Labeling, bottling, oh my!
Yesterday we bottled the first white wine ever on the Holus Bolus label, our 2010 Holus Bolus Blanc. It is 100% Roussanne from grapes grown at the McGinley Vineyard (formerly Westerly). The finished wine really turned out lovely, especially considering how difficult the growing season was. Roussanne is always a late ripening grape variety, but the record cold 2010 growing season made it even more challenging. By the first week in November that days are getting shorter and colder and many vines don’t have much energy left in them after working hard for previous 6-7 months. You essentially reach a point at which you have to pick because there is little else to gain. When we did harvest, the grapes only reached a potential alcohol of 12.5%, which is low for California (though quite normal for Europe). The juice was settled overnight, and fermented and aged in 1/3 stainless steel and 2/3 French oak. We did not filter the finished wine so in the glass it is clear but not crystal clear. I just don’t believe in stripping the wine down in an effort to clarify it.
344 cases bottled of the Holus Bolus Blanc and I am making some kegs for Lukshon Restaurant in Culver City. All of their by-the-glass wines are pulled from 5 gallon kegs. It is a great way to supply a restaurant with wine, kegs created to order by the winery every few weeks, keeping the wine super fresh. Ecologically it is great: no glass bottles, no corks, no labels! Every little step we can take in the wine industry make a smaller foot print and use less stuff is a step in the right direction!
We also labeled up 3 different new Holus Bolus Syrahs from the 2008 vintage. These wines were bottled last August, but we gave them some time to rest (and develop new labels) in the interim. These are small lots of vineyard designate wine: White Hawk, Watch Hill and Rim Rock. These are all very cool climate sites and unique vineyards which we think are worthy of capturing in bottle. There are only about 75 cases of each of the Syrahs.
Holiday 2010 Discounts 15% Off All Wines!
The holidays are here and we should all be drinking great California wine this season. At Black Sheep Finds we want to make that task a little bit easier for you. Just enter the code HOLIDAY on our website to get 15% percent off the list price of all wines, including Holus Bolus and Piedrasassi. Offer good until December 20, 2010.