What's Up at the Winery?

Field Trip to San Francisco!

Happy Taster. Here's T. eyeball-ing our tasting table at the "awards tasting" for the Gold Medal winners of the 2012 SF Chronicle International Wine Tasting Competition ... that took place Saturday at Fort Mason. Several hundred wineries. Many thousands of tasters. Great wines!

Taster's Choice. Adorah and AhNanDa serving up our winners

with laughter and smiles from 2 to 5 PM.

It's All in the Blend. The 09 Joyous (right), Gold Medal, chats amicably with its main component, the 09 Blue Hand Cab, Silver Medal. (Not pictured: 09 Merlot of the Violet Flame, Gold Medal, and 09 Zen-Zin, Silver Medal)

Festive. A cluster of balloons tries unsuccessfully to liberate itself through one of the giant windows in the old covered pier at Fort Mason.

Happy Campers. What's not to like on a beautiful, warm, sunny day in February

 in SF with superb wines and everyone in a springtime kick-up-your-heels mood? 

As one notable winemaker was heard to say: 

"This doesn't suck."

The Party's Over? After several hours of intensive tasting and laughter, 

Team Satori trudges past a statue of Phil Burton, 

longtime SF congressman, on their way back to the motel.

Home Away From Home. Satori Cellars lies at the intersection of New Avenue and Buena Vista Avenue in Gilroy, so what better spot in SF to weather a night "off campus?" And, it is only a 5-minute walk (stumble?) from Fort Mason.

Room with a View. Well, actually, it's the rooftop garden of the Buena Vista Motel, overlooking the Golden Gate at Sunset. 

Sunbathers. T. and Adorah and Apollo, backs to the Setting Sun, 

eyes to a vision of What's Up Next.

Hotline. AuRoRa and AhNanDa, sporting the latest in Ponchos and Throws, look on as Carol accepts a congratulatory phone call from the President.

Choose One. This is either a photo of Jerry Garcia atop a Haight-Ashbury rooftop (from the inside cover of an old GD album) or a winemaker alone with his thoughts.

This Must be a Band. If you were a band, what kind of band would you be?

The Crab House on Union. Somehow, Adorah got a great fish restauran in SF

 to make room for 10 people at 7:30 on a Saturday night without a reservation.

That's Satori.

Teri and Lynn join the festivities.

Remember Those Balloons? As the Sun sets on an amazing day in The City,

Adorah liberates a helium cluster ... and we watch them fly into the night.

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What's Up in the Vineyard?

Or, in this case, What's Down in the Vineyard?

Riley (the "ri " in satori) and the Sun down.

Every evening, at sundown -- 5:17 PM today here -- whomever is around drops everything, grabs a glass of Satori, and sets out for a sunset stroll around the vineyard.

No agenda ... nothing to do ... just a nice ritual opportunity to connect and talk ... to notice things in the vineyard that might need tending to ... to laugh at the pack of dogs (7 this week due to Elan, a temporary member) who love this ritual and race around and through and under the vines like greyhounds ... to admire the shifting cloud formations and colors ... to imagine fun ways to expand the play in so many ways.

Last night T. told us that he bought 150 pounds of oat hay seed that he is going to attempt to plant along the inner edge of the fence around the property so that the horses have something else to eat this spring other than the young shoots of Cabernet Sauvignon.

Riley, as usual, invited (firmly) his Mom to a foot race ... and she, as usual, complied, running in her cowboy boots. Fortunately, Riley had a little friend, Kelly, along for the jaunt this time, so Adorah was able to drop out after the first few sprints.

We talked about the itinerary for this Saturday's trip to the award "tasting ceremony" for the San Francisco Chronicle International Wine Tasting Competition ... at Fort Mason in San Francisco ... 2 to 5 PM for anyone who wants to join the throngs that will be there ... where we will be pouring our Gold Medal winners ... the 09 JoyoUS and 09 Merlot of the Violet Flame.

And, afterwards, as usual, we sat down somewhere outside and continued the conversation until it grew too cold ... and then we went in and made tacos.

###

What's Up at the Tasting Cabana?

Two customers -- chomping at the bit -- line up early for a tasting.

Or perhaps they are looking for a bowl of Adorah's soup (with oat crackers). 

