This is the start of monthly updates of what’s going on in our certified Biodynamic® estate vineyards; the above video shows Pinot Noir Clone 828, one of the eight Pinot Noir clones we have in our vineyards. I’ll be posting updates on them through fall when we have our first harvest since our conversion to organic and Biodynamic® farming. To read more about our decision to replant our vineyards and convert to Biodynamic® farming, visit our website.

For example, our monthly grower dinner was held yesterday evening.  There are no magic elves to set up our guest house great room for events like this.

The Great Room is ready for it's close up!!

This is done by everyone in the winery in a flurry of furniture moving, table set up and chair placement.  Then after the event, move everything back.  A little like roadies for the concert, they are the first to come, and the last to leave.

Or maybe you want to spend 8 hours on a bottling line?

Bottling manager Cecil Bowlin tackling the 10,000 moving parts of the bottling line.

Hoisting cases of wine, packing bottles, and keeping a close eye on all the moving parts is a tough job.   The morning and afternoon breaks and lunch time are well deserved.

How about working on the wines? Our crew is skilled and takes pride in the handcrafted wines we produce.  Gently topping barrels, blending tanks, and the constant cleaning of every square inch of space are just part of what a typical day in the life of a winery crew is about.

Or you may be part of our sales team.  Phone calls, emails, faxes and all of the normal filing you would expect from any business.  Except downstairs from this bee hive of activity, happy visitors are enjoying themselves, our wines, our beautiful grounds oblivious to the folks working hard in our offices.  We know how good are wines are, but you have to knock on a lot of doors to let everyone else know.

I think you get the idea.  My job is somewhere in the middle of all of this.  A little bit of hospitality, a little wine making, LOTS of phone calls, and a million details to try to cover from grapes to glass.  We like to think of it as controlled chaos.  I try to keep the griping to a minimum, because when all is said and done, this is a pretty sweet place to work.

Not your typical conference room!!

These kits are a great concept, perfect for anyone who wants to try out different Pinot noirs without spending a lot (and these days, we all are trying to spend  money wisely).   Now you can swirl, sip and savor 6 different vineyard-designate Pinot noirs, find the one (or 2 or 3 or 4!) you like, and later purchase a full-sized bottle, knowing  that you’ll get exactly what you tasted in your kit.

Our new "Vineyards Selections" Tasting Kit!

 We think it’s a great idea and are proud to be part of something not only innovative but practical and fun, all at the same time.

Hopefully I’ll land that trip to Portugal to see a cork factory next!

We just finished bottling some fantastic 2008 Pinot Vineyard Designates which will now lay down for a nice bottle aging before release. We are redesigning our production facilities to improve our crush, wine storage and barrel aging facilities. All of this and much more, all designed to get the very best out of our grapes and the harvest.

One of the BIG projects is moving wine tanks.

Hey! Where do you want this thing?

As you can see some our bigger tanks are twenty feet tall. Moving these tanks with a crane or specialized forklift is really cool to watch. An empty wine tank is fairly light even though it is very bulky but a full tank needs heavy-duty concrete footing to hold up to that crushing weight. Our facilities manager Dan Hoffmann runs the show when it comes to moving, planning, re-plumbing and making sure the tanks can fit through the doors. Dan is the guy who can squeeze a 12,000 gallon wine tank into a tight spot with only inches to spare. When this project is completed, our main cellar will be wall to wall French Oak vats just waiting for the moment when crushed fruit begins the transformation from ripe grapes to delicious wine. We will focus on small lots and most importantly, take in our very first harvest from our estate vineyards.

I have been watching the vineyard grow for nearly 3 years since the first vines were planted. This week, the vines received perhaps the final pruning before bud break.

Brian Maloney pruning our vines before bud break

Our winemaking team is keeping a close eye on the vines, and making the necessary preparations for the sleepy vines to get a great start as soon as we warm up a little. While the 12 hour (or more!) days of harvest are more than six months away, we have lots of work ahead of us.

Spring is the best time to visit the winery. Once we hit April, the weather in Sonoma County might be the best in California. Great for Pinot, even better for stressed out people.  It is hard to have a bad day when you work at such a nice place. I am really looking forward to this years harvest, and hope to see you soon at De Loach Vineyards.

The excerpt below is taken directly from our recent tasting experience and provides an example of the communication we shared…

Here are winemaker Julia Vasquez and myself each providing our thoughts on the 2007 Green Valley Pinot Noir…

Julia and Eric hard at work...

We encourage you to join the TasteLive.com network today! After you’ve joined, check the calendar regularly to join in on the next round of fun!

I often get asked if, during the winter months, we are busy in the cellar – most folks assume all is quiet and calm while we watch the wines from the previous vintage (or, in our case, several vintages) age in barrel.  Nothing could be further from the truth!  We are making blend selections, topping barrels, filtering and getting wine ready to bottle.  Our bottling line seems to run non-stop.  And then there is the constant cleaning, but I’ll try not to bore you with that non-glamorous side of things.  Anyway, here is a quick snapshot view from the other day, as I wandered about the cellar and stuck the video camera in the faces of our excellent Production team.  Thanks, guys!