The complaint about what some call high alcohol levels in wines sometimes makes the point that wines occasionally are somehow manipulated to reduce alcohol levels and that such "processing" makes a wine "unnatural" or "dishonest." The types of processes involved in reducing alcohol are mainly with a spinning cone or membrane filtration. But quaere: Are these techniques something that makes the wine less natural and less desirable?


The implication seems to be that, without the steps taken to adjust alcohol level, the wine would be a natural product. And that, with the steps, it becomes a processed product, invoking the benefits of natural food from the farmers' market versus manipulated, processed food of the supermarket. But, really, alcohol adjustment is merely one more process among the many manipulations sometimes used to turn grapes into bottled wine.


A great deal of our food, perhaps most of it, is processed one way or another. We sometimes eat raw fresh fruit and vegetables more or less as they left the tree or field. But cooking is certainly a form of processing. And a great deal of other foods requires some processing before cooking. There is no salami, sausage, bacon or proscuitto to be found in the carcass of a slaughtered pig. Beef does not come out of the cow as pastrami or corned beef. We remove the hulls from rice and grind most other grains. Nuts are usually roasted as well as being shelled. But there is not much complaint about peanut butter, ham & eggs or a pastrami sandwich being processed food.


To make grapes into wine we mechanically remove the stems and crush the berries. Cultured, purchased yeast is often added for fermentation. Even in a so-called gravity flow winery, there are frequent times when the wine is pumped from one place to another. The fermentation temperature is always controlled in modern wines; that involves quite un-natural refrigeration. Sometimes cold-stabilization of white wines is done by chilling to 32 degrees or less for several days. For a century or more a small amount of sulfites have been added to prevent spoilage and oxidation of the wine. When it is bottled, a layer of inert gas is injected between the wine and the cork to prevent oxidation.


Despite all this processing, some critics complain that an additional step, to adjust the alcohol level, somehow detracts from the character of the wine as a natural product. Surely they are not serious. Their true complaint is that the winemaker used fully ripe grapes with high natural sugar levels resulting in an alcohol level 1% or more higher than it would have been with less ripe grapes.


Many of today's top winemakers prefer riper fruit, an intentional choice for greater development of phenolic compounds and enhanced flavors. As riper grapes have more sugar, this higher alcohol becomes a problem - or an asset - depending on the winemaker. One winery is currently studying the potential health benefits of wines produced from fruit left on the vine for enhanced ripeness versus old world standards. Adjusting the alcohol has become a winemakers tool worldwide, and the wines are better for it


The argument is not really about making wine dishonest by using the processes of adjusting the alcohol level. It is about a stylistic change and some people don't like change. Wine should be considered one of the most natural, wholesome products available.


The most important wine critics agree that these slightly riper wines are better tasting. And some winemakers have lowered the alcohol, while retaining the riper flavors, as an individual choice to make a better wine


Wine consumers can and should choose the style and flavor profile that suit them. Saying that a wine whose alcohol has been adjusted is less honest or natural than another wine, is merely a cover for someone's preference for the under-ripe style. What’s the honesty in that?


Fortunately there is plenty of wine in the world of both styles. So it is easy for everybody to follow the first rule of a thinking wine lover:


Drink what tastes good to you, not what somebody tells you that you should like.


Cheers!


Ross Workman

The Hills are Alive

Lupin on the hillside above the winery

Almost every work day, I take Yogi and we spend about an hour hiking the hills above the winery.  Most people are surprised to learn that leaving from the winery, I can be looking down on Lake Hennessey in about 15 minutes time.  I estimate that the loop I hike must encompass over 500 acres.  The scenery changes daily and even though I usually travel the same route, I never get bored. The Fall & Spring are my favorite seasons. Yogi likes it best after rainy periods for the small creeks that will run for a week or two.  He likes to drink from and walk through the creeks, usually at the same time.  If it's a warmer day, I will take him by the pond so he can go for a quick dip.  The pond is small, but will usually have 2 or 3 pairs of ducks in it.  My favorites are the colorful Wood Ducks.  To keep my heart ticking, I usually try to keep moving at a fairly good pace.  Earlier this week, I took my camera and moved just a bit slower to get pictures of some of my favorite hiking places.

This ledge of rocks, wildflowers & moss faces Southwest.  It's right out in the open and bakes in the summer sun.  It amazes me that after a few rains in the Fall, the bright green colors and spongey texture of the moss returns so quickly.