Wonder is leading the parade, 

Sunny close behind.

Adorah greets them with noisy assistance from Fiona. 

What's Up in the Vineyard?

Well, after yesterday's nice inch+ of rain ... the mustard is really stretching and spreading ... and everybody is back in the vineyard, pruning the vines ... and pulling the canes for regular bonfires.


But this is Valentine's Day! So Happy Valentine's Day. Here's a heart nesting among Purple Cabbage and Alyssum ... the type of flowers that get us through the (admittedly short and mild) "winters" we have around here ... before things really get crazy, flower-wise.

And here are some Roses shining in a windowsill with a snowy Lake Tahoe background (from a fews years ago -- this year the snow is a bit thin up at the Lake).


2012 is the year of major transformations and transmutations (2012 = 5 = Change) in the heart ... and Valentine's Day is a wonderful day to start becoming consciously aware of the wonderful movements underway. Enjoy!

What's Up in the Vineyards?

Juan walking 

through the merlot and mustard jungle 

early this morning 

heading for coffee

(satori-coo)

Rafael pondering 

head-pruned primitivo 

before he makes 

his cuts

(satori-coo*)

(*satori-coo note: a satori-coo follows no rhyme or reason; it just sounds like Satori and Hi-Coo)

Rafael, with his official Michael Jackson autographed pruning glove, approaches the next Primitivo (a type of Zinfandel clone) vine. He's carrying the latest cool pruning tool -- battery-powered, electric cutters -- from France (on loan from Sheldon at Lightheart Cellars in San Martin -- thank you Sheldon!). The glove short-circuits the cutters, making it relatively certain that the Cutter cuts canes instead of fingers. You save the muscles in your hands and arms ... and speedy? Rafael can prune a vine in less than 30 seconds, compared to several minutes with standard hand pruners. Nice when you have 10,000 vines on your plate. Did we say "Thank you, Sheldon!"

A freshly-cut, head-pruned Primitivo vine. Head-pruned vines, as you can see, have no lateral wires to hold up the vines as they grow, so you need to develop and train a very strong "trunk" for the vine. It is zip-tied to a good-sized wooden post as it matures, so it can handle the weight of the heavy vines and leaves that will soon emerge from buds on these freshly-cut spurs encircling the trunk. (More details on this in future pruning posts.)

All those cut canes are pulled from the vineyard and piled high -- awaiting the next non-Clean-Air Day to be torched. You could try to compost them (which would take years and lots and lots of space) or mulch them -- but the canes are virtually hollow and you'd be surprised how little actual useful material would be left. 

(Stay tuned for upcoming glowing bonfire photos.)

A New Herd of Redwood Bar Stools

What's Up at our 'Pleine Aire' Stage & Tasting Cabana?

The Before  We corralled new raw redwood winery stools from a local carpenter named John. T. just wants them to be strong (they are!).

The During  Adorah wants them to be beautiful, so she spent yesterday on the sun-kissed stage staining the first 15 stools (5 more on the way).

The During  Here Adorah is sporting the latest in staining gear, her old Marin General Hospital smock, from her former life as a blood specialist in coastal operating rooms. (Yes, she was a foxy vampire long before foxy vampires were everywhere.)

The During She is ably assisted by her elite Satori Canine Staining Team (SCST), including Happy, who is actually in charge of the entire operation, and who keeps all LD's (Large Dogs) away from her main squeeze.

The During Lieutenant Fiona, in charge of morale, staring into space, and obnoxious barking whenever the Balloon Man (T.) appears on the 4-wheeler.


The During Private Easy, taking it easy, dreaming of gophers.


The During Alpha Dog Buddah, dreaming of horses.


The During Master Sergeant Buddy -- in charge of eating and sleeping -- dreaming about eating and sleeping, and holding down the concrete so it doesn't move in the wind.

The Result One more to go and the herd is complete ... for now ... we'll wrangle them back to the cabana for this weekends "Weekend of Love" tasting. Soon we'll coat them with a few jillion layers of shiny, wine-resistant varnish. Are your butts ready for this? Stay tuned.

A Hint of Roses

What's Up in the Garden?


Well, here's a hint from last years garden. We pruned all the roses (and trees and shrubs) in January ... and they're all set to go wild again in 2012. It won't be long.