Appellation America's Featured Winery
Escafeld is the featured winery over at Appellation America this week. One of my favorite websites, Appellation America is a great resource, packed with articles and insight about the meaningful geographical identity of North American wines. It's also a hub for some of the best wine writers in the business. Visit them online at www.appellationamerica.com. Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
Life's Great Adventure...
A good friend from Las Vegas came out to spend the day with us last week. We toured the vineyards together, sampled our pending releases and reminisced about the old days. Since we met (way back in 1987!), Steve and I had always talked about planting a vineyard. The opportunity seemed closer when we moved from the UK to Las Vegas in '94 to work for Westwood Studios. Westwood was an up and coming entertainment software company, just about to explode onto the video game scene--we had the time of our lives! But in '97 we decided to seriously pursue our goal and found our property here in the San Antonio Valley, establishing Escafeld Vineyards. Seems like a dramatic career shift, but the two industries, though far removed on the surface, are strikingly similar in that they are both driven by visionaries, innovators and adventurers, and whether I'm looking to the past or to the future, I never have to look far for inspiration. Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
Upcoming Wine Events in Monterey County
Looking to add some sparkle to those long autumn evenings? Here are a few Monterey County wine events you should add to your calendar: San Antonio Valley Vintners & Growers Association Annual Harvest CelebrationBBQ, wine tasting and wine auction. October 28, 4pm Membership signup and more information available at www.savvga.comAn Evening in the GardenMission San Antonio de Padua Nov 4th, 4pm-7pm Admission: $25.00 Enjoy wine tasting while strolling through the Padres Garden by candlelight. Great food and live music from "Altos Los Californios" Fall products available from "Gifts from the Garden" The 10th Annual Great Wine Escape WeekendNovember 9-12, 2006 Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
The Wine Attic
 I poured at The Wine Attic in Paso Robles last night. The Wine Attic is quickly becoming a landmark in Paso Robles. It's one of those rare places that has it all: fabulous wines, great food and service, live jazz and an unbeatable atmosphere. I spent a couple of hours there pouring our '02 Merlot and '03 Zin and had as much fun as the guests. The Wine Attic is located in the heart of the central coast wine region and offers unique, limited production wines not readily available to the public. For more information, visit them online at www.wineattic.com, or better still, stop in to their Paso Robles location at at 1305 Park Street Alley, Paso Robles; or their Avila Beach location at 53 San Miguel St., Avila Beach (behind the Custom House). Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
Rattlesnake Recovery
Star is home. The swelling on her face where the rattler struck has gone, but she's still not herself yet. It was quite an ordeal for her. We're expecting a full recovery, so a few more days and hopefully she'll be right as rain. The cooler weather is bringing out the critters in full force. We're seeing tarantulas, bobcats, deer, wild pigs, snakes and quail by the bucketload. The cooler temperatures also mean that it won't be long before the vines are dormant again, and we can begin pruning ready for budbreak next year. And so the cycle goes. For those of you in the Paso Robles area, I'll be pouring tonight at The Wine Attic, so be sure to stop in and say hi. Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
Escafeld 2004 Petit Verdot bottling progress, and more ...
Here is a quick update on our progress toward bottling our Escafeld 2004 Petit Verdot. As a reminder, this is a pure varietal wine made with a grape that is grown in Bordeaux principally as a blending component (it'll typically make up a couple of percentage points in a red Bordeaux wine). Here in California, Petit Verdot is not too widely planted, but the conditions here in the San Antonio Valley are perfect for this grape, which develops to its full ripeness potential without difficulty. I've written before about the Petit Verdot grape - here is a link. So, our labels are approved by the TTB, we've approved proofs from the printer, and bottles, corks and foils have been ordered. We're expecting to have everything in place for a mid-October bottling. This will be one of the first (if not the first) wines to carry the San Antonio Valley appellation, and it's also a new varietal for us (along with our Merlot and Zinfandel), so needless to say we are pretty excited about it. We'll post more news here, as things develop. We are also getting ready to pick and crush our 2006 Petit Verdot. Cool weather here has slowed down ripening of the grapes in the home stretch - we're hovering just shy of 24 brix at the moment - and plan to pick at around 25 brix. We'll try hard to snap some photo's of the proceedings - promise! Our 2006 Syrah (which we crushed a couple of weeks ago) is doing very well in the winery. We have already pressed the wine off the skins (at around 5 brix), and Malolactic fermentation has been initiated. This wine will be ready to go into barrels before we know it - we're looking forward to our first Syrah wine! Check back here for more news as things develop there, too. Steve Wetherill Escafeld Vineyards
Star the Vineyard Dog
 She's gone and done it again. Star, our trusty Escafeld Vineyards dog, has taken on another rattlesnake. It struck her right on the nose, which promptly began to swell alarmingly, so we rushed her to our local vet where she received antivenin, anti-inflammatories and lots of TLC. She seems to be doing well, and they're keeping her in overnight, so we'll post another update tomorrow. Star is a great dog and the perfect vineyard companion. She loves to chase away the birds and squirrels and has pretty good farming etiquette: she doesn't dig at vines, tries to resist grabbing and running off with grow tubes, and she's not tempted to snack on the grapes (at least while we're watching). She's in good hands and chances are that she'll be fine and back in the vineyard in no time--hopefully a little more wary of snakes in future. Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
Monterey AVA
Laurie Daniel interviews Annette Hoff of Cima Collina in a great new article posted today over at Appellation America covering the evolution and promise of the Monterey AVA. Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
Taste of the Valley Wine & Food Show Report
The Taste of the Valley Wine and Food Show was a success--and lots of fun! I had the opportunity to meet some great people and sample plenty of amazing dishes. My favorites of the evening were sweet gem lettuce cups with roasted corn, bean salad and lavender vinaigrette, created by Tanimura and Antle and Pajaro Street Grill, and a sampling of creamy lettuce soup offered by the Steinbeck House. Showcasing Monterey County agriculture, the event offered incredible fresh produce and world class local wines. I poured our Zin and Merlot at a table representing the new San Antonio Valley appellation, along with Ronan and Nacimiento Cellars. The National Steinbeck Center hosts a number of outstanding local wine and food events each year, including the Valley of the World Wine and Food festival held annually in January. Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
Taste of the Valley Food & Wine Show
Tomorrow I'll be pouring at Taste of the Valley Wine and Food Show at the National Steinbeck Center in Salinas. The event brings together local restaurants and wineries to showcase the bounty of Monterey County's Salinas Valley. Celebrity Chef's including Chef Todd Fisher of Hullabaloo and Chef Tyler Stone, a spokesperson for the American Heart Association, will be demonstrating great new recipes using fresh local produce. The event starts at 5pm and runs until 9pm. If you live in the Salinas area, don't miss it! Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
Harvest Has Begun!
