I enjoy all Wooden Valley events; however, I have to say that BBQ & Blends is my favorite.  We had our first BBQ & Blends event in 2005 and it became very apparent to me, that this was a great opportunity to spend some one on one time with guests and give them a firsthand look at how we make wine at Wooden Valley. For those of you who aren’t familiar with this event here’s how it works. Once a year we invite wine club members to join us along with their friends and family for a BBQ lunch in our picnic grounds followed by a blending session in the barrel room.  My brother Rick, our winemaker, and I eat lunch with a small group of no more than 40 people after which we accompany them to the barrel room. Once there we give a small lesson on winemaking, discuss the wines they’ll be pulling from barrels for blending and the fun begins. Guests are then given a bottle and all the tools they need to create their own personal blend. During the blending, Rick and I make ourselves available for any questions that event goers may have. I really enjoy watching this process through the eyes of our guests and it gives me the opportunity to share a little bit of the excitement I feel throughout the winemaking process. Hope to see you at next year’s BBQ & Blends so we can talk wine. Salute’

Last Sunday Wooden Valley took part in the 2^nd annual SVVGA Harvest Celebration. It was a great day and I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with many guests, some visiting Suisun Valley for the first time.  Over 15 vendors came together, including two from neighboring Green Valley, to provide a long list of activities for visitors to enjoy. Here at Wooden Valley we offered a complimentary BBQ sandwich, grape stomp competition, grape harvester display and music by The Bill Scholer Band. If you had the chance to visit us during the event, you may have noticed quite a few of my family in attendance working at different activity stations and I hope you had the opportunity to visit and learn a little bit more about what we do. 

Now on to the 2010 grape harvest season….I’ll keep you posted on our progress. Salute’

Last week, after a three day fishing trip with my four sons, I returned to work and discovered a spectacular view of Suisun Valley. I have never seen this particular view of the valley before because it was hidden behind a pear orchard owned by the Lum Family that unfortunately had to be removed. I have always thought there was something special hiding behind those trees, but I had no idea it was one of the best panoramic views of Suisun Valley. After staring at the Vaca Mountain Range for half of the day, I finally made my way into the office and continued to look out the window. This view has me wanting to somehow capture the new scenery for everyone to enjoy. My brain has kicked into high gear and I’m working through a list of possibilities. I’ll let you know what I come up with…..
The next time you stop by the winery, look north and you’ll see what I saw for the first time last week. Better yet, come to SVVGA’s Harvest Celebration this Sunday and enjoy all the festivities while you take in the view.

Recently I came to the realization that I needed to spend a little more time in the tasting room. This decision was made for a few reasons but primarily because I missed spending time with our visitors and discussing wine on a one to one basis. The opportunity to step away from my administrative responsibilities for a short time each week has been like a vacation and it reminds me how lucky I am to spend my days doing what I love. Years ago, I spent many hours behind the tasting bar and I have great memories of visiting with friends of Wooden Valley hearing about their lives and families. I’m looking forward to making those same connections again.

After talking my idea over with our tasting room manager, Kerri, we both agreed that Friday afternoons would be my scheduled tasting room time. I’ve been working my Friday shifts since June 1st and I’m really enjoying it!! When Friday morning rolls around I find myself thinking TGIF, not because the week is ending, but because I get to spend my afternoon having fun.  I’m enjoying my hours in the tasting room so much I thought it would nice to do something a little extra while I’m there. For the month of August, every Friday between 1pm and 5pm, we’re going to incorporate barrel tasting, food and wine pairing or whatever else I come up with. Every week will be something different so if you have some spare time stop in and spend your afternoon at Wooden Valley with me. I’ll do my best to entertain you, answer any wine related questions or update you on what’s happening in Suisun Valley.
Salute!

This week my second son Nick completed his thirteen year career in youth baseball which started with T-Ball and ended with American Legion. During those years, he has played an estimated 600 games all around California and as far away as New York and Georgia. Even though I’m sadden to see another one of my son’s youth baseball careers come to an end I take with me many fond memories and life long friendships with the parents and coaches I’ve met along the way (some which have even decided to join the wine club). Being a parent involve in youth activities you can’t help but meet scores of wonderful people along the way. My family’s social life is surrounded by people whom we’ve met through youth activities including your favorite Tasting Room Manager Kerri. Kerri’s husband John is pictured with Nick at his first      T-Ball game where he was unfortunately burdened by a broken leg. Nick will be attending Chico State this fall with hopes of extending his baseball career.