And here are some tiny wildflowers that can thrive & bloom on the surface of a rock.

But my favorite picture is of these tiny ferns that found a home in the crevices of these rocks (You have to click to enlarge and look closely). 

The weekend is here.  Go take a hike!

The Resurrection of the Rutherford Grange

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead

The Rutherford of today bears little resemblance to the Rutherford I knew growing up.  But one of the buildings appears to have changed little over the years: The Rutherford Grange Hall.

 

It' a very unpretentious building.

Just like the whole town of Rutherford was.

Just like the town of Oakville was.

Just like the town of Yountville was.

But the times, they are a changin'

And because they are changing, it gets more important every day, to retain our ties to the past. And if need be, to make a significant effort to retain our ties to the past.  That's easy to say, but how many people are willing to make that significant effort?

Well, in the case of the Rutherford Grange Hall, there were enough.

  

 Does this sound like something that you'd like to be a part of?  If so, you're in luck!

From: Susan Hirschy

Sent: Friday, April 09, 2010 9:37 AM

Friends and Neighbors-

It was announced late last month that April is Free Membership month for Granges in California. If anyone you know would like to become a grange member, please have them fill out the attached form and fax it to 707-265-9182 or mail it to POB 616, Rutherford, Ca 94573. Just circle the Membership level for an Individual, Family or Business Affiliate Member. If they would like to become a Business Affiliate Member, please have them add the owner’s name to the form (or two people within the business), as well as the Business Name. If interested in being on the Volunteer List, just jot that in the corner.

As noted above, If you have any questions, direct them to the membership director: Peg Cann @ 265-0405

And please checkout the website: http://www.rutherfordgrange.com/

 To learn a bit more about California Granges, please click on the link below:

  

 http://www.californiagrange.org/news/pdf/2010spring.pdf

Napa Valley Register - 10 Questions for the Piña Brothers

Larry, John, Davie and Ranndy Piña of Piña Napa Valley

(Photo by Stuart King)

Today's Napa Valley Register features the four Piña brothers of Piña Napa Valley in Jennifer Huffman's ongoing 10 Questions Business Section. Having 4 participants in this feature was a first for Jennifer, but she did a great job!

Please check it out:

http://www.napavalleyregister.com/business/10-questions/article_95307c6e-41eb-11df-97a1-001cc4c03286.html

The Route of My Commute

I've probably bragged before about my short & picturesque commute to work.
It's always dark when I go to work, so I don't see the beauty that I'm driving past. As I left work on Saturday, I was once again impressed by the sights of Napa Valley in Spring.  I decided to share the pictures I snapped (or should I say digitally recorded) on my way home.

Our Mom - The Unsung Heroine

Earlier today, I was being interviewed on the phone for an upcoming newspaper article about the winery. ...   "Yes, 4 brothers"   ".... No other siblings?"  "Nope"   "Oh, your poor Mother!" 

Yes, our poor Mom (RIP). She worked so hard taking care of my Dad and us four boys. Today (April 2nd) was her birthday.  She would have been 84 years old today.  I thought it would be nice to take some flowers and visit her grave at the cemetery in St. Helena.  

After work, I went home and collected these flowers to leave at her gravesite.  Cindy arranged them and we got ready to leave. But when we got there, I realized that I had forgotten the flowers. Poor Mom.

It seems that whenever the history of the family, the vineyard management company & the winery are discussed, Mom is seldom acknowledeged.  But she was the hidden strength that made it all work.  I miss her and wish I could give her a hug and thank her for all the things I should have thanked her for growing up. She devoted her entire life to her family, and asked for/got so little in return.  Thanks Mom... Sorry about the flowers.

After visiting Mom (& Dad's) gravesite, we went to where my Dad's Mom & Dad (our grandparents) are laid to rest.  They were born in Spain in the late 1800's.

This is a picture of my grandparents on their wedding day.  If you think she looks a little scared, it's with good reason.  Her life was to be no easier than my Mom's, but that's a topic for another blog.

Just to the left of their plot, I noticed a variety of headstones representing immigrants from many places around the world.  It was a physical representation of the United States as a "melting pot".

"Native of Armenia   Native of Germany"

The names evoked images of Ellis Island & Angel Island in my mind and I wondered what hardships those mothers had to endure.

Mother's Day is May 9th... And don't you forget it!