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December, 2006

• Harvest 2006 Report
• Holiday Gift Idea - Wine Subscription Program
• 2005 Stephen Ross Pinot Noir Central Coast 
• 2004 Stephen Ross Pinot Noir Stone Corral Vineyard
• 2005 Flying Cloud Syrah Rose Paso Robles
• Large Format Bottle Offering
• Upcoming Events

Harvest 2006 Report

This year Mother Nature gave us a very long growing season which allowed for great hang time.  We patiently waited throughout August and September for the flavor and sugar levels in the grapes to develop and the acidity to drop.  Although there were very warm temperatures in July, and consequently many people would ask me if it was going to be an early harvest, the majority of the growing season was cool and that cool weather persisted throughout the fall harvest.  Picking started on September 12, about three weeks later than the 2005 harvest.

After a cool winter with an average amount of rainfall around 27 inches, bud break at our estate vineyard, Stone Corral, commenced slightly early on February 21.  However, late winter rain and day after day of gray skies during March and April contributed to very slow shoot growth and the vines seemed to be in a state of suspended animation with shoot length at about four inches.  The last rain storm dropped 1.5 inches of water on May 21, and the following day was dry and sunny leading into flowering.  Flowering occurred at the end of May and beginning of June,

coinciding with typical strong cool winds coming off the Pacific Ocean.  During the later part of June the weather was gorgeous, warm days at 72 degrees and it looked like flower set was good with a good crop and shattered clusters only in the windiest part of the vineyard.  Rain and wind are the enemies of the flower’s ability to set a berry – we had both, but not to an extent to cause too many unfertilized flowers.  The weather was so nice during June, the vines burst into vigorous growth and it was all we could do to keep up with hedging the canopy.  July was unusually warm with two weeks of very warm temperature around 90 - 95 degrees.  Going into August and September, we enjoyed beautiful cool to moderate weather and this gave the fruit ample time for flavor development.  With the exception of a brief rainstorm in early October, the harvest weather was ideal.

With generally moderate yields, about one bottle per vine, and the long growing season, our wines have great balance and probably the best flavors of recent vintages.

Holiday Gift Idea - Wine Subscription Program

The winter shipment of wine for the wine subscribers will go out the second week of January.  This shipment will include 2005 Pinot Noir Central Coast, 2004 Pinot Noir Stone Corral Vineyard, 2005 Flying Cloud Syrah Rose and 2005 Zinfandel Dante Dusi Vineyard.  For those who are not familiar with this program, the shipment is discounted 20% and the same 20% discount is applied to any other purchase from the winery.  It’s a great deal.  We send three shipments per year, four bottles each shipment.

If you would like to become a wine subscriber or offer this as a gift, you can sign up on line or call the winery at 805.594.1318.

2005 Stephen Ross Pinot Noir Central Coast - $20 per bottle

This bottling has become a wildly popular wine based on its highlights of fruit flavors, soft textures and its price.  In the wake of the rise of popularity of Pinot Noir from the movie Sideways, this price point is in strong demand throughout the wine market in the United States.

The Pinot Noir for the 2005 Central Coast blend came primarily from vineyards in the Edna Valley; Edna Ranch, Wolff Vineyard and Stone Corral Vineyard. The Edna Valley is located in the South Central Coast of California a few miles southeast of the town of San Luis Obispo; it spans in an East-West orientation and is open to the Pacific Ocean to the West. The climate is strongly influenced by regular summer-time afternoon cool breezes from the ocean. Also of significance, it lies in Southern California at 34 degrees latitude, and therefore receives a lot of intense sunlight from a “directly overhead” sun. The 2005 season was generally cool and moderate. Crop yields were slightly above average this year at Wolff Vineyard and Edna Ranch, around 3 to 3.5 tons per acre.

This is a dark ruby-red, purplish colored Pinot Noir with aromas reminiscent of cherries, dried cranberries, white pepper and cedar; the palate is soft and creamy with lush tannins and finishes with lingering cherry, smoked meat and spicy flavors. 1,381 cases produced.

2004 Stephen Ross Pinot Noir Stone Corral Vineyard - $45 per bottle

We are now offering our second release from our estate vineyard. The vineyard is yielding very concentrated wines abundant in rich, voluptuous tannins and textures. Our yields are still quite low at 2/3 ton per acre or about one bottle per vine; the vineyard is young; it continues to grow and establish its root system and fill out the canopy.
The 2004 season was generally cool and moderate, punctuated by a week of 95 - 100 ºF days in early September. Fortunately, the well drained soils at Stone Corral allow irrigation water to quickly percolate to the root zone. The canopy and fruit maintained its integrity throughout the warm period. Furthermore, the yields per acre were low and more importantly the yield in terms of number of clusters per vine was low - we did not see noticeable shriveling or dehydration in the fruit. In other words, the vines were able to cope with the warm temperatures through timely irrigations and a light crop on each vine.

The wine has aromas of boysenberry and black truffles and is quite remarkable for its weight, concentration and voluptuous tannins on the palate. This is a luxurious, age worthy wine that we produce in very limited quantities. Out of a total of sixteen barrels produced in 2004, six barrels were selected for our Stone Corral vineyard designated wine, with the remaining barrels making up a significant portion of our Edna Valley appellation bottling. 296 six-packs produced.


2005 Flying Cloud Syrah Rose Paso Robles - $12 per bottle

This is a refreshing dry rosé made in the Provençal style. The 2005 growing season was exceptional, moderate and warm in Paso Robles. The grapes were crushed, and then pressed in a stainless steel programmable basket press to create a lightly colored, aromatic juice low in tannin. The juice was fermented cold (52 ºF) in stainless steel, and aged in neutral French oak barrels sur lies, and did not undergo malomactic fermentation. 

In the glass, the wine has an enticing light salmon pink color and is brilliant in clarity. The aromas are reminiscent of rhubarb, citrus zest, and grapefruit. The palate has fine tannins, is light in body and finishes with crisp acidity. This is an elegant, refreshing wine that can be enjoyed before a meal or with food, best served chilled. It’s really an all seasons wine. 248 cases produced.

Large Format Bottle Offering

From the library, we have a very limited number of 1.5 liter and 3 liter bottles available. These make extraordinary gifts or a large dinner party quite memorable.

Upcoming Events

March 2 – 3, 2007 
World of Pinot Noir
Shell Beach, CA.

For more information, contact Felicia Montmayor at 805.489.1758 or go to www.worldofpinotnoir.com
April 21, 2007  Stephen Ross Barrel Adopter Dinner, Santa Maria, CA.
 
July 12 – 15, 2007
Central Coast Wine Classic
Shell Beach, CA.

For more information, contact Archie McLaren at (805) 544-1285 or archie@slonet.org.