Spring 2009                                                                                                                                                       back to 'news'

NEWS Spring in the Santa Ynez Valley is spectacular! The vines are starting to leaf out, the hills are a verdant green after the winter rains, and we have the first wines from the 2008 vintage being released. Here is a synopsis of the wines that have just been released. Look for more new releases coming later this Spring; details will be in the next newsletter. 2008 Margerum Ranch Vineyard, Pinot Gris, Columbia Valley 520 cases produced When Juan Rameriz, my vineyard manager in Washington, called me and said “Mr. Doug, it is snowing!” I told him “Pick the grapes!” Production is down 40%; did we mention the frost? It turned out to be the best Pinot Gris we have made from the vineyard. Delicious, perky, and imminently drinkable; the tremendous acidity balances well with the imperceptible touch of sweetness. 2008 Chenin Blanc, Santa Barbara County 260 cases produced I was able to get this old vines fruit from the Firestone family’s vineyards planted in the ‘70’s. It was 75% stainless steel fermented and 25% barrel fermented. We are just plain giddy about this wine. If we were right wing republicans this is OUR Sarah Palin! We picked these grapes just as ripeness was near; there was a tad of botrytis and a few raisins in the tight clusters to balance the high acid lean gripping wine that emerged right after fermentation. With proper élevage, some barrel age, and a little time we coaxed this beauty into the bottle. Everyone who has tasted it spends an inordinate amount of time smelling and tasting the nuances and elegant grape essences the wine presents. 2008 Rosé, Santa Barbara County 100 cases produced We make this wine in a very unique way. We saignée (bleed) off a little bit of juice from each of the Grenache vineyards we work with and ferment the slightly pink must just like we do the rest of the whites in the cold room and in stainless steel. We then blend back about 30% of the improved RED Grenache (the ratio of skins to juice results in a more deeply flavored wine) from barrel into the rose wine to give tannin, complexity, and seriousness. We want a wine that could (and should) match with cuisine – try it with Bouillabaisse! This is serious rosé. 2008 Riesling, Santa Barbara County 185 cases produced Thanks to Jim Clendenen for sharing some Riesling fruit from Kick-On vineyard with us so we could make this wine. We let it cold soak on the slightly botrytised skins overnight to extract the exquisite nectar flavors from the noble rot. Fermented to a point where we felt the slight sweetness balanced perfectly balanced with the crisp acidity. After the fermentation was complete we aged a bit (15%) in neutral wood in the very cold room. It is just plain delicious and we expect the few cases we don’t drink will be enjoyed by others.

MWC Open House Vintners' Festival Weekend FUN! Whether or not you're going to the Vintners' Festival, try to stop by and join us for good food, good fun, and great wines. Sunday, April 19th, 2009 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. 5249 Foxen Canyon Road (right above Curtis Winery) Los Olivos, CA 93441 $15 per person logo glass included

MWC Wine Club Join our wine club and get automatic discounted shipments four times a year as well as great prices on any purchases made through our online store! (And free admission to Open House events!)

PRESS The latest issue of the Wine Spectator touts 2006 Syrahs and singles out Margerum as "one of California's leading producers"!

Remember: "Wine is good living"

Margerum Wine Company 
P.O. Box 824 
Los Olivos, CA 93441 
website:  http://www.margerumwinecompany.com
email:     info@margerumwinecompany.com

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