May Update, Bloom, Save the date...

We have Bloom
Reality check, harvest is closer than we think; by two weeks says Casey Hartlip who manages two of the vineyards we source from in Anderson Valley. "Of course that could change between now and August" Casey reminds us, but the recent warm weather definitely has things moving ahead of "normal". Walking our Pinot Noir and Gewurztraminer blocks on a beautiful morning last week, bloom was evident in most of the vines and it looks like we have a very healthy crop load this year. The trellis wiring has already been raised to support this year's shoots and with the threat of frost (knock on wood) pretty much behind us, growers and wine makers are both optimistic about the vintage ahead. "It's going to be hard to beat last year" according to Ray Teldeschi, speaking of his 2012 Dry Creek Zinfandel as we taste barrel samples together. Then I remind Ray that he said the same thing the previous year and he gives a laugh. With so much to worry about between now and harvest, we'll both take
the optimistic approach for the time being. We already have two vineyards fully allocated (sold out) so if you are thinking about making wine this year, now is the time to secure your fruit source. If you haven’t already seen the new list contact dave@dogpatchwineworks.com to get a look.

Save The Date - June 29th Wineworks Summer Gathering
Saturday June 29th we're throwing a little party, Dogpatch style. We will have a pizza truck on site serving delicious thin crust pies and we'll be pouring plenty of wine to go with it. If you have wine in barrel let us know and we'll pull barrel samples for you to share with your friends. If you are thinking about making wine this will be a terrific opportunity for you to see the facility, taste some of the wines and speak with clients who have been through the process. What better way to get to know the people involved than over pizza and wine!

Please RSVP at info@dogpatchwineworks.com

Thirsty Thursdays, Keep on keeping on
Our "Thirsty Thursday" events continue to be a fun evening of mixing it up after work here in the tasting room. Here's a look at the current line up of events:

May 23rd - International Chardonnay Day - Stop by the tasting room for a flight of Chardonnay that covers the spectrum of styles. Un-oaked to 2x4, crisp to butter. Doors Open at 4pm

May 30th - Dogpatch Wineworks Wine release - Join us for the release of our third wine from our innaugral vintage, the 2011 Russian River Pinot Noir.

June 6th - "Decanter-athon" with Stu Ake of The Tasting Lab. Blinded by science? On Thursday, June 6th, Dogpatch WineWorks dons the lab coat for a fun (and highly scientific) tasting experience to evaluate the impact of aerators, decanters and the Oster beehive blender on wine. Aeration devices claim to enhance the experience and enjoyment of wine. Do they really work? You’ll have an opportunity to judge for yourself in this ‘Mythbusters-styled’ side-by-side-by-side-by-side-by-side tasting featuring 5 techniques across several flights of wine. Space is limited. Contact dave@dogpatchwineworks.com to RSVP. $40 per person

June 13th - Meet the Winemaker - Jazz Cellars (www.jazzcellars.com) - Stop by our tasting room between 4pm-8pm to meet Joe Lazarra and Bob Smith, the men behind the brand and taste a specially selected flight of their current releases. Rumor has it Bob is creating a special playlist for the occasion and will have full control of the music selections for the evening. Not to be missed.

June 27th - Wine Relay with Charlotte Chipperfield of The Wine Key
Attendees will team up to compete in a series of wine related activities designed to heighten your sensory awareness and extend you wine knowledge. Prizes will go to the winning team. Throughout the two hour event, teams will explore how wine is made, how to taste wine and more! No wine knowledge required.

Tasting Room Hours:
Thurs and Fri: 4pm-8pm
Sat: Noon-7pm
Sun: Noon-5pm

It's going to be another great year to make wine in the city. There are a ton of fun things going on here in the Dogpatch and we hope you will join us.

Cheers,
The WineWorks team

April Update, 2013 Vineyard List

Spring is in the air
Ah spring! Color returns to the garden, new leaves on trees bring shade to warmer days. We start to shed the extra layers of clothing (and pounds) that we carried around all winter and daylight lasts long enough for us to sneak in an after work outdoor activity. It’s an optimistic time of the year. We still hold on to the best intentions of those New Year’s resolutions and it is early enough in the baseball season that even the Cubs have “a chance”. In the winery, we have started talking about bud break in vineyards and begun to think about the upcoming harvest while it is still far enough away that we don’t have to break into a panic. This spring marks the start of our third year in business here at Wineworks and the launch of our new vineyard list. This year we’ve added a few new white varieties, as well as new vineyards for Cabernet, Pinot and Zinfandel. As always our focus on sourcing new vineyards is targeted on finding growers whom we enjoy working with and who share
our motivation to make the best wine possible by starting with the best grapes possible. Yet again we have been successful in creating those relationships. If you haven’t already seen the new list click here to download it. Please feel free to share the list with friends and contact dave@dogpatchwineworks.com with any questions.

