Hi all

Here's the latest...good news and better news...from afar.

Vineyard:

Got all the plastic rabbit protectors up. Julien was here today and we walked the vineyard and he pointed out to me where the rabbits were already winning - -turns out they also eat the teenage vines that are low enough to the ground for them to reach - but are too big for the plastic covers... looks like I will never have the upper hand - best to hope for is a draw. Got the place fertilized and judging ready to plant the new plants (about 350) when I return from Seattle at the end of the month.

The Wine: - - Good news - - -ITS COTES DU RHONE!!!! I finally received confirmation from the judging organization that the red wine meets their standards. So I can label it and sell it as 'Cotes du Rhone' and not Vin de Table (which is worth like about 2 EURO per bottle). So we will bottle the red at the end of April and have it ready to sell in June per plan.

OPEN HOUSE: - - Better News - - We are now officially OPEN for business. The sign went up this morning, and what a morning it was...blue sky, no clouds, no wind and slated to hit about 70 degrees!!



And, as some of you know today was also the "Portes Ouvertes" (Open House), for which I had sent out about 200 'invitations.

I really had no idea what to expect in terms of attendance. I had never done one of these before. I held a "First Release" party at Brasa for my first Graves Cellars wine, but that was inviting friends to come celebrate. This was my first time at something like this aimed at the marketplace. And, its not the kind of thing that people would RSVP to, so I really wasn't sure whether I would see 5, or 50 or 200 people. So I laid out the caveau to receive folks, and put out some things for people to nibble on if they saw the need (cheese, bread, olives, tapenades, bruschetta), opened the door at 2:00 pm and waited to see.

People starting showing up right away. For the next three hours or so it was a fairly constant stream of folks - most were old customers of Julien's, but some were new, and they all seemed interested in the wines - both the rose that was for sale and the red that I was offering for tasting, but wouldn't be available until June 1. I suspect there was on the order of 150 people who came by.....and most bought something!!!

At the end of the day, I tallied things up: 48 boxes ( 6 per box) of rose (out of a total of 145) sold. AND, since I was offering to take "Orders" for the red in advance of its release in June- at a slightly reduced price- I 'Sold" about 35 cases (400 bottles) already. All in all, it was a VERY good day!!

Personal Note: - - Also Good news - - Got my permanent Carte de Sejour last week - so I am now fully street legal for 1 year!! Another major hurdle overcome.

All for now..think I'll go buy myself a glass of wine to celebrate.

Be good out there.

Hi all

Its been about six weeks since last I updated you all, so I have a number of things to let you know about.

House: Absolutely nothing new.....have been totally focused on the vineyard and the wine, and have spent no time at all even thinking about the house. And, lets face it, I spent more than I had planned to get it into shape, so I am just going to live with it 'as is' for now. And since there is really nothing major left to, I'll just pick away at the details. Of course this is another way of telling you that the house IS ready for company.....hint. Spring has started to arrive, and with it some of the trees have started to show it, so things are starting to get pretty as the weather warms up.

Vineyard: We finished the winter pruning, and the digging-up of the dead vines over the last couple of weeks. We did a fairly heavy pruning this year (as you can see by comparing the two photos). Notice how the result does look like a goblet - hence the name.







I still have not quite mastered the back-hoe...my multi-hand coordination doesn't exactly match with the professionals!! So it takes me a bit longer...but I did get about 350 plants pulled up...ready for replanting next month.

We will fertilize next week, and then start the spring / summer plowing program (once a month or so until July).

WINE: Bigger news on the wine. As I told you last time, the rose had passed through the 'judging' without any issues, and was ready for bottling. But we missed the window of bottling truck availability and had to reset until mid-March. Well - we got it done yesterday! We bottled all the rose (about 900 bottles), with labels, and boxes, etc. So we have wine to start selling.





I am actually quite happy with the way in which the rose turned out. It is a very nice, dry, yet fruit-forward combination of cinsault and grenache. With its very salmon-pink coloration, it is really quite nice.

We also bottled about 650 bottles of the red, but without labels or capsules. We still have not resolved whether the red will be a Cotes du Rhone wine or a Vin de Table. But, in the interest of getting the bottling folks to do the job for me, I needed more than just the small amount of rose to make it worth their while. And, in bottling without label or capsule, the wine can be labeled for whatever its future use - including potentially exporting to the US (hint to Tamara..).

