Country tales

Sometimes living in the “boonies” is very inconvenient. Just going to the store has to be planned in advance with a list because if you forget anything you have to take that 5 mile drive back into town or forgo the thyme in your dinner dish. But more times then not I really enjoy living out in the country. We always have the beautiful scenery of the vineyards or an interesting visitor that just decided to drop in, like the blue heron that landed in the vineyards yesterday. My mom grabbed the camera and got a few shots of him walking around until our German Sheppard caught site of him and he flew away. And just the other day as we were hand labeling in the cellar I look over to see a large skunk scurry out of a hole and run across the pasture. But lately the largest nuisance has been the coyotes. They keep taunting our dog; Roxanne in the middle of the night, howling and whaling, encouraging her to answer back. Three nights in a row I have been woken up at all hours to their “communicating”.

Growing up in the country my sister and I had some unusual pets. Occasionally my dad would find a baby jack rabbit while walking through the vineyards and he would bring it home. Our first baby jack rabbit was named Buster and my mom bought a harness so that we could walk him around outside. One day while taking Buster for a walk my sister and I were arguing over who was going to hold the rope. Sure enough I dropped the rope and away Buster flew into the vineyard, harness and all, never to be seen again.  We also had out share of other pets including lizards, tag poles, mice, baby birds, turtles and a baby deer. Of course living in California we did encounter the occasional snake, usually the harmless Gardner snake which my mom decided should be better left outside. All in all some of our pets might have been a bit odd but that is how we do it out here in the California countryside.

Label, label, label

As a small winery, 100% family owned we usually end up doing a lot of the activities and household wine chores ourselves. Today, the task was labeling. We are getting ready to release our 2005 vintages of both Pinot Noir and Zinfandel. Labeling and bottling can be one of the biggest expenses wineries occur (besides the grapes themselves).  High tech bottling lines tend to cost anywhere from $200,000 to several million dollars. Instead we rent a labeler for about $85 a day.  We also purchased a capsule machine for $1,200 and this way our costs a decreased but we have to do everything by hand which is both very time consuming and exhausting! I can honestly say that I have personally touched every bottle of our 2005 vintage, now who else do you know that can say that…?

The logistics is the most challenging part of this operation because the flow has to be easy or else someone gets behind and then it slows you down. One thing I have become more conscious of from this experience is now I often wonder if people really check to see if the label of a wine bottle is on straight. We easily spent 1 solid hour and several cases of wine making sure that the labeler was putting the labels on straight. After some time looking at bottle after bottle it was getting more and more difficult to tell the crocked labels from the straight ones. Eventually we got it all figured out.

I would have to say that today is proof that you can do anything with hard work. Our passion and commitment to this family label and the industry is what it is all about for us and we enjoy every minute of it.

Rainy Christmas Eve Morning

Looking out of our office window and enjoying this very rainy morning makes me think about how 2008 is almost over. It is only natural that at the end of every year you reminisce on that year; the challenges that were overcome, and the challenges still yet to face, the changes and positive outcomes that have happened throughout the year. In the wine industry and in any family business there will undoubtedly be a lot of these ups and downs along the way. The 2008 harvest was certainly difficult, for the vines as well as for the farmer. But the ending of this year also makes me think about how fortunate we are to have an opportunity to be involved in a family business, doing what we love. The best satisfaction from all the hard work and dedication is knowing that consumers like our product and enjoy it as much as we do.
We are very much looking towards 2009 with enthusiasm and anticipation for many exciting projects; the release of our 2005 Pinot Noir and Zinfandel as well as the long awaited opening of our Russian River Valley Tasting room.  Thanks to all you and your continued support and our family wishes you a Merry Christmas!
~ The Bacigalupi Family

A holiday recipe

From our Kitchen to Yours!
Persimmion Cookies
Fall is officially here and it is one of my favorite times of year. The leaves on the vines are changing colors and the weather is just starting to get cooler. One fruit that we always have in abundance on the ranch are Persimmons. This fruit although not well known is a great addition to many dishes. The following recipe is my own creation, a little twist on the traditional chocolate chip cookie. To view our wines that pair perfectly with all our recipes go to http://www.johntylerwines.com
~Pam Bacigalupi

Ingridients
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 cup persimmon pulp
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cups walnuts– optional

Directions
Melt butter and combine with sugars.
Beat in eggs and vanilla.
Combine dry ingredients and add to creamed mixture along with the Persimmion pulp.
Stir in chocolate chips (nuts and raisins optional).
Drop by tsp on greased baking sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes