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| Home > Wine Info > Newsletters/Vintage Notes Fall 2002 Tantara Winery News THE SITUATION The bad news: there is only so much wine to go around! We are a small producer and with a growing market ... well, you get the picture. The 2000 vintage is rapidly selling through and we want all of you on our mailing list to have a chance to enjoy this excellent vintage. Yes, we are expanding. An additional facility is under construction but that won't help with quantities until the 2002 vintage. The 2001 vintage, which is also showing tremendous promise, is still in barrel and not yet ready for bottling. So, act now. Please place your order soon. We don't want you to miss out. THE PROSPECT As mentioned above we are EXPANDING. Additional barrel storage space is in the works. And just in time. This year we begin to get grapes from ten acres of vines we planted four years ago. That will be in addition to the fruit we regularly source from some of California's best growers. When we planted our new pinot varieties (2A, 115, 667, and 777) we also planted several acres of Syrah on a site that looked perfect for that varietal. Another challenge but we look forward to it. IN THE VINEYARD I'm not sure who said this but I'd have to agree -- "Matching grape varieties to micro climates is the greatest modern-day wine making discovery." This is perhaps the main reason pinots are really coming on in California. And, not only do we have varieties matching micro climates but we also are matching specific clones of varieties to micro climates. For example, we are now getting grapes from Dijon and Wadenswil/UCD 2A clones that were not available a few years ago. We have been particularly impressed with 2A and Dijon 115, 667 and 777 for our growing area. Then there are the rootstocks being selected for soil types. Later. It's Alive -- the wine! So, please handle it with care. The wine will provide you with the greatest satisfaction if you keep it cool, say somewhere between 60 and 70 degrees. And out of direct sunlight. Everybody knows this but we are reminded of this because we've heard stories about people picking up wine at a wine shop or winery and putting it in the trunk of their car when the sun is beaming down and the temperature is climbing up. The results: disappointment from cooked wine or prematurely aged wine or spritziness or cork leakage. We could sterile filter our pinots for heat stability but to do so would rob them of flavors and aromas we cherish. Pinots are the most sensitive of all wines so treat them with the upmost care. HOT WEATHER TIP: We suggest, for your warm weather purchasing outings taking a blanket or an old comforter to insulate the bottles while they are in your vechile. When carefully wrapped they will hold their temperate for many hours. Also, placing a window sun reflector over the bottles/case will help. Then, of course, you could take a cooler for the wines. Once you have them at home keep them in a cool dark place, or better yet, in your cellar. SERVING TEMPERATURES While on the subject of temperature don't forget that pinot pleases most when served between 60-65 degrees F. In warm weather when the house temperatures get into the upper seventies it helps to refrigerate the wine for 10 to 15 minutes before opening. Chardonnay is best from 55-60 degrees F so a half hour in the frig is good. SORT OF RECIPE DEPARTMENT Vinegar and fine wine don't mix. So, careful with those salad dressings. But you want to have a salad anyhow so here's a suggestion. You've thoughtfully saved that inch or two of wine in the bottle in the frig (red and white). Take the wine and a dash of soy sauce along with a twist of lemon for the salad. Pairs ever so much better with the wine. |
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| Home > Wine Info > Newsletters/Vintage Notes Vintage
Report 2001 We left off our Tantara saga back with the fall issue when Tantara was racing (hoof beats, please) to finish the new winery building in time for harvest, and the grapes were ripening faster than expected. Well, we managed somehow to get the building ready enough in time for our biggest harvest ever -- over 80 tons. Food & Wine Magazine, which otherwise had some very good comments about Tantara (Oct '02), did say that our winery looked, from the outside, like a bicycle repair shop. Well, they can't say that now. We've got some serious walls and a big time roof and all the trimmings. Those of you who made it to the Fall Open House got the full experience, including how grand the band sounded under the new roof. Another good reason to make it to the Spring Open House. With the '02 harvest we got the first crop from our own plantings at Bien Nacido. We now have on line four small vineyards farmed organically: Riversedge, Adobe, Pentagon, and Corral. There was also beautiful fruit from Solomon Hills, a new vineyard that you will be hearing more about in the days to come. Two other additions to our pinot lineup came from Rim Rock, a perfectly managed petite vineyard near Laetitia, and Brousseau Vineyard located in the Pinnacles area in Monterey County. So we processed all the above in addition to grapes from our regular splendid sources. Once we got the '02 wines adjusting to their new life in fine french oak we turned our attention back to the '01 wines to get them ready for bottling. And then, on the full moon during the winter solstice we bottled Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Sangiovese, and Hanks FLR. Talk about great vibes. The pinots needed a little more time in the barrel, and though they missed the winter solstice experience, they did beautifully when bottled on February 1st, 2003. PRESS CLIPPINGS- Decanter magazine,
