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GRAND ISLAND VINEYARDS
The Bridge Newsletter
OCTOBER 2020, VOLUME 43
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The Paintersville Bridge is Now Open!
(At least during the day!)
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Harvest is definitely NOT over...
by GIV Operations Manager, Joe Salman
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It seems like it has been months of harvest. Actually it has been, refer back past newsletters and you will see that I'm nearly at my second month of harvest!
That Gewurztraminer was so long ago. I am currently working on our oldest blocks of grapes, Petite Sirah. The Petite Sirah at the Home Ranch was planted in 1970 and produces some very sought after grapes that because of the trellis and vines can only be handpicked. Besides Grand Island Vineyards, the grapes go to some big, medium, and very small wineries around California. Be on the lookout if you ever decide to wine taste anyplace else. (I know some of you do.)
As mentioned before this hand picked fruit is purchased by some larger wineries that deal in the 24 ton truck load amounts, so see how I stage our 1/2 ton bins next to the trailer before using our winery's forklift and bin dumper to fill the large green tubs. If you are good in math, you can figure, yes, we picked 48 bins to fill this trailer.
I am ready for harvest to be over, so I can play more with this "farmer in training" and his princess sister.
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Crush is in the Books People!
by GIV Winemaker, Ed Seikel
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The 2020 crush is now in the books! We received and processed the last of our scheduled fruit last week and things are now winding down as we are able to press off the last of the red lots from their skins and transfer them into barrels for aging.
This year was particularly challenging with the extended heat early in the season followed by the smoke from the wildfires. The excessive heat and lack of sunlight could have caused the vines to shut down, but we were very fortunate that our fruit was able to fully ripen and avoided any smoke taint.
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I'm especially excited for the Gewurztraminer, which will be a new offering for us. It's always exciting to get to work with a new varietal and bring something new to the tasting room. Our Merlot was also a stand out during fermentation this year and should yield a fantastic wine after aging.
Now that harvest is over for us in the cellar there's only a few weekends left for the cellar tour and tasting. David and I have really enjoyed getting to see a few of you while showing off some of our favorite fermenting and aging wines. There are still some spots open so if you'd like to do the cellar tasting sign up soon!
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News from the Wine Spotlight |
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Announcing the 2018 Petit Verdot!
by GIV Winemaker, David Shattuck
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We are very, very excited to release our limited edition 2018 Petit Verdot. This grape varietal is usually used as a blender because of its dark color and rich tannin structure. However, when it is bottled alone, it makes an intriguing wine with rich mouthfeel, dense dark fruit character, and unique floral notes. I love this wine with richly spiced meat or lamb. It also pairs very well with Grana Padano or other hard Italian cheeses.
The wine pours inky black in the glass. Notes of ripe plum, lilac, and sage fill the glass after the first swirl. As the bouquet evolves in the glass, hints of cedar, mocha, and smoke bring a nice balance to the ripe fruit. The mouthfeel is dense with bright acidity to keep the wine fresh on your palate. This wine finishes with a prolonged sensation of clay-like minerality, ripe currant, and a wispy essence of violet.
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News from the Tasting Room |
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Wine Tastings are Back!
by GIV Tasting Room Manager, Tess Jonson
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Tasting is back and man it is nice to go back to somewhat normal. A big thank you to all members and guests who joined us on the patio for some good old fashioned GIV wine tasting.
The fall quarter shipment will be here soon! If you haven't picked up your summer quarter shipment of the 2018 Block Two, 2019 Dry Riesling, and the 2019 Chenin Blanc, please do so! And make a tasting reservation while you're at it!
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New Wines and Upcoming Shipments
by GIV Tasting Room Manager, Tess Jonson
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GIV Family Wine Club
If you still haven't picked up August's shipment of the 2018 Block Two, 2019 Dry Riesling, and the 2019 Chenin Blanc, then please do so! Any wine shipments not picked up by November 1st will be shipped out unless noted otherwise. So come down, reserve a tasting, and pick up your wines!
Salman Family Reserve Wine Club
Can you believe it? The fall shipment will be charged this month! The SFR fall shipment will include the SFR 2017 Pinot Noir and the GIV 2018 limited edition Petit Verdot. The Petit Verdot will be swappable if you decide to do so. We are also adding an extra 5% off to wines added to this shipment. You don't want to pass up 25%, do you?
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GIV PATIO TASTINGS AVAILABLE!
* One day advanced booking required.
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Duration: 1 hour, Group Size: 1-6
Guests Tickets From: FREE
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CRUSH PAD TASTING WITH WINEMAKERS
* One day advanced booking required.
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Duration: 1 hour, Group Size: 1-6
Guests Tickets From: $15
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12484 Highway 160, Walnut Grove CA 95690
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