We are not sleeping.

Harvest is upon us...it's go time for all of our planning and financial pieces to come together.  Next time you are awake in the middle of the night, know you are not alone! You're welcome.

This is Our Story -

Eric & Ali

Gearing up for Harvest 2014

...we've secured our vineyards (well still could use some budget friendly Pinot Meunier), fallen in love even more with our winemakers Katy & Ross, locked down our crush needs with Vinify, now comes the hardest part -  waiting for the grapes to ripen.

It's cooled off over the past few weeks after a warm Spring, so some say the grapes will be early, some say they'll be picked right about the same time as the past two years...which is OK for those not juggling full-time jobs elsewhere - we are anxious! Both of us hope to be in California (and can take the early morning off) to help with the pick and crush at the winery.  After all this wait, Dear God we hope we don't miss a thing! 

Here's a peek at our Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon Vines on top of the Sonoma Mountain AVA - about 24 hours ago. We are very pleased with the vineyard and are so excited to make our first Smith Story Wine Cellars wine from this beautiful spot in Sonoma County!  
 
Our love for Sauvignon Blanc started with France, particularly the region of Sancerre, France in the Loire Valley.  I'm sure we've bugged our winemakers to death about crush and cellar details that come with our rather large expectations of producing world-class Sauvignon Blanc.

We can hardly sleep through the night thinking about it all! 


This is Our Story,

Ali (and Eric)

The Wine Business is Dangerous

Adventures with winemakers Katy & Ross...

Picture 4 of us in a brand new Subaru 4WD wagon with about an half of inch of vineyard dirt on the back window, speeding down a cliff-side gravel road after accidentally driving down a dead-end road - right into a marijuana grove.

So just about the time we thought about slowing down to take-in the breathtaking views and pop a bottle of Eric Bordelet Pear Cider, a large angry looking man draped in a scarf and mirrored sunglasses on a large ATV appeared right on our tail. I turned around to look and quickly yelled out S%#!  I'm talking straight outta 60 Minutes folks. Now I know why Ross travels around with TP in his car.  The weed-farm scary guy must have had a good head-shake and chuckle watching us sip on our iced-Americanos inside the Subaru as he peeled away & turned back.  Wine people!

Lesson learned kiddies: Stop and turn around the minute you notice a sawed-off tree with a bow & arrow attached when you are in the middle of thick forest land! 

Anyhoo...beyond this slight-heart attack, the day was full of beauty in the Anderson Valley.  We made a stop by Handley Cellars to say hello to the dear Milla Handley and taste her current releases then spent the rest of the day visiting with vineyard managers and kicking rocks.  We also drove past Nash Mill Vineyard and gave it a big high-five too, Nash Mill Vineyard was original the vineyard that Eric and I spent some time in while he and his pal Jeff planted riesling about 10 years ago. Those were the days...

Thrilled to have a small footprint from the Anderson Valley AVA in our 2014 inaugural offering of Smith Story Wine Cellars! 

This is Our Story.

 - Ali