Welcome to the Bridge
Bridging all aspects of our Winery from the Vineyard, to
the Cellar, Winery Grounds, Tasting Room and beyond. Our ongoing newsletter is an ideal way to stay up to date with all aspects of the Winery
and our newest wine releases!
In this Edition:
It's August at the Vineyards, which means Véraison is upon us again which gives the winemakers a bit of a reprieve, although we secretly hold against them. We Invite you to join us for two different Vineyard dinners we are having soon, and also invite you to visit the first restaurant and Taphouse (Husicks Taphouse in Clarksburg), who is now selling our wine! This month we feature the amazing 2017 Grand Island Petite Sirah wine, which we really advise you try. Little bit about the wine clubs, really good deal there, you should check that out. Also, don't forget we have many amazing events on the horizon, including the 2019 Harvest Dinner, which we hope you'll join us at, it's kinda our yearly thing, we totally do it up.
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Vineyard News
Hot, Hot August - The Time for
Véraison (Yes, again...)
by Operations Manager, Joe Salman
I have looked back on the past August Bridge Newsletters and they have really described and glorified my feelings about
Véraison (Wikipedia definition).
So this here August 2019, as there's nothing really new to say about it (mostly), and in trying not to be too repetitive I will stray, but I feel if you would like to see the past August articles and see my take on the beautiful stage of Véraison then click here to go to the following articles:
In discussing more of the real time the work that is happening in the field during
Véraison (versus the ongoing educational & theoretical discussion), the vine is definitely working overtime to try to ripen the fruit, and it is doing so in the longest and hottest days of the year here off the Delta. Luckily most disease and pest pressure is over, but the water and nutrient demands of the vine increase dramatically and through experience, we definitely have the correct tools for the job... to assist the all-important vine. Through drip irrigation, we are able to give the vines a direct irrigation with absolutely no runoff or leached water past the root zone. We're very environmental conscious, we committed to that long ago.
Vines can get an equal amount of water across the field with no waste and in doing so, if required, we are able to inject liquid fertilizer right to into that stream of water and thus minimize any waste or fertilizers that could leach out the root zone and harm the environment. Sustainable. Because the way we see it, if we aren't willing to do that, what are we willing to do? But we are. And we do. And we wouldn't have it any other way.
So..... besides getting the vines ready for harvest we do have other work transpiring as well. We're happy to announce the pears are ready! So we will be harvesting pears that will show up in your local grocery stores. In these next tasting weekends in August we will begin to pair some pears with our wines in the tasting room, in preparation of some great events coming up, and
I look forward to seeing you at the
BUCKHORN GRILL | PETITE SOIRÉE
and the
HARVEST DINNER 2019
. Please feel free to join us, we would love to have you here :)
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Cellar News
Winemaker Vacation Time? Blasphemy......?
(Yes it's Blasphemy. Sacrilege at the least... I mean, we're objectively just saying...)
Summer is in full swing, and at this point in the year the wines that needed bottling are in bottle and we're caught up on all the rest of our cellar work until harvest, so that means it's winemaker vacation time!
For over 10 years now David and I, along with our wives, have been heading up to Tahoe at the end of June to go camping. It's a great way to beat the heat and a good excuse to spend a week fishing, lounging in hammocks, and taking it easy.
After a relaxing week in Tahoe, we drove up to Bend, Oregon for the Fourth of July. We visited with family, floated down the Deschutes, went to (quite a few) breweries, and David and Jamie somehow found the time and energy to do a crazy 60 mile mountain bike ride as well.
Now we're back in town and starting to get all our equipment set up and ready to go for Harvest. If you've ever wondered, or wanted to see, what types of equipment we use to make our wines, you should come out for this year's Harvest Dinner on September 14th because we'll be doing tours of the cellar and showing off all of our harvest equipment!
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Tasting Room
Don't Miss These Two Upcoming Dinners. Seriously.
By Tasting Room Manager Tess Jonson
One of my favorite events is just around the corner! I mean.... I'm just saying... we have a lot of events here at the winery, but there always a few that truly rise to the top. First, it's
been Roasting and Toasting, then it was Franc N' Ribs, but this year it's a Petite Soirée!!! I mean seriously, don't miss this one.
In order to do this properly, we're partnering up with Buckhorn Grill in August's pick-up party to give you a great BBQ experience that will go awesome with a great wine we're releasing -- our 2017 Petite Sirah.
Last year was a sold out event, you do not want to miss your chance at getting some
tickets
! Hope to see you there!
Grand Island Vineyards is having not one, but TWO dinners this year. On September 14th we would like to welcome you to join us for our annual
Harvest Dinner 2019! This year we will be going back to our roots and celebrating the Salman's heritage. Join us for an evening full of good eats, delicious wine and of course great company!
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Wine Family
Say Hello to Josh Kess!
(and the Husicks Taphouse the first restaurant to carry our wine!!!!)
Needless to say, we're very pleased to have a restaurant carry our wine. But a Taphouse is the cherry on the cake. We all know what happens at a Taphouse. That's serious business. Josh purchased the Taphouse literally a year ago and just celebrated his one year anniversary. You should really go there, he's a great guy and it's a great place.
He's a hardworking guy. That's not all he does, from Monday through Friday he's a sales rep for Geeks who Drink. The fun part is he always has 14 beers on tap with a variety of local wines that rotate, including the Grand Island 2017 Rosé, and what's truly fun is the two different wine Slushie flavors.
Tess, who we all know has excellent taste totally vouches for their food and points to the Cubano, Tri-tip and pulled pork sandwiches and enjoys the weekly trivia on Sunday and cut-throat comedy on the first Wednesday of every month from 7:00-8:00 pm. I mean, if you are going to go somewhere besides Grand Island Vineyards, you may as well check out Husicks Taphouse. We totally vouch for them. Now, it could be because we got caught up with their Wheel of Beer. It's only $4.50. Spin the wheel and get whatever beer it lands on. Life's short, enjoy something, there's nothing wrong with circus type drinking fun. You can't be respectable all the time... Can you? I don't know, maybe you can. I can't.
