Good Morning!

I am glad to say, the last 2 weeks might have been some of the craziest and most inspiring weeks of my life. We have just finished the second harvest of my wines TJR Select. Currently, both my white wine “Patio” and my red blend “Fireplace” are fermenting and aging and in about a year will be ready to bottle. The first vintage of TJR Select is aging and it looks like the 2010 vintage should be in bottles about March or April of 2011.

So you know how my 2010 wines came to life here is a little back story….I found a vineyard in Lake County, California who had exceptional Sauvignon Blanc grapes and I purchased 6 tons and then the grapes were taken to a custom crush facility and then we pressed the grapes and added a little yeast and put the juice into stainless steel tanks so the fermentation can start. With my red blend which is a Cabernet Sauvignon (70%) and Cabernet Franc (30%) blend (total 12 tons of red grapes), I found these grapes from a fantastic vineyard in Sonoma and once the grapes reached the proper sugar levels (Brix 25.3 on the Cabernet Sauvignon and 24.9 brix for the Cabernet Franc). We made each wine independently, then we started blending, all this work was done within the custom crush facility as well.

I pay a monthly fee to lease space in the facility to let the wines age and then we will bottle the wines at the facility and once the wines are finished, labeled, boxed up in cases, we can ship from the facility as well.

I have spent over a year fussing over the first vintage and to me, this feels like having a child. I loved these wines before they were made, I loved these grapes while they were just breaking buds. I tried the final Patio last week and it was like I was seeing my future in a glass. Patio is like a blonde daughter who is high energy, young with a bit of an attitude. She is crisp, fresh and lean and she is well behaved at formal events but she is more likely to sneak out the window and go to the beach with her friends. She is ready for the bottle now and needs to be enjoyed young and often.

Fireplace is my son who is maturing slowly but he will develop into a fine young man. I call him unruly because he is so bold and exciting. He needs about 3-5 months more in the barrel. (I think of him as needing a little discipline before he can get out on his own). He is dark and daring and when I tried him the first time, I thought he might need a full 2 years in the barrel but the wine really relaxed after fermentation and he is young and smooth but the high alcohol needs time for the tannins to balance the wine. Fireplace will be ready to bottle about April and ready for pairing with ribs, steak or some great cheeses, like parm, goat or even some really sharp white cheddar.

I attached some photos of the wines so you can see how beautiful they look today. I will be writing more over the next couple of weeks about this harvest and the things we did to get the 2011 vintage into the tanks and barrels as well….this is truly an exciting time for my dream and I am glad you are following along waiting to try the wines!

Much LOVE and wine,

Tammi