And I can also use it for the Open House - New Release party which I am holding on the first Saturday in April. I sent out about 250 invitations to M.Marignane's previous customers, friends, winemakers, etc. I am looking forward to seeing what the reaction is...."Portes Ouvertes" are not typically done here, but it seemed like a great way to get the name out there, and to let people know the domaine was back open for business......we'll see.........

Personal: I received a preliminary, temporary 'Carte de Sejour'...my residency card!! It is good until mid-May. The real one I should get as soon as I get a physical this week - just another in the long list of things required..which seem to crop up one at a time. The last latest wrinkle was that they needed a copy of my Birth Certificate, which of course I had to send away to get...always something. But at least now I am street legal and can come and go from France without issue!!

That's all for today - I need to get out into the vineyard and get the netting up on the small plants...they are a favorite food for the local rabbits (les lapins) who eat the new growth (yum) and stunt the ability of the plant to develop. So we put a stake into the ground at the side of the plant, and then wrap the stake/plant in a plastic mesh ...makes them into 'look but don't eat' .

Be well out there.

HI All

Another couple-three weeks have gone by. And I have some so-so news and some so-so news.

The Wine:

So, it turns out that here in the Cotes du Rhone they take their wine pretty seriously. Here, to get the head-nod to call your wine a "Cotes du Rhone" wine, every year you must submit samples to the local CDR office where they analyze AND TASTE the wine to determine whether or not it meets their standards. If they don't think it meets their standards, then you cannot call it a 'Cotes du Rhone' - it is only a "Vin de Pays". This can have significant impact on the price you can charge, as Cotes du Rhone does carry a certain cache.

Per the rules, I sent them a notification 10 days prior to bottling, so they could come sample. Well - they came early this week (2 days before bottling day) to collect the samples...and then I had to wait for the results:..tension, tension, tension...............and......today, with my consultant oenologist, we called and got the results:

The ROSE passed with flying colors (got an "A" score).

The RED , however, did not quite meet their standards and received a "B" score.

That means that I can resubmit for further analysis/testing if I choose. We knew we were close, so while not a surprise, it is a bit of a disappointment. And it isn't a big deal to fix - it just means we have to make a couple of minor adjustments to get it right - which I will do next week - and then resubmit.

BUT - in the mean time, I missed the bottling window I had set for this week. And the next opportunity to bottle is not until March 16!!! The truck is tied-up until then. Now it looks as though I will still have wine to bring back to Seattle in April for Linda's dinner, etc., but just barely!

The Vineyard:

Winter pruning is almost done - we should finish next week. And the pulling up of the old dead vines is on-going - I am about 25% there - have been focused on the wine and on 'raking' the dead wood from the pruning.

I had an 'almost' thing today.Was out raking the cut-off dead wood using the big red tractor with a claw attachment. An at the end of every row, you take the stuff you've raked and put it onto a pile for burning. Had been doiing this all morning, and the last couple of days, so I was feeling pretty conficant in my ability to cruise around on the tractor and get this done.

Well at the end of one of the rows, as I was turning to go up the little incline, the throttle stuck on me and the tractor decided to pull a 'tractor wheelie'...not a fun thing on something that big!!! I thought for sure that it was going to go over on its back! Only by quickly hitting the clutch, did I get the front wheels back on the ground.

Unfortunately, in rearing up like that it put excessive force on the framework that supports the claw attachment, and I bent a couple of pieces......Tractor Repair!!! Fortunately I called my friend Thierry, - my all-around mechanic ( thank you Jean Marie) who came over this afternoon - scoped it out - and told me he could have it fixed by Wednesday!! So I only lose a few days.....and add several new grey hairs.

Home Front:

I heard this week (after my accountant and I visited and called them) that my Carte de Sejour (residency card) was on hold because the tax administration didn't think that the winery would make enough profit to support me...yup - knew that. With the help of my accountant, we submitted more info to them that showed my Boeing pension, and the winery business plan...and that seemed to suffice. However - my VISA expired this month...and I don't yet have my Carte de Sejour, so I am only sorta street legal..need to watch my driving, etc.

I think that's it for now. Will let you know the results of the re-submit of the red...and how we finish up with pruning.

Be good to each other.

Hi All

Just a quick note:

Well - Winter has REALLY arrived here in the South of France. This started just this morning (it had been forecast) and we've got about 2" so far - with maybe a total of 4-6" by the time its done today/tonight. We will have to delay the winter pruning for a couple of days, but this is a fleeting thing (rain and then sun to return by Friday).




But - for those of you who were wondering...YES it does snow here! And because it happens so infrequently, the drivers here are no better than in Seattle....it took me 2 hours to get back from the 'mall' at noon. But it is really pretty.

