JC Cellars Blog

Q: So what happens after the wine is bottled? What does a winemaker do while he waits for harvest to start? All honestly, is there anything for him to do?

A: The first thing I do after bottling is finished is take a few days off and recuperate. Getting your wine in tank and getting the wine bottled is stressful! What I do while waiting for harvest is a lot…vineyard visits, mind the latest vintage (09’s) of wine, write blogs, help sell wine on the road (lots of travel), write newsletters and tasting notes, check in new barrels and equipment, …

This is the question I always ask myself during the process of racking wines and tasting the final blends (or what I hope are the final blends) before they get bottled and I never have a chance to play with the wine again. This bottling was a little tougher than many I have done in the past. I put the final blends together on the same day that we racked to tank. Usually I do this a week or so before bottling but due to time and space constraints, this was not possible.

I feel fortunate that I have had …

It has been a long time since my last communication to our faithful JC Cellars fans. I’ve been a little busy getting ready for the holidays, tasting through both the 08’s and 09’s in barrel and just trying to make the world a safer place for all those that drink JC Cellar wines. And you thought Santa had it tough!

In all the hustle and bustle, all of here at JC Cellars would like to thank you for your passion towards JC Cellars and hope that the New Year brings you health, happiness and prosperity.

Enjoy!
Jeff

What a day we had yesterday! Pressed off the Rockpile Syrah, from all the different blocks and I will say, without a doubt, we have a winner on our hands. At this point the Haley’s’ blend is very layered and the anisette is very prominent in aromas and flavors. The So Serine is richer and more seductive. This may be due to the fact that the vines are more mature and starting to come into their own. The same could be said of the Buffalo Hill, which is showing forceful grip, but also a silky side (leather and lace). Time …

Welcome to harvest 2009!  The fruit at first came in slowly, but then SLAM!  It came in fast and furious filling every nook and cranny in the winery. At this point we have over 50 Macro bins (3/4 tons of fermenting fruit in each) and every tank filled and fermenting. We’ve already barrel down the Dusi Ranch Zinfandel and the St. Peter’s Church Zinfandel. Both are still a touch sweet and fermenting slowly. Some of my best wines are those that take 6 months or more to ferment in barrel (The Impostor, Fess Parker’s Vineyard and The First Date). Does …

Time keeps on ticking and the feeling of harvest looms in the air. I try not to get caught up in the pre-harvest jitters, but this year I really can’t contain my excitement. We are ramping up our Zinfandel program at JC Cellars and with that come a few new vineyards, including old vine Dusi Ranch from Paso Robles and the fabled St. Peter’s Church from Cloverdale. We of course will continue to make our Iron Hill and Sweetwater Springs Vineyard Zinfandel. To add even more powerhouse reds to the line up, we will also be getting a …

It surely has been a while since my last blog, and I have no one to blame but myself. It seems that I am a loyal member of the Procrastinators Club of America. I was going to attend this years meeting, but just didn’t find the time!

In all fairness, I guess I have been a little busy watching the time go by. I feel like we just ended harvest and it is slowly creeping up on us again. From what I can tell so far the growing season has been perfect (cross your fingers).

In the winery, we finished …

It’s that time again - bottling! One of the most stressful times in a winemaker’s life. Everything is so final. Once in the bottle, that’s it. Just to update you, yesterday we bottled the Stagecoach Marsanne, Ripken Late Harvest Viognier, and Rockpile Rose. Today we begin with a brand new wine we call Smoke and Mirrors (a blend of Syrah Petite Sirah and Zinfandel). At $25 a bottle, it’s a lot of bang for the buck. We are also bottling the long awaited 2007 Impostor! We skipped one year of making this to make sure we were able to lock …

I cannot believe February is almost over. Time flies by so fast when you finally have a few moments to take in everything that have been going on since harvest. You finally get a chance to spend time with your family and realize how much your children have changed. They almost seem to become even more independent when you’re not around as often.

Over the past few weeks Alexandra and the girls went on a trip to Arkansas and left me to fend for myself. I survived and saw three movies during this time. This also reminds one how …

Harvest is over; the wine is in barrels and put to rest.

It’s now time for me, my family and Dan, my assistant winemaker to get some well deserved rest.

We will be back next year, and start all over again.

Our 07’s need to be bottled and the 08’s need to be tasted again and again and again.

We wish you all Happy Holidays and a great New Year.

And never forget that JC Cellars is a great present to give, or at least that’s what I hear.

Thank you and Happy Holidays from the JC Cellars Family