Well unless you've been living under a poncho, you know what this California winter has been like, and even though mother nature has broken with the deluge of water, the ground in which our beloved vines anchor is still saturated.  Results of this soil condition is not exactly known as vines sometimes have a varied response to this.  The good part with the significant break in the winter storms and things being more spring-like now is that it is just in time for one of the most significant stages of vine growth and sometimes the highly "social media posted," BUD-BREAK!  Really all this means is the vines have awaken from their winter slumber.  See this pictures of Chardonnay vines (with swollen bud) and later (with first green leaves unfolded)  One interesting note that some varieties (Chardonnay) have woken up others (Cabernet Franc) are still sleeping as we try to finish the pruning.

Grand Island