Next up after pruning will be bottling the Cotes-du-Rhone red and rose - in about three weeks. More from me again when we're done.

Be well out there.

Happy New Year to you all!!

Sorry I haven't written more often, but the time just has gotten past me. I realized yesterday that it was exactly 6 months ago I got the keys to this place....WOW - a lot has happened in that time: a new start for me here in France; a "new start" for the economy (too bad it had to go back to square 1.!! - can't go anywhere but up from here, right?), a new start to the US political climate (about time too, huh!?!). A lot has happened.

Hope you all had a great Holiday Season - mine was wonderful - went back to Seattle for a week and got to spend time family and friends...too short but yet...it felt good to get back here - to what is now home.

A friend recently asked me whether or not this was all I had hoped for. As I told her, in many ways it is and in a few it is not. I don't think you really ever know how its going to go....you just leap into it and let it happen....which is really what I did. I mean, after all, I only found this place a year ago..and here I am!

To answer her question...How is it?...its great, good, fine, OK, not bad. All some level of positive, but not all over-the-top...................

The people here have been fantastic to me - they have all gone out of their way to make me feel comfortable - every where I turn people are willing to help - more than I expected.

The 'farm' is taking more work than I anticipated, and I am needing to find help ( and spend $) to make sure I am doing the right things. Again, everyone I ask is forthcoming, its just I don't always know what to ask. I had expected some of this, just not to the extent it has become necessary.

The Winemaking is as expected - just a larger scale (10,000 bottles vs 1000). So there are no issues there (other than finding sources for materials - no Boeing Winemakers' Club to call for help).

The house remodel has gone better than I expected - Michel has proven to be a first-rate contractor, and between himself and his contacts I have been able to get anything I need done pretty quickly. With apologies to Peter Mayle, you can get word done here on-time and at a reasonable price.

Finally, on the personal side, I am finally settling. As most of you know I retired from Boeing in May after 34 years to set off on this adventure, and then spent the next 2 months getting ready to get here; and then the next 2 months getting settled (vineyard, winery, house remodel...all the usual things). So - its only been in the last month that I have really had a chance to catch my breath and start thinking about what I got myself into.

I must say that the one thing I am missing is the 'constant incidental' interaction with people - the socialization that came both with the job and with my friends in close proximity. Living as I am now in a rural environment - where my nearest neighbors are really a vineyard away - interaction is limited, particularly since this is a family-owned 'wine-farmer' community. People her tend to keep to themselves. So you really have to be outgoing. And my French language skill, while improving, is still not enough or me to feel comfortable just striking up a conversation with strangers...I am more than a little intimidated....yet. My New Year's resolution is to work on this.....go to town for coffee more mornings and just strike up conversations.....and just get out there........well...maybe....

But all things considered, it IS the right thing for me to have done. I am still very excited about it. AND - with the wine getting close to release, I know I will start having more and more visitors / clients, and it will be great.

And now that I have heard from a number of you that perhaps you will come visit....I have to wonder whether I have created a monster - Everyone wants to come at once....How will I keep you all entertained... What will I do when more than a few of you want to come at the same time....how can I say 'NO'??!! Will I have to move out or sleep in the winery to make room...?!?!?? BUT Never Fear - I have a PLAN - I am starting a calendar. And so take this as a hint to get your reservations in early, cause I can only take a few at a time...and first come first served!!!

Have to run - we start winter pruning this week, and I have a few clean-up things to do before we start.

Be good to each other, and be well.

Hello Again

Sorry for not posting sooner, but there really hasn't been much news until recently.

Hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving.........I suspect some of you are particularly thankful that Mr. Obama was victorious. The French folks here I speak to about it are all really excited about "The Change" that they see coming.

As for me -the French do not do Thanksgiving...duh....BUT as a bit of a last minute thing, Deb's brother Ken and his family (Joanna and Will) decided to use the holiday time to come and visit France, and me!!! They arrived last Wednesday and we had a delightful 4 days together. the weather wasn't the best but we made do, and it was great having guests in the house (hint..hint). We toured the area - both the Rhone and Luberon valleys; ate good food, drank great wine (reds and roses) - they bought typical Provencal things (table linens, pottery). They left for Paris and Normandy on Sunday, and will return to Seattle (Sequim) next week. Great time!!

Wine - everything is fine - its all resting and waiting for bottling of the rose and the regular red the end of January or first of February. I have lined up the bottler, the bottles, the corks, the labels and the capsules, so now we just wait for the wine to settle a bit and we bottle.

