WHAT'S NEW - 2010

Multiple harvests of our one Merlot vineyard            For years we have noticed the early ripening of one half of our Merlot vineyard but have always used an overall ripeness test in selecting the harvest date for the grapes, ignoring Mother Nature's prodding.  That is, until this year.  Last October, we began testing our Merlot grapes separately, East block from West.  The difference in development was so great that we decided to harvest the vineyard in two segments.  Our first to ripen is the East block.  We harvested that on September 22nd.  We returned almost three weeks later and, on October 10th, harvested the Creekside (western) block.  The maneuver required us to ferment the wine in two separate batches, but we will eventually combine the lots to make one wonderfully fruity, viscous and rich wine from fruit that was harvested at its peak.  Be sure to try out current Estate Merlot release in order to compare it to our exotic 2009 vintage when it is released two years hence.

Making of the Home Chef            Cooking has always been an interest of mine as a corollary to wine making and the pairing of food with wine.  As age creeps up on us, I find that Fran is less and less able than I to put forth the effort to prepare meals.  To enhance my otherwise mediocre culinary abilities, I attended a course at the Napa Valley Cooking School entitled The Making of the Home Chef.  I learned about many new foods and recipes that pair well with our wines.  I plan to share those recipes with you in upcoming editions of our once-a-year newsletter containing new release information and suggesting various foods to enjoy with our wine.  (I will share recipes on Peas and Parsnips Soup, Grilled Portabella Spinach Lasagna, and Marinated Hangar Steak.)  If you're not already getting our newsletter, you can sign up for it by e-mailing me your contact information at peter@cranefamilyvineyards.com.

Crane Family extends release to three years
Because of the enormous development that our wines experience in their third year, we have wanted to defer the release of our wine until it has three years under its belt. 2005 gave us that opportunity. Along with being the best vintage of the new century, 2005 was a hugely bountiful harvest, providing us with a large increase in production. We seized the opportunity to hold back enough of the 2005 vintage to make it available as a three year wine. We had to disappoint a few folks when we sold out the allocation to last year's orders, but the result is that, in the future, you will first taste our Cabernets and Merlots as three year old wines. Sorry, the demand for our 2005 Alison's Cuvee' was such that we were not able to hold any of it back, and thus are unable to offer it in this release. We will be offering the next vintage of Alison's Cuvee' next year when it will be three years old on release. Also, the magnum and 3 liter sizes of our Cabernet and Merlot have sold out. Look for them again in next year's offering.

Our new Zinfandel dessert wine is ready for release  We are releasing our 2005 vintage Zinfandel dessert wine. 2005 was a special year for our family. Our grandson, Conor McKeown, was born and we commemorated the occasion with the production of our first vintage dessert wine. That's an age old tradition among vintners because dessert wine ages forever and can be presented to the honoree when he or she reaches adulthood.

Because Zinfandel is known to make excellent Port-like wine, we varied from our policy of using only grapes that we grow ourselves, and acquired some very special Zinfandel grapes grown for us in the northern reaches of the Napa Valley. The result was that we produced a wonderful vintage dessert wine on the first try. We originally called it Port wine, but a recent treaty with the European Economic Community prohibits the use of that name on new wine labels from the United States. Hence, we have dubbed our wine Douceur, French for Sweetness. Its aroma is dominated by the French oak that it's been steeping in for two years and its flavors are wickedly delicious chocolaty, mocha tastes with a subtle brown sugar sweetness and sprightly tannin to fill the mouth and delight the palate. We like it so much that we continued making limited quantities each year following the 2005 vintage.

Originally intended for bottling in a 500ml size, we later changed that to 750ml, the size of most Portuguese Ports. We even bottled it in Portuguese glass bottles. You'll get a full fifth of our vintage dessert wine in our very first release, to enjoy and share with your favorite Port aficionados.