April 2003 -- Tantara 2000 Bien Nacido Pinot Noir -- 5 Stars |
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| Home > Wine Info > Newsletters/Vintage Notes Fall 2003 News from the Vineyard It's hard for us to believe but we are heading into our 7th harvest! Tempus does indeed fugit. We've seen a lot of screaming headlines over the past year on the theme of -- Grape Glut. Well, Mother Nature has her way of taking care of that situation. Looks as though '03 is going to be a pausacious crop. While, ideally, growers look for three to three and half tons per acre, this year it's more like a half ton to a ton per acre. Small but intense fruit. News from the Winery The '02 wines are still relaxing in the barrel. We'll bottle some of them in November and some in January. All are pleasing us. By this we mean, Chardonnays from Bien Nacido, Talley Vineyard and Dierberg Vineyard. Pinots are from Bien Nacido, Laetitia Vineyard (La Colline), Dierberg Vineyard, Pisoni, Garys' Vineyard and are joined by newcomers from Brousseau Vineyard (up in the Pinnacles), Solomon Hills (Santa Maria Valley), and Rim Rock (Arroyo Grande Valley). Then, we have our very own pinots from organically nurtured vines at Bien Nacido: Riversedge (clone 2A), Adobe (clone 115), Pentagon (clone 667), and Corral (clone 777). Last fall offered an additional challenge in that we were trying to finish our impressive new winery building in time for harvest. Because of construction delays and the time crunch we were unable to process the early ripening Pinot Blanc and Sangiovese. Sorry about that. But they will be back for '03. And, we will have a new varietal available soon -- Syrah from our very own grapes we planted five years ago at Bien Nacido. Syrah ripens late so it worked out perfectly for us last fall. From the Cellar/Wine Library What a pleasure it is to pull some older vintages from our cellar and discover how well they are developing. This is especially true with the '98 pinots. As many of you may recall '98 was a difficult vintage and the wines just didn't offer as much of that invitation to enjoyment that pinots usually provides us. Basically they seemed shy. But no longer. They're getting ready to party. New Beginnings We would like to mention newcomers to our outstanding staff at Tantara: Louise Wheeler has taken the reins at the office, Scott Ames is doing some of everything at the winery, and Tina Nordholm will be pulling things together for events. Tana (the Organizer) Elliot is moving to the dry hills of Arizona. Tana showed up a few years at just the right time to help us during our early days struggling with the mountains of paperwork this business seems to generate. We will miss her sharp wit, her passion for Chardonnay and her dedication to Tantara. Other news: Bill and Jeff are another year older. |
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2000 Letter to Our Friends & Customers 1999 was an exciting watershed year for us. We released our first wine, the 1997 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, both of which sold out, and we moved into our winery just in time for harvest. In fact on October 1, as the plumbers were making the final connections to our water system, the first load of grapes arrived. Cutting it close, but we made it. We would like to thank you for making our first year such a success. We are grateful for the reception the wine got on the West Coast and in Virginia (our ancestral and spiritual home). We were happy to meet you at some of the events we attended as well as hearing from those of you who sought out the wines. Wine is a shared experience. In fact, it is one of the two most enjoyable shared experiences that we know. You all are the reason that we strive to make the finest wine from the best fruit. Our pledge is to raise the bar higher. Cheers! Jeff and Bill April 2000 Letter to Our Friends & Customers This is a thank you note to all of you have been such loyal supporters of Tantara Winery. It is also an apology for our lack of communication with you and a promise that we will do better in the future. Tantara Winery got started in 1997 with very little capital and a huge amount of love for Pinot Noir. The two of us (Bill & Jeff) have somehow found the time to do every task of running this business from constructing the facility to winemaking (fun part) to bookeeping (ohhh) to janitorial service to marketing to you-name-it. Most of all we have devoted our time to the wine. And we believe that shows. Now, hopefully we have gotten to the point where we can afford to hire some help. (Tana Eliott to manage the office.) Great feeling! We can also afford a snappy new computer. The old one crashed on us last fall leaving us in a mess-0-paper. And now for the fresh start whereinby we can turn some of our attention to YOU. The first thing we are going to do is finish this letter. Next we are going to actually mail it. In this letter you will receive some especially good news. (Drumroll, please) There will be no shipping or packaging charges through our Spring release! We still have to charge sales tax so that California can continue to buy electricity so that we can continue to operate our word processor and a few other things. So, you can test our new communication resolve by visiting our website, tantarawinery.com (up and running thanks to Brad Brown) and