House - All done for now. Got curtains up and rugs down where needed, and I have hung a few pieces of art - all local artists' works - so the place actually feels 'homey' now. Having the fireplace really helps make it comfy. Ken and Joanna enjoyed the new guest room - thought the bed was particularly comfortable (hint..hint).

The vines have now dropped all their leaves, (we've had some snow mixed in the rain today, and it has been below freezing a couple of nights) so its time to dig up the old dead vines (about 300 out of the 10,000) and then prune away this year's growth. I'll do the digging-up and will hire-in help with the pruning. My friend and fellow winemaker Jean Marie Royer is coming to give me counsel on how to prune correctly. Hope to have all that done before I leave for Seattle for the holidays

And - Just finished harvesting the olives from the nine trees in the yard. Unfortunately, I didn't realize that i should have started as sonn as they firstr began to turn color - I mis-understood Julien when he told me they needed to be 'noir'. So - we lost a bit from the interim rain and heavy winds we've had over the last 2-3 weeks. But the trees did still yield about 100 pounds - so enough to take to the local 'moulin d'huile' to have turned into oil. And I learned another lesson to add to my "Lessons Learned" file for next year(pick olives earlier -as soon as they start to turn color and fall).

Well - thats it for today - off to the mill.

Be well.

Its been a week or so since I last checked-in, so here's the latest.

Nothing new with the wine. It all sits quietly while it settles out and turns nice and clear. All is as it should be. In this down time, I have been spending my time working on the label design (following the previous label for its obvious name recognition) and talking with bottle, cork, and packaging suppliers.

Also talking with the local mobile bottling guy about what I need to do to use his service: how many people it will take; what the label format needs to be; what bottles are acceptable;, etc, etc.

For those of you who were aware of what GRAVES CELLARS had done in the past, the mobile bottler here is the same kind of outfit. For those unfamiliar - it is essentially an 18-wheeler with all the equipment contained inside the van to fill the bottles, put in the corks, put on the labels, and spin on the capsules -all you do is hook the truck's hose up to the tank of wine - put empty clean bottles in on one end...and take the finished bottles and put them into cases on the other.....at a rate of about 150 cases an hour! And when he's done - he drives away..no muss - no fuss. Its perfect for the small operation like this.

On the home front: The electrician came and we got all the heaters installed - so the house is quite comfy. Of course it hasn't hurt that since the day I panicked (cause it was starting to get COLD) the weather has improved a bit..figures. So now its on to rugs, and window coverings and decorating - all the little foofy stuff.

OH - yeah - and I have started to cook...some. I decided that every Sunday I would try something. Go on-line and find a recipe and give it a whirl..... Yesterday it was homemade stew....that was actually not bad...though with a loaf of bread and a bottle of French wine, just about anything will taste good.

And finally - an anecdote for the week. I got a call (actually several calls and messages over a two day period) from a local gentleman who needed my help (!?!?) His message, and subsequent call led me to believe (based on my rudimentary French) that he knew I was an American, and that he was an American, and had a 'paper' and needed my help. I thought 2 things: first - why if he and I are both Americans is he speaking to me only in French, and second - what kind of paper - maybe it was a local newsletter for Americans in the area, and he either wanted a story - or an ad..So - I said fine, stop by. He did. Turns out he is American - but only by birthright - his father was a GI in WWII, who stayed (returned) and married a French woman. The man who came to see my was the GI's son. So he was / is a Frenchman but holding dual nationality. Not a big thing - lots of folks do that. Well, it seems that his passport had expired like 10 years ago, and he was trying to apply for a new one - - and the forms, of course, are in English - which he does neither speak nor read. So he needed help in filling out the form. No problem - took about 20 minutes to do...name, DOB, address, etc....standard stuff. We got done, and he turned to leave, and I asked him -in my French - why he came to me - and how did he find me.

To which he replied: "I went to the office of the Marie (mayor's office) and the Prefecture (Municipal Police) to get help and they told me I needed to find an American to help. And when I asked if there were any Americans living in Sorgues... they told me that you (ME) were the only one they knew - and they gave me your number (my cell phone) - and so I called".

SO - it would seem that I am the ONLY American resident in the town...so I got that going for me. As Steve Meineke mentioned to me when he, Julie and their friends were here - - there oughta be some way to capitalize on my situation.....hmmmm........well maybe if the wine turns out to be good I might just try.

In the meantime - you all stay well.

More later.