Harvest is in full swing--thank goodness for our foggy San Antonio Valley mornings! Our 2006 Syrah (5 tons) was delivered from Argyle Vineyards to the winery on Monday, with the Petit Verdot harvest following on its heels soon. This year's crop looks beautiful, and we're hopefully looking at an outstanding vintage. Syrah is a new varietal for us and we're especially excited to be producing Syrah grown here in the San Antonio Valley appellation. A growing number of Monterey County wineries are sourcing grapes from this AVA, and wineries such as Cima Collina, Line Shack and Marilyn Remark are producing stunning limited production wines from San Antonio Valley grapes. The Twin Vines Vineyard (named for our beautiful twin daughters) is not in full production this year due to the retraining program we set in place earlier in the season, we also had to battle some VERY hungry birds, but we're expecting next year to be a great year for Twin Vines. We'll be posting our Petit Verdot harvest info soon, so watch this space... Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
New Book About the San Antonio Valley
A new book about the history of the San Antonio Valley, coauthored by Susan Raycraft and Ann Keenan Beckett, will be released on Sept 18 by Arcadia Publishing. Click below for more information and to reserve and order your copy: Book Description:The San Antonio River, flowing for millennia from the highest peak in the Santa Lucia Mountain Range, carved out a valley on its way to join the Salinas River. These oak savannahs grow lush with native grasses and in spring ignite with one of the brightest wildflower displays in the state. Once the domain of the Salinan people, and later including the ranch lands of William Randolph Hearst, the valley now hosts the well-preserved Mission San Antonio de Padua, founded in 1771; farms and vineyards; mines and oil wells; historic Fort Hunter Ligget; and the communities of Jolon, Lockwood, Pleyto, and Bryson- Hesperia. Still ringed by blue, sometimes snow-capped mountains, this lovely valley remains a sanctuary for deer, mountain lion, tule elk, and the occasional black bear. Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
Wind & Wine Tomorrow
Soledad's Wind & Wine Festival is tomorrow. The event starts at 11am with an attempt to break the record for the most kites flown in Soledad. Bring your kite along and see if you can help break the record. Wine tasting starts at noon and runs until 3pm. Tickets ($20) are available at the event. There'll be live music by The Vineyard Live Band, kite displays, helicopter displays and plenty of activities for the whole family. See you there!
Wine Accessories
We've just added a new wine accessories section to our website. For those of you who have everything, take a look and see if you can find the perfect item to add to your collection.
Escafeld Harvest Newsletter
 The latest issue of our newsletter is now out--click here to take a look! We send our newsletter out on occasional basis (usually every couple of months) and include details of new releases, events, and special offers for subscribers. To sign up for future issues, visit our signup page, where you'll also be able to view previous editions. Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
New Escafeld Website!
 The Escafeld website has a new look! We've spruced up the front page, and, we hope, increased the user friendliness of the site. Click here to take a look, and drop us a line to let us know what you think! Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
Petit Verdot Label Approved
 Our '04 Petit Verdot label has been approved. So it won't be long now until the release of this, our third varietal, and the very first wine released with the San Antonio Valley appellation designation on the label! Petit Verdot, loosely translated from the French, means small green one--hence the verdant green we chose for our label. One of Bordeaux's classic red grape varieties, Petit Verdot is a vital component of some of the best wines produced in the Medoc. It tends to live up to its name, however, in that it is a late ripener and often does not reach its full potential. But when given the opportunity to ripen fully, as it does here in the San Antonio Valley, it produces a wonderfully fragrant, complex and age-worthy wine, packed with concentrated fruit and spice. Our '04 Petit Verdot is grown at Argyle Vineyards, located here in Jolon, in the northern foothills of the San Antonio Valley. The vineyard is owned by Joe & Siobhan Greene and expertly cared for by Vineyard Manager Jon Gerard. We'll keep you posted as we draw closer to a release date, but in the meantime, if you have any questions about this wine, feel free to e-mail me. Elsbeth Escafeld Vineyards
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