emailing us, or calling us, or writing us or fax with your questions, comments, recipes, compliments, orders, etc. and see how promptly we respond. If we don't get back to you within 24 hours or so you will receive a free Tantara t-shirt (navy blue L or XL). Or, you can order a full case of wine and get the T-shirt as a dandy bonus. Now, for the words you've all been waiting for -- the arrival of the fabulous '99's. We are getting the reputation for producing elegant wines. With the '99's look for concentrated elegance. It was a very small crop (e.g., La Colline at half ton per acre) and the vines gave their all to available grapes. Here is the current lineup. The Pinots were bottled just three weeks ago so release dates will be staggered depending on how the wines are adjusting to new life in the bottle. See our Order Form for pricing. Tasting notes to follow. '99 Santa
Maria Valley Pinot Noir Even more Great News: Open House at TANTARA WINERY on Sunday April 22, 2001, noon to five. This is the weekend of the Santa Barbara County Vintner's Festival with many wineries holding open house. Bill & Jeff expect to be pouring some '99's at the festival on Saturday, the 21st, then on to the winery on Sunday. Music, hors d'oeuvres, wine and gorgeous people. Useful info for the palm pilot, etc.: winery
phone (805) 938-5051 We hope to see you or hear from you. Cheers, Bill & Jeff
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1998 As you may recall, in the early part of the year, El Nino was gathering strength and eager to make himself felt. And that he did, as the Central Coast of California was inundated with torrential rain. In February of 1998, at the height of the onslaught, as we surveyed our future winery site, the normally placid Cuyama River which winds down from North Canyon past our winery, looked like the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Fortunately, the Cuyama didn't breach the bank on our side of the river. All that rain also had an effect on the wines particularly Pinot Noir. Because the storms continued late in the season, bud break and flowering were also late. This, along with cool weather and flowering contributed to a lighter set. So it was clear that there would be less fruit. The questions then were of quality and harvest date. However with a later harvest came the attendant risks of fruit struggling to ripen and the onsent of rain. However we are pleased to report that although the harvest was three to four weeks later than average, the Pinot Noir and Chardonnay were picked in beautiful weather at optimum ripeness and maturity which gave intense fruit with beautiful color and great structure. The average yield for the Pinot Noir was two tons to the acre.
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| Home > Wine Info > Newsletters/Vintage Notes Fall 2001 Newsletter
On August 18th and 19th, we bottled the first of the 2000 vintage. Happily moving into life in the bottle were the 2000 Pinot Blanc [see below], the 2000 Bien Nacido Chardonnay, and the 2000 Talley Chardonnay. It was a good day for us white wine lovers to see some of our favorites take their first steps towards our wine glasses. The 2000 crop promises to deliver concentrated smooth flavor with a ripe but subtle richness. Good news! Pinot Blanc is back. And we're delighted. This grape didn't ripen well enough for us in 1999 so we had to let it go to the birds. But for 2000 it made a strong happy comeback. This grape seems to have found a fine home in California (compared to France) due to our long growing season. It especially enjoys the cool summer weather of the Central Coast which lends it a nice balance of fruit and acidity. Our 2000 Santa Maria Valley Pinot Blanc has a melange of fruit flavors going from a hint of citrus to apple and pear. It is slightly softer in style and a bit lighter in color than our very popular '98. Keep in mind the '98 was from Laetitia Vineyard in the Arroyo Valley and the 2000 is from Bien Nacido. For those interested in terroir that's about 15 or so miles apart by crowfly along with some major soil differences. This Pinot Blanc was given the same loving treatment of fermentation in expensive french oak barrels. But, while the '98 was a two-thirds malolactic fermentation the 2000 is three-fourths. As with the '98 this a terrific food-friendly wine that can match a wide variety of entrees including rather spicy ones. The alcohol content is 14.8%. Enjoy! Just in case you haven’t heard yet, The Wine Spectator tasted our 1999 Chardonnays and our Pinot Noir’s — and they were impressed enough to give us these scores: For the Chardonnays — 90 points on the Santa Maria and the Bien Nacido, and 91 points on the Talley, and for the Pinots — 89 points for the Evelyn, 88 for the LaColline and the Santa Maria Valley, and 87 for the Bien Nacido. (The highest score given any Pinot was a 90). We weren’t too surprised, because we knew how delicious they were. After all, we’ve been enjoying them immensely, and we know you have been too. Along with the Chardonnay scores came a nice article on Tantara and a great shot of Jeff, who has unanimously been voted in as our poster boy for 2001. We thought about making a calendar — ”winemakermate” of the month — what do you think? And in the same article on Pinot Noir we appreciated the reference to us; “Tantara, with its Santa Maria Valley Evelyn (89 pts., $52) plus three other bottlings from that vintage, show a remarkable mastery of Pinot Noir. We are pleased and proud to be able to offer these wines to you.
