2005 John Tyler Pinot Noir wins bronze medal

San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition

Our 2005 Pinot Noir was awarded a Bronze Medal in the 2009 SF Chronicle Wine Competition. This is considered the largest competition of American wines. Held over a period of four days at the Cloverdale Citrus Fairgrounds in January, this exclusive event has once again broken world records with 4,235 wines entered into the 2008 competition, all of which were evaluated by an elite panel of more than 60 professional wine judges from across the country

It’s 2009!

It is always so surreal to realize that the year has come to an end and another year is just beginning. 2009 is going to be a very exciting year for John Tyler. We have several big plans in the working for the next year…

1. Probably the most exciting of the year will be the opening of our Russian River Valley tasting room in the fall of 2009. This project has been in the works for the past 2 years and the Grand Opening promises to be like no other!

2. 2008 saw our first public event here at the vineyards at Grape to Glass as a part of the Russian River Valley Grape Growers. 12 visitors indulged in a gourmet lunch cooked by famed Sassafras chef Jack Mitchell as well as a gondola tour of our vineyards and a flight tasting of all our library wines. 2009 will bring more events with fun themes, great food and of course fantastic wines.

3. The launch of our new, interactive 2.0 website. This winter we will be launching our new, totally redesigned website with new photos, videos and the ability for you to post your thoughts about our wine right on the site.

4. The release of our 2005 vintage. Here at John Tyler we know that producing a great wine takes time and patience. 2005 was one of the larger harvests in recent years. With an additional two years of ageing both the 2005 Pinot Noir and 2005 Zinfandel are ready to go!

5. We are all looking towards the 2009 harvest with anticipation and the apprehension of the unknown. it is still to early to tell what the 2009 growing season will bring but we are planning to harvest our first vintage of Chardonnay this year. Also in the working will hopefully be a late harvest Zinfandel port.

So lots new and exciting things are in store for 2009 with John Tyler. Stay tuned for updates on all these plans for 2009 and more!

Questions? Comments? Let us know!

Passing the first test

There are all sorts of areas of the wine business that people can pursue. If you like sales then perhaps you want to work for a distributor and sell wine wholesale, or work in a tasting room. Working for my family’s winery where everyone does a number of different jobs there is a vast array of education needed.

I had the extreme pleasure of meeting seven Master Sommeliers, there are only 90 in the US, and let me tell you, these guys wowed me! The amount and extent of knowledge that they posses is just mind blowing. In order to become a Master, which in my opinion is basically equivalent to being a doctor of wine, you have know a massive amount of information from wine regions, to production of different wines to macro and micro climates of countries and appellations all over the world.

During the course we did a series of blind tastings, these I thought were the most fun part. I have had experience with blind tastings but very little with wines all over the world. Most of the wines we tasted were fairly specific to the appellations they were from they included a Nebbiolo from Italy, Gruener Veltliner from Austria, Zinfandel from Lodi and Riesling from Germany (of course there were more but those are just a few off the top of my head.)  Although the blind tasting part was my favorite it was the most nerve racking…. one by one we had to stand up in the middle of the class and talk about the wine (varietal, region etc).

Overall I might some amazing people during the course and learned SO much information about wines from all over the world. Right after the test I wanted to go to Bottle Barn and look at all the wine labels!!

AND I PASSED MY TEST! *which is the best news of the experiance.

1982 Belvedere Pinot Noir from Bacigalupi Vineyards

As growers in the area for over 50 years we have sold our fruit  to countless wineries in Napa, Sonoma and Mendicino counties as well as out of state, most notable New York. For several years we partnered with Belvedere winery which recently sold in 2007 and opened as C. Donatiello. Here is a label from the 1982 vintage when they made a special label for the Bacigalupi designate.

The San Francisco Chronicle Wine Selections

Top 25 Single Vineyard Pinot Noirs from the Russian River Valley
Article from the San Francisco Chronicle
The Russian River Valley, one of California’s notable Pinot Noir regions, produces wine with plenty of cherry and red berry fruit. Cooling wind and fog flow through the Petaluma Wind Gap, causing evening temperatures to drop; the growing season is slightly longer, allowing more time for grapes to ripen and flavor.

Rating: TWO AND A HALF STARS 2004 John Tyler Bacigalupi Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir ($42) Subtle cedar, eucalyptus and spice on the nose plus toasty oak; dry, dusty mineral leads to flavors of roasted cherry and bright strawberry on the palate. Winery only.

This week the panel tasted 2005 and 2006 single-vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs, which in general seemed deeper, more concentrated and complex than the majority of those labeled solely with Russian River Valley. We will feature these wines in The Chronicle Wine Selections next week. Cooler temperatures in 2005 maintained grapes’ acidity and resulted in a slightly decreased harvest of great-quality fruit.

A late, wet spring started the 2006 vintage, which had a heat spike in midsummer. Cooler October temperatures delayed harvest, slowing ripening and providing additional time on the vines for grapes to concentrate and mature to full flavor.

