Archive for January, 2008

Howlin’ Good

Posted in Uncategorized on January 29th, 2008 by annette

Howling label.jpgLet me tell you about the importance of the The SPCA of Monterey County to our region: Monterey County is a really big, diverse county, and the services our SPCA provides reflects that diversity. Not only do they help homeless dogs and cats by sheltering them and adopting them out, they also offer classes to assist and educate pet owners and also to train pets; a small (and busy) veterinary office that offers low-cost spay/neuter and vaccination services; a wildlife center that rehabilitates injured animals and returns them to the wild when appropriate; large animal rescue, care and adoption; animal advocacy and cruelty investigations, and the list goes on. The impact they have on the lives of animals, and by extension, people, is profound. With all of us here at the winery being animal lovers, we wanted to raise funds and awareness for this cause. So, being a winery, we decided to create a wine to sell in our tasting from which 100% of the profits would go to The SPCA of Monterey County.

Now, let me tell you a little about how this product evolved….

We made the wine(see below) — that’s the relatively easy part. Coming up with a name (unique, creative, marketable and something we all agreed to) was a different matter. All kinds of ideas were flung around, we asked everyone we knew to come up with something, and even asked the staff at the SPCA [Mutt, Cellardog Red, Drooling Red, Doggone Good Red], but when we came up with something we all liked, then the name was not available for one reason or another. While this was going on, my dog Sweetie often came to work with me. She’s a mild-mannered and somewhat shy Rat Terrier that enjoys howling at times, and though seemingly unimpressed, howling let’s her hidden soulfulness express itself (click here to see and hear her in action). One day, while witnessing one of her performances, some bright individual said “What about ‘Howlin’ Good Red’” and — Voila! — it all came together. So, Ginny Westcott — a mighty wonderful woman, fantastic graphic designer, and animal lover herself — was kind of enough to donate her services to render this label with Sweetie’s silhouette.

The wine? It is a tasty and appealing blend of Syrah, Petite Sirah, Merlot, mostly. We only made around 300 cases, it’s $20/bottle and is available now from our tasting room (on the westside of San Carlos between Ocean and 7th, Carmel-By-The-Sea (map); 831-620-0645; open Thurs-Mon 11-7). We are in the process of organizing an event with the SPCA and will announce that when it is decided…..  

Ah Yes, Patience

Posted in Cima Collina, Winemaking on January 14th, 2008 by annette

A handful of patience is worth more than a bushel of brains….Dutch Proverb

If I have ever made any valuable discoveries, it has been owing more to patient attention, than to any other talent….Isaac Newton

thanks for your patience.jpgSo, you might think that a winemaker must have certain attributes in order to be a winemaker: highly developed sensory skills, commitment and attention to the details, blah, blah, blah… But, as I grow older in the wine business and, I hope, wiser [luckily for me there is no qualitative measurement for wisdom], and get through yet another year of the winemaking cycle, I can’t help but to reflect on what I have come to view as the most important attribute of all: PATIENCE. Yes, that stalwart resistance to time and ambition, hopes and dreams — patience. I wait for harvest to start, I wait for a wine that is tasting off in the barrel to work through it’s adolescence, I wait for the cold, cold winter in the wine cellar to end so that I can warm my bones in the springtime sun; I wait for the wine in the bottle to come around and taste great; I wait for fermentations to finish, for TTB to approve our labels — you get the idea. Yes, I can be busy, busy with the seasonal rush and other times of the year, but most of my job is spent waiting, and not trying to drive myself too crazy in the process — this time of year is that which demands the most patience for me as it is the least active time when I spend most of my day planning, thinking, working on spreadsheets, budgets, etc. and also remembering the mistakes I made or could’ve made last year. The only way not to get crazy, or fiddle with a wine that isn’t tasting the way I like, or worry if things will turn out alright, is to adopt patience as my child and attend to it and fret over it, watch it grow, and learn from it. What have I learned (so far)? Things usually turn out alright — the wines usually end up tasting great, or as good as I had hoped, and that patience is the most valuable asset in winemaking…..maybe even in life, too.

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Here are some Cima Collina events coming up that you’ll have to wait a little while for, but I can assure you it will be worth it!

January 30, Tarpy’s “Wine Down Wednesday” will feature Cima Collina wines. We had a lot of fun last year and are looking forward to this.

Howling label.jpgFebruary 1 Our newest product available in our tasting room– Howlin’ Good Red — will be released February 1st. This wine is a blend of various red wines (mostly Merlot, Syrah & Petite Sirah) and all profits from the sales of this wine will benefit The SPCA of Monterey County! Most who have tasted it agree that it’s worthy of howling about and it supports a good cause — what could be better than that!

Also:

Our tasting room operating hours will change slightly for the next two weeks and will be open only on January 18-20, and then on January 25-27. We will resume normal hours (open Thursday-Monday, 11-6) starting January 31.