Bill says: “Whether the glass is half empty or half full doesn’t matter all that much just so the glass is clean." JEFF says: "I think I dropped off a case of Pinot. Or was it two?"
WINES
TO WATCH FOR IN COMING MONTHS These are some of the wines-to-be that we have been purposely cavorting with at Tantara: (for the purpose of encouraging their growth and development, of course). In addition to our Bien Nacido Vineyard, “Evelyn” Pinot, and La Colline Vineyard, we will be offering: 2000 Tantara Winery Pisoni Vineyard - Back by popular demand. 2000 Tantara Winery Garys’ Vineyard - From the Santa Lucia Highlands, this joint vineyard of Gary Pisoni and Gary Franscioni offers us this Pisoni clone as a fruit with a variation on a delightful theme. 2000 Tantara Winery Dierberg Vineyard - This new vineyard is a winemaker’s delight with beautifully farmed grapes from the most promising Dijon clones. We now take credit cards! So for your convenience and pleasure you can phone or email in your wine Request, we can take your credit card order, and then ship it right to your doorstep! How fast will we be able to ship it? Well, you know, as soon as Bill can get around to it..... Gwen (wife of winemaker Bill), whose art we love and is featured on our wine labels and in paintings at the winery, will be having a gallery showing for the months of October and November called Vineyards & Canyons at Art Brute in Los Olivos. Her opening reception will be Oct. 21st. from 2-4 p.m. We have a new office now, and it’s right down the road from the winery. What this means is now there is more room for the wine (!) and all that messy paperwork that could distract our winemakers from their pinot noir is now in a different building. Also, we have a shipping room so we can better handle your requests to have our wine at your dinner table. DAYS
OF OUR GRAPES Sangiovese’s home is Italy where it is the grape of the wonderful Brunello Di Montalcino. It is also the basic grape of Chianti and Vino Nobile Di Montepulciano and other Supertuscan wines. The name means “Blood of Jove” which would indicate that this grape has been around for quite some time. In California Sangiovese has found another home and it seems to relish its new digs. First in Napa and now in Paso Robles, this grape is showing great promise. Some people refer to it as the Pinot of Italy. With our ‘98 we would agree that the nose had that resemblance. In ’99 we decided to blend in a bit of Merlot, which, interestingly, gave the wine a more Tuscan quality. Both are delightful. When we were consolidating the 2000 Sangiovese we agonized over whether to go 100% Sangio or blend in Merlot again. Taste test after taste test left us liking both so much that we threw up our hands and headed for an Italian restaurant with both samples in hand. Hey; what better way to get at the answer? And the winner was.......To be announced upon release later this fall. In Italy Sangiovese ripens late and is usually harvested in mid-October. The Tantara 2001 Sangiovese was harvested on August 20th. That’s even a bit early for California. Last year we harvested the Sangio on Sept. 1st. And, just to show you how nature keeps us guessing and waiting, in 1999 we harvested this fun grape on October 2nd. But whenever it arrives we love its sensuous earthy aroma. Our Sangiovese comes from a rocky fault line ridge way out in wild boar and mountain lion country. The grapes are farmed to perfection at French Camp Vineyard east of Paso Robles. Normally Sangiovese is a heavy producer of grapes but this year the crop was cut back in order to harvest only 3 tons to the acre. While we’ve been delighted in the past with the fruit from French Camp this year’s crop holds even greater promise for intensity. Stay tuned. We think we’re on to something special. THE
WINE LIST On Special - 1998 Laetitia Pinot Noir - This wine has a pure pinot nose, with wonderful aromas of crushed strawberries, violets and smoky oak. A great food wine, now showing some tannins, this wine will benefit from 1-2 years of cellaring. It’s rich earthy flavors with caramel and leather tones and dry lingering finish of ripe cherries and plums make it perfect paired with lamb, meat, rich sauces and aged cheeses. You will find it drinking better the day after opening. Because this is a Pinot for cellaring, we have decided to offer this to you — $35/ bottle — buy 5 bottles and receive 1 free. 1999 Sangiovese