The panel found lots to like among the 57 vineyard-designate Russian River Valley Pinots, which are made from vintners’ best, most distinctive grapes. The wines showed well and are displaying depth, complexity and less noticeable alcohol levels than many from the hot 2004 vintage.

Demand is high for these limited-production wines, which is reflected in the prices.

Winter maintenance

So even though there is not a whole lot going on in the vineyards right now, one thing that we are focusing all our attention on is pruning. We started pruning about a month ago and we will continue to prune all through the winter until budbreak in March. Pruning is an important step in winter vineyard maintenance. It removes the old, dead growth from the vine to make room for the new growth in the spring. Because this is all done by hand there is a special technique and it can be time consuming. This photo was taken this morning. We were pruning the south block of Chardonnay and all the vines and ground were covered with frost.
This time of year frost and cold weather are actually desirable and benefit the vines. The cold weather will help the vines go to sleep and become dormant. It is during this time that they are storing energy and nutrients for the spring. All we need is some rain and we will have a good start to the new growing year.
On the other hand frost can be very dangerous when the shoots are starting to emerge at spring time. The frost will kill the buds and the new, delicate growth. This is what happened this past spring and what effected the crop sizes of this year’s harvest. I think that all vintners, including myself are hoping that Spring 2009 starts out with some warm weather.
~ John Bacigalupi

Ranch work

Today I went out with my dad to see some of the work he has been doing around the ranch. Because there is not a whole lot going on in the vineyards right now he has time to do some work around the ranch. He just bought a new spreader and is using it to spread manure around the base of the vines. We bought the manure from the neighboring dairy. This will help to promote better vine growth and help to produce higher quality fruit. The manure also replenishes the soil and encourages the recirculation of certain nutrients like Potassium Phosphate, nitrogen and lime. This project is just a small part of the Bacigalupi Vineyards sustainability practices. These practices ensure that we do not compromise the natural resources future generations require to meet their own goals.

“With dedication to producing the finest wine possible comes also the commitment to preserving the environment. Consistently striving to improve farming practices, I have tried to emphasize environmental soundness, sustainability and efficiency, all without compromising quality.”
~John Bacigalupi

Another look

 This is a computer model and Lindsay, our architect did for us of the outside of building and it’s natural surroundings.

Well Well

The well for the tasting room is finally drilled and finished! This completes one of the very first steps towards the construction of our tasting room. The well was successfully drilled and water is avaliable and ready to be pumped and stored. Next on the drawing board is to finalize the spectic plans and overall design of the building including exterior and interior. Please let us know if you have any suggestions and be sure to check our website for upcoming progress.

Thanksgiving dinner wine list

I am always interested in see what bottle of wine people chose to drink on that special occasion or holiday. As a family that lives, breathes and drinks a lot of wine we tend to pull out some really great and occasionally disappointing wine selections. Last night for Thanksgiving all sorts of wine was open to celebrate….here is a re-cap:

For starters as a tradition we always start with a champagne toast and appetizers. In my opinion there is no better producer of sparkling wines in California then Schramsberg! Two bottles of their Reserve Sparkling wine and Thanksgiving was off to a great start.

Next was the salad and Artichoke Crustini course. For this course we break out a family favorite, the 2005 Rudd Bacigalupi Chardonnay. This Chardonnay comes from the original Paris tasting block that was the main component in the 1973 Chateau Montelena Chardonnay that won the 1976 Paris Tasting in France. Only about 2 acres remain of the original vineyard and for the past 5 years we sell the fruit to Rudd in Oakville. This Chardonnay is unlike any other I have ever had, it is creamy, oaky and buttery, not your average Chardonnay by any means and for me it is always a treat when we open a bottle.

On to the main course which of course included Milton, our 25 lb turkey, a stuffing recipe by my Great Great Grandmother Olie, yams, mashed potatoes, two types of cranberry sauce, rolls and roasted vegetables. Pinot Noir was the wine of the night as we opened a 2000 William Selyem Pinot Noir and a 2001 John Tyler Pinot Noir. This 2001 was the first unofficial bottling by John Tyler Wines. As an “experiment” my Dad and Tyler crushed one barrel of second crop Dijon clone Pinot Noir in 2001. They hand pressed and bottled and corked about 20 cases. The wine is showing beautifully 7 years later. We also opened an Everett Ridge 2005 Pinot Noir from our 115 Dijon clone vineyard and a Seghesio 2006 Pinot Noir.

My Grandmother Helen is arguably the best pie maker in Sonoma County. She made 3 pies all from scratch. Pumpkin pie, Minced Meat pie (my Dad’s favorite) and an Apple Pie. For our dessert drink we opened a Mauritson Rockpile Port called Independence which is made entirely from Portugal varieties. Very tasty!

So overall quite a line up for Thanksgiving dinner… who knows what will be on the Christmas menu???

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