I have been remiss in introducing you to a key player of my vineyard management team. In fact, he is my most loyal assistant. Always by my side. Alerting me to all threats… both foreign and domestic.
Meet “Chip”! Or more formally known as Chocolate Chip.
Pictured above, Chip is guarding the Petite Sirah plants on the upper terrace (Block R). He is particularly proud of these 6 vines as they have shown great promise so far this year.
Chip is also very excited about the progress shown by the Barbera vines planted in the rest of the vineyard and wanted me to share some photos of them too.
If you look closely you can see several green young fruit clusters.
The photo below shows a nice close-up.
Recently I have had the pleasure of getting to know the founders of m2 vintners, a small urban winery located in the Lodi wine region of California, and this last weekend I was invited to help them bottle a small lot of Zinfandel. The name m2 comes from the last names of its two founders, Layne Montgomery and Chris Matheny.
I became interested in m2 a year or so ago when I read about them in an email newsletter from a local wine merchant. What caught my attention was that Layne and Chris had been making wine together since 2000 as ”garagistes” just down the road from me and decided to give their passion a go as commercial winery in 2004. m2’s 2004 and 2005 vintages were produced at a host winery in Amador County and in 2006 they started making their wines in their own facility in Lodi. They are indeed living the dream!
m2 doesn’t have a vineyard of its own but instead sources grapes from several top vineyards throughout California. This allows them to choose the very best fruit for their wines and focus completely on their winemaking. Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, old vine Zinfandel from Lodi, Syrah from the Shenandoah Valley, Petite Sirah from Clarksburg… you get the idea. The wines are made in a small commercial space—an approach taken by several other startup wineries including A Donkey & Goat, Periscope Cellars, Eno Wines, A.P. Vin, and the well-known and tremendously successful Siduri Wines. No fancy gardens, cascading fountains, or picturesque picnic spots here. Instead what you get with a visit to m2 is a behind the scenes look at what it takes to operate a winery and direct access to people behind the wines. A truly pure and rewarding wine tasting experience.
The wines at m2 are made in a new world style where the fruit is allowed to express its varietal characteristics. In addition, a purposeful selection of yeasts and the application of oak aging in American and French barrels bring balance and complexity to the final product. The results are wines that are both food friendly and excellent on their own. m2 wines and grilled meats are a can’t miss combination.
Read more…