Patterns in the skies and vines of #TablasCreek. Not sure if I prefer it in #color or #BlackAndWhite.

#vineyard #PasoRobles #photo #photography

I've been seeing headlines about #winery traffic being down sharply this year. But they mostly overlook that Q1 of 2023 was unusually cold and wet. At #TablasCreek we had 20 rainy days in March, and only 1 weekend day that was not raining and over 60F. Headlines were all about #floods and #BombCyclones and evacuation warnings. It's a wonder our traffic was only off 22%! Traffic is up vs. 2022 since April 1st.

I dove into it in a new blog. https://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2023/04/are-tasting-room-sales-really-falling-off-a-cliff-not-exactly-.html

#wine #WineBusiness

Does this #grenache vine at #TablasCreek have the best view in the world? I say yes.

#photo #photography #vineyard #PasoRobles

Such a hopeful time of year. At #TablasCreek our #budbreak is 3-4 weeks later than the average of the last decade after our lovely wet, frosty winter. But now the sun is out, temps in the 70s, and it’s go time.

For a deep dive into how this compares to recent years and a bunch more pictures, check out this week’s #TablasBlog.

https://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2023/04/budbreak-2023-another-reminder-of-our-largest-variable-nature.html

#vineyard #grapevine #photography #PasoRobles

So exciting! We just heard from the TTB and have received federal approval of the 14th and final #grape in the #Beaucastel Chateauneuf-du-Pape collection: #Muscardin. As is normal with these petitions, the final approval will come when it's entered into the congressional record along with other newly-approved grapes sometime in the next few years. But please welcome Muscardin as the 348th approved grape for use in American wine!

Full letter on the #TablasCreek website: https://assets.tablascreek.com/news/TTB-Response-to-Tablas-Creek-Vineyard-re-27-CFR-4.93-petition-for-Muscardin-grape-variety.pdf

At 10:45am on March 14th, we blew past our previous record and 2022-23 became our wettest-ever winter. All told, we're at 49.01" of #rain since October, roughly double our long-term average. In my newest #TablasCreek blog, I dive into what this means for the #2023vintage and beyond.

The tl;dr: Sure, it's led to some inconveniences. But those feel minor compared to all the positives we're expecting.
⁠
For why, and more on just how unusual this winter has been, read on.
https://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2023/04/just-add-water-looking-at-the-record-breaking-2022-23-winter-at-tablas-creek.html

What a pleasure speaking with Caren McNamara, the Founder and CEO of #ConsciousContainer, where she’s doing the hard work of creating a #CircularEconomy for the glass bottle. Caren shares how wineries and consumers can get involved, why wine feels like the right product to lead this charge, and why now presents opportunities that didn’t exist even a few years ago.

If you missed it live, it’s archived at https://vimeo.com/815134315

#TablasCreek #recycling #InstagramLive

I’m very much looking forward to my #TablasCreek #InstagramLive conversation this week. I’ll be speaking with Caren McNamara of #ConsciousContainer, where she is working on one of the thorniest — and most important — #sustainability challenges in #wine: how to create a national system where wine bottles are returned to be reused rather than recycled or landfilled. Join us tomorrow (Wednesday 4/5) at noon Pacific on the Tablas Creek Instagram feed!

We just completed our #blending trials for our #2022vintage #TablasCreek white wines, and it was a year of painful choices. White yields were down 29% from 2021 and 55% from 2020.

The good news is that the blending went about as well as it could, and we'll have an Esprit de Tablas Blanc we're proud of. The bad news is that there will be 5 wines we just can't make in 2022.

I wrote up our process and what we decided on our #blog.

#wine #wineblending #winemaking https://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2023/03/blending-table-we-piece-together-smaller-lineup-white-wines-from-painfully-scarce-2022-vintage.html

Portrait of #TablasCreek spring 2023: head-trained, dry-farmed #Mourvedre vine, still dormant after the spring #equinox. Ground saturated after all our rain. #CoverCrops lush and green. #SolarPanels working away in the background.

#photo #photography #vineyard

What a pleasure it was to speak to Steve Gross of
#CaliforniaWineInstitute & #FreeTheGrapes for today's #TablasCreek #InstagramLive. If you're in a #WineClub, it's thanks largely to him that your #wine can be delivered. We talked goofy wine laws, current threats to the (relatively) open market that's been built in recent decades, what it was like bringing a wine case to the #SupremeCourt, and more. If you missed it, it's archived at https://instagram.com/p/CqGoiaHhX5n/

What a pleasure it was to speak to Steve Gross of
#CaliforniaWineInstitute &
#FreeTheGrapes for today's
#TablasCreek #InstagramLive. If you're in a #WineClub, it's thanks largely to him that your #wine can be delivered. We talked goofy wine laws, current threats to the (relatively) open market that's been built in recent decades, what it was like bringing a wine case to the #SupremeCourt, and more. If you missed it, it's archived at https://instagram.com/p/CqGoiaHhX5n/

Five years ago we got a pair of #SpanishMastiff puppies to guard our flock of #sheep at #TablasCreek. We’d been losing 20-30 sheep a year to mountain lion attacks. We’ve lost just 2 sheep total since. Last year we got 2 more to learn the ropes. Here they are today. If you were a lion, would you want any piece of them?

How often do you get to talk to someone who knows literally more than anyone else in the world about an interesting and relevant topic? I do this Wednesday at noon PDT!

Joining me for my #TablasCreek #InstagramLive will be Steve Gross, Vice President of State Relations for the #WineInstitute. He knows more about the web of laws and regulations that govern whether #wineries can sell their #wine to you, the customer, than anyone else alive. I hope you'll join us.

#WineBusiness #WineShipping

How often do you get to talk to someone who knows literally more than anyone else in the world about an interesting and relevant topic? I do this Wednesday at noon PDT!

Joining me for my #TablasCreek #InstagramLive will be Steve Gross, Vice President of State Relations for the Wine Institute. He knows more about the web of laws and regulations that govern whether or not wineries can sell their wine to you, the customer, than anyone else alive. I hope you'll join us.

Here’s another #vineyard #photo showing off yesterday’s lovely #clouds. It’s so, so green right now.
#TablasCreek #photography #california #PasoRobles

This has been a really good winter for taking #vineyard #photos with #clouds!

#TablasCreek #photography #california #PasoRobles

It seems #wine may be reaching a tipping point on moving toward lighter glass, driven by advocacy from within (thanks IWCA Wine) and from press (h/t Jancis Robinson). I hope #wineries are doing this from a genuine commitment to #sustainability. But if not there's enormous financial incentive. At #TablasCreek I calculate that we've saves over $2.2 million over the 14 years since we moved to lightweight glass. I share the results in a new #blog. https://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2023/03/need-another-incentive-to-move-to-lightweight-glass-how-about-22-million-over-14-years.html

#packaging #CarbonFootprint

Lighten up! #wine #TablasCreek #PasoWine

Need another incentive to move to lightweight glass? How about $2.2 million over 14 years?

https://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2023/03/need-another-incentive-to-move-to-lightweight-glass-how-about-22-million-over-14-years.html

https://tablascreek.typepad.com/tablas/2023/03/need-another-incentive-to-move-to-lightweight-glass-how-about-22-million-over-14-years.html #wine #glass #bottles #tablascreek