- $18 To Friends of Tantara who are unable to attend our open house on Oct. 14th, we’d like to extend to you these same fabulous prices with our Autumn special — order now through Thanksgiving and receive free shipping and handling along with a 10% case discount on all your purchases. (You may assort wine for your case discount). EVENTS TO PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR Friday evening at 7:00pm on October 12th, The Los Olivos Wines and Spirits Emporium will hold a winemaker dinner featuring the wines of Tantara, Vandale, and Stolpman. Dinner will be catered by the Casmalia Hitching Post and your ticket at only $80 includes everything—food, wine, tax, and gratuity. (No extra charge for the fun)! The menu will include assorted appetizers such as Lobster Crostini, Grilled Sweetbreads and Barbecued Mushrooms and entrees of Filet Mignon and Grilled Gulf Shrimp, with Baby Red Potatoes and Grilled Vegetables. To make your reservation call (888) SB-WINES (729-4637). The Santa Barbara County Vintners Association will hold its annual Celebration of Harvest on Saturday, October 13, from 1:00 to 4:00 at Rancho Sisquoc Winery. These tickets go fast so grab ‘em while you can. This is always a hugely fun event, with fabulous food, live music, and yummy wines to taste. Where to get your tickets? Call the Santa Barbara County Vintners Association at: (800) 218-0881. AND, on Sunday the 14th Tantara Winery will hold its Annual Autumnal Open House with wine, music, hors d'oeuvres, and great people. Hang out with us from 12-5 p.m. for fun, frivolity, and winemaker wisdom. Also this will be the release date for the first of our 2000 vintage — the Pinot Blanc, Bien Nacido and Talley Chardonnays, and possibly the Sangiovese. Join us and be the first to taste our 2000’s! November
3rd there will be a wine tasting of the Edna Valley wineries
in Arroyo Grande at Biddle Ranch Park, and Tantara will be there.
We know it’s too early, and we don’t want to think about it either, but if you are considering Tantara wine for any of your holiday events or to give as gifts, we would be happy to take your order now with payment and hold your wine for you until you are ready to receive it. There are only a few of our 1999 wines still available; the Sangiovese, Bien Nacido Pinot Noir, LaColline Pinot Noir, and the Evelyn Pinot Noir. So if there is anything from ‘99 you particularly enjoyed, the time to order it is now. Of the
2000 vintage we will have the Pinot Blanc, Bien Nacido Chardonnay, Talley
Chardonnay, and, we hope, CALL FORRECIPES
We would like to hear your stories on “delicious ways you have used Tantara wine in the kitchen”, (nothing x-rated, please)! Recipe submissions to the newsletter can be mailed, faxed, or e-mailed in and will be considered according to creativity and sumptuous results, and of course, space. Upcoming Recipes For our holiday issue you’ll be excited to know that Bill will be sharing his fabulous Pinot Blanc cookie recipe. There is even a sugar free, wheat free, egg free, and lactose free version. What did he leave in it? Just Pinot Blanc?
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| Home > Wine Info > Newsletters/Vintage Notes Vintage
Notes 2000 After the exciting but unruly 1999 harvest the 2000 Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vintage was like an obedient child. Ripening in September, this vintage is well-groomed and exceptionally balanced. For 2000. we have added two new vineyards to our Pinot Noir portfolio -Dierberg from the Santa Maria Valley, an exciting project featuring the latest in clonal and rootstock selections and Gary's from the Santa Lucia Highlands in Monterey County. We also welcomed back an old friend - the Pisoni Vineyard. This allows us to offer you a staggering seven Pinot Noirs for 2000. We vineyard designate wines because of inherent flavor differences in fruit from different regions. Pinot Noir, more than any other varietal reflects it's place of origin. We hope you enjoy these distinct wines from three appellations, We offer two Chardonnays for 2000, Bien Nacido and Talley, The Bien Nacido has clean fruit flavors and a compelling mineral character while the Talley, with tropical flavors shows its opulence, In 2001
we enjoyed our first national press for our 1999 vintage and the reviews
were noteworthy. We look forward to offering you the 2000 wines and pledge
our continued commitment to quality. |
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| Home > Wine Info > Newsletters/Vintage Notes The current and future newsletters will be available on this website in .pdf format, and will arrive in your mailbox if you are on the mailing list. The current newsletter is available now. Find out what you've been missing by not getting on the mailing list yet! Learn more about the lore of Tantara, as well as vintage notes for library wines, from our past newsletters. Please select from the links on the right of this page. |
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