Thirsty Thursday's going strong
We kicked off our "Thirsty Thursday' events earlier this month with great success thanks to help from a few of our partner wineries, Passaggio and Pug Wines and our friends at The Tasting Lab. The next event is May 9th when Cindy Cosco of Passaggio wines will be releasing her recently bottled 2012 Rose, Pinot Grigio and signature "Unoaked" Chardonnay. The Passaggio release party is open to the public so join us to be the first to taste a line up of wines that are perfectly paired with this fine weather we are enjoying in the bay area.
Upcoming events:
May 9th - Passaggio Spring Release
May 16th - An evening of Still Life Photography by Maren Caruso and Sherry Olsens collection of Ceramics, Drawings and Linens
May 23rd - Wine Relay with Charlotte Chipperfield of The Wine Key Attendees will team up to compete in a series of wine related activities designed to heighten your sensory awareness and extend you wine knowledge. Prizes will go to the winning team. Throughout the two hour event, teams will explore how wine is made, how to taste wine and more! No wine knowledge required.
June 6th - "Decanter-athon" with the Stu Ake of The Tasting Lab. Blinded by science? On Thursday, June 6th, Dogpatch WineWorks dons the lab coat for a fun (and highly scientific) tasting experience to evaluate the impact of aerators, decanters and the Oster beehive blender on wine. Aeration devices claim to enhance the experience and enjoyment of wine. Do they really work? You’ll have an opportunity to judge for yourself in this ‘Mythbusters-styled’ side-by-side-by-side-by-side-by-side tasting featuring 5 techniques across several flights of wine. Space is limited. Contact dave@dogpatchwineworks.com to RSVP. $40 per person

J2 Wines now in the tasting room:
J2 Winery is the latest partner winery to be featured in our tasting room here on 3rd St. J2 Winery is the partnership of Brad Jacobs and Jeff Clark who have turned thier focus towards producing award winning Pinot Noir (Gold medal in the 11th annual Pinot Noir Shoot out) in addition to Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet, all of which are available here at the winery. Stop by to have a taste or pick up a couple of bottles to try at home.

Tasting Room Hours:
Thurs and Fri: 4pm-8pm
Sat: Noon-7pm
Sun: Noon-5pm

It's going to be another great year to make wine in the city. There are a ton of fun things going on here in the Dogpatch and we hope you will join us.

Cheers,
The WineWorks team

Winter Update

Winter Update

Winter in the winery

It's a mid-week morning here in the winery. The sun is shining, not a cloud in the sky, the temperature outside is somewhere in the mid 60's and hovers a little lower inside our concrete building. The perimeter of the winery is stacked with barrels three rows high some 300 barrels in total. A lone eight foot long banquet table sits in the middle of the 12,000 square foot main room. In the back of the winery an air compressor kicks into gear quickly muffled by a closing loading dock door that has its own unique noise. The banquet table has an assortment of wine glasses, graduated cylinders, pipettes and small bottles of wine pulled from the barrels that surround the room. White butcher paper graffitied with scribbles and splashes of wine hangs off of the table. It is winter in the winery; we are tasting red wines that have been in barrel for 16 months, wines that are ready to be blended. It is winter in the winery and we are getting ready to bottle white wines from this past

harvest. It is winter in the winery and we are racking wines that have recently completed secondary fermentation in the barrel and still have another year or more of time in barrel. It is winter in the winery and this is what is coming in the spring...

Thirsty Thursday's Kick off in April

Thursday April 4th will kick off the first of our "Thirsty Thursday' educational events. Our old friend Stu Ake of TheTasting Lab  will be conducting monthly educational tastings the first Thursday of every month. The first session is a Pinot Noir blending experience. Stu has been involved in presenting wine education and informational seminars for years and is a master of mixing obscure music and film references with wine. The guy is a treat to work with and really knows how to approach wine education in a fashion that engages people new to wine as well as providing "experts" with new knowledge to ponder. The bottom line is that he is consistent with our approach to making wine, it should be fun! For more information about attending our first Thursday session take a look here: website

Next up: Meet the winemaker. Thursday April 18th Cindy Cosco of Passaggio wines will be in the

tasting room talking about her wines and pouring a Passaggio featured flight.

2013 Vineyard List

We've been putting in a fair amount of time on the road the past couple of weeks talking with our growers, providing feedback from this past vintage as well as meeting new growers and walking potential new vineyards. We will launch the 2013 vineyard list in the next couple of weeks with a few new vineyards and varietals being added, Sauvignon Blanc and Gewurztraminer (delicious!) to name a few. Our goal is to make great wine and provide a great experience. Keeping that in mind we limit our production each year. Last year we sold out of 95% of our allocated grape sources before we crushed a single grape. If you have been thinking about making wine start rallying the troops and get a group together. Just as a great bottle of wine is best shared with friends so too is the experience of making wine best shared with friends. Contact Dave@dogpatchwineworks for more info and a sneak peak at the list.

Tasting Room Hours: We now have five boutique wine brands being poured in the tasting room. Each month showcases a featured flight put together by our tasting room staff as well as around 10 other wines available by the taste or glass. Stop in for a taste and see what's going on for yourself. Thurs and Fri: 4pm-8pm Sat: Noon-7pm Sun: Noon-5pm

It's going to be another great year to make wine in the city. There are a ton of fun things going on here in the Dogpatch and we hope you will join us.