Good luck Nick!

Last week I took my family on vacation. Before I left I mentioned, in passing, to my dad that I was thinking of incorporating a barbecue into Wooden Valley’s picnic grounds. He readily agreed with the idea; thinking that such an addition would make visitor’s time in our picnic grounds much more enjoyable. While I was away he got to work and in less than a week’s time he handcrafted a stainless steel barbecue with eight square feet of cooking surface; more than enough cooking space for a crowd. On my first day, back from vacation he pulled into the winery yard with the new barbecue in the back of his pick-up. I was both amazed and excited thinking of the enjoyment our customers would get out of his contribution to the new picnic area. Like most of the projects my dad produces, this one was made of surplus materials found around the ranch with only a few purchased items, which made me happy since his creation was crafted from 100% stainless steel.

The next time you’re looking for a special place to entertain a group of friends or family, reserve our picnic area and try out my dad’s new masterpiece!

While Ron is away on vacation, we thought it would be a fun idea to highlight some photographs taken by a couple of Wooden Valley’s very talented guests.

Photo by Philip Venable of Photos by Phil

Photo by Philip Venable of Photos by Phil

Photo by Philip Venable of Photos by Phil

Phil Venable has been a Wooden Valley Wine Club Member since 2007 and has taken some great photos while visiting us and other Suisun Valley venues. He recently shot a great series of the 1930’s Ford flatbed truck that sits out front of our tasting room. Although we are only able to share a couple from the series, each one is fantastic.

Photo by Penelope Moore - Contemporary Still Life Paintings

Photo by Penelope Moore - Contemporary Still Life Paintings

Photo by Penelope Moore - Contemporary Still Life Paintings

Penelope Moore another talented artist took these photos during a recent stay in Gordon Valley.  She and her boyfriend (Aaron Memmott) are both fine art painters.  They have been on a traveling adventure for two years where they have been trading oil paintings for vacation homes from Napa to the South of France.  Wine is the primary focus of their work and in their travels. You can follow Penelope’s progress on facebook where she is sharing her experiences.  

Penelope Moore – Contemporary Still Life Paintings
http://www.moorepenelope.com
http://www.facebook.com/penelope

This week we received very exciting news about our 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon.  It was awarded a “Four Star Gold Medal” in the Orange County Wine Society Commercial Wine Competition. This happens to be one of the most prestigious competitions in the country. Over the past five years, my brother Rick and I have been on a mission to make world class Cabernet from Suisun Valley. To achieve this goal we’ve done a lot of experimentation with blending in other varieties and different ranch locations. As it happens, the most pronounced change came with the addition of the Koch Ranch Cabernet with is located at the base of the Mount George mountain range, or as locals call it “Twin Sisters”. The volcanic soils of the ranch provide us with a Cabernet that is rich in color, thick in body, and heavy in tannins. Although this Koch Ranch Cabernet can’t stand alone, the 45 percent that we blended in our 07 Cabernet definitely played a major role in receiving this award. I invite you stop in and have a taste of this award winner to celebrate with us!

It’s that time of year again with long warm days, grapes developing on the vines, barbequing with family and friends, and……. we get to put our kids to work. Most of the summer you will likely find the Lanza kids either working Wooden Valley’s vineyards driving tractor or manning the registers at Larry’s produce. These past three days however, they spent their time working in the bottling room with Rick. Over those three days, they helped bottle 3000 cases of wine. I’ve been bottling for a long time and believe me when I say that 3000 cases makes three long days.  They might not agree with me after a long boring day of bottling but I really believe that having a summer job as a kid offers a wonderful experience and education that will stay with them for the rest of their lives.

Looking for something to do this weekend? If you don't have
ten baseball games to go to like I do; take a ride out to the
Suisun Valley and take some interesting photos. The Suisun Valley
Vintners and Growers Association is holding it's first
"Photo Day", this Saturday the 29th. Participants tour
the valley taking various photos and submitting their favorite
picture or two on the Suisun Valley Facebook Page. This is
something I do every week and have come to really enjoy. To kick
off this event, I drove around the valley this morning looking
for that perfect shot and this is a sampling of what I captured.
We will also be tasting and have available for purchase the
Suisun Valley Vintners Association's 2006 Grower's Syrah.

To register for this event just stop by Wooden Valley Winery and
pick up the submissions handout. Later that week, members of our Marketing Committee will review and identify the most unique and interesting images and award those with a bottle of Suisun Valley Wine .. Have a fun and safe weekend! Salute'