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Wine Spotlight
Introducing the Grand Island 2017 Petite Sirah
By Winemaker David Shattuck
After how quickly our last vintage of Petite Sirah sold out, Ed and I were anxious to get the next Petite Sirah into the bottle. However, this grape varietal rewards patience and now we are finally ready to release the new 2017 Petite Sirah. This wine is the most robust profile wine we make at Grand Island. Petite Sirah is known for its inky color, fresh berry fruit, and firm body. We love this wine paired with BBQ meat, Oaxacan mole sauce, and Vindaloo curries.
The wine is noticeably inky purple in color. The initial aromas of the wine are a heady mix of blueberry, candied orange peel, and graphite. As the wine opens notes of coconut, smoked oak, and caramel intermingle with ripe plum notes. This wine has a very firm backbone with moderate acidity that will leave you tasting blackberry, caramel, and loam long after your sip.
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Wine Club
What's Up with the Wine Clubs? A Lot!
By Wine Club Ambassador Melanie Johnson
GIV WINE FAMILY (3 bottles, quarterly shipments, 15% discount on GIV and Bridgehead)
We're getting August's shipment ready and we're getting August's shipment ready for you and we're very excited to be putting the 2017 Cabernet Franc, 2018 Rose of Cabernet, and the new 2017 Petite Sirah on your tables and in your glasses. Keep an eye on your email as we send out notifications that your wine is available for pick-up!
Or come to our annual barbecue pick-up party on August 17
th
! Buckhorn Grill is coming out to pair with our wine and there will be the ever-popular gourmet s'mores bar and more. Check out the deets online by using our new-and-improved website and buy your tickets (discounts apply for wine clubs!) to be a part of one of our favorite times of the year. As always we will have music on our grounds but you can read more about our event here!
Have questions about your wine club? Want to know something specific for an event? Then feel free to contact us via telephone, email, or visit us. Our hours are Friday through Monday, from 10 AM to 5 PM. We also recommend that you add
[email protected]
t
o your contacts to ensure emails don't end up in your spam folder.
RESERVE CLUB (2 bottles, biannual shipments, 20% discount Salman Family Reserve)
The next club shipment for our Reserve club won't be until November but we always have the Reserve wines, Chenin Blanc and Premier, in our tasting room for you to try. They're here, they're amazing, and they're free to try for reserve members and only $10 for anyone who is not a part of this wine club. However, if you buy a bottle of one of our Reserve wines we will waive your tasting fee!
Those of you who are a part of both of our clubs, GIV Family and Reserve Club, remember that you get a 20% discount off all wines! Yes, even Bridgehead and our Grand Island Vineyard label. Two or more cases are 25% off, too!
If you are not already in the Reserve Wine Club, or to access your existing account, please sign up here
or log in using our online access area
on our website. To verify your account upon sign up (via Billing Information or by Email) you can do so at our online Account Verification page.
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Upcoming Events
View all events, R.S.V.P. or get tickets to Grand Island Events and Tours here!
GIV After Dark - Friday, August 2nd, 2019
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm - Featuring Live Music from Voice Over Band - Price: Free!
 The summer After Hours fun continues! Join us for the August live music and delicious wine event! Buy your favorite by the bottle or by the glass and enjoy the talented musicians we've chosen for the night!
We encourage everyone to bring picnic foods to pair with any wine you buy for the evening.
Starting at 5:30, the evening includes:
- An intimate setting to enjoy GRAND ISLAND VINEYARDS wine
- Live entertainment with
Voice Over Band
- Indoor and outdoor seating and service
Please click here to RSVP or for more information on this event!
Buckhorn Grill - Petite Soiree - Saturday, August 17th, 2019
5:30 pm - 8:30 pm - Featuring Live Music from The Crows - Price: From $20 - $30
 It's been Roasting and Toasting, then Franc N' Ribs, but this year it's a Petite Soirée. We're partnering up with
Buckhorn Grill in August's pick-up party to give you a great BBQ experience that will go awesome with a great wine we're releasing -- our 2017 Petite Sirah. Woo!
Live music with
The Crows starts at 5:30 pm and will go on until 8:30 pm. Catering will start serving at 6:00 pm and we've chosen a delicious dinner. Buy your tickets above, with prices ranging from $20 to $30 depending on if you're a Reserve Club Member, part of our Wine Club Family, or a guest that wants to join in on some good eats and good drink.
Menu for this Event
- Tri-tip/Chicken
- Caesar salad
- Corn bread
- Red mashers
- Roasted veggies
So sit by the fire-pits, indulge yourself in our annual gourmet s'mores bar, and make some friends. Either with a bottle of wine or who you're dancing with.
Please click here to RSVP or for more information on this event!
2019 Harvest Dinner - Saturday, September 14th, 2019
6:00 pm - 11:00 pm - Featuring Live Music from Denny James!
Our dinner will be catered by All Seasons All Reasons and live music will be with Denny James.
Starting at 5:30: Awesome Appetizers will begin our night, Barrel sampling of a fermenting Cabernet Sauvignon, Reserve Pinot, and Reserve Chardonnay will be available and paired with a variety of cheeses. All our equipment used in the wine-making process can be toured and checked out as we're in the middle of harvest. Then, at 7:00: Dinner will begin with dining outside. After Dark dessert wine tasting with a milk chocolate based dessert.
Throughout the night you will have your choice of all of our currently released wines to buy and enjoy! This is the one, don't miss this one.
Please click here to RSVP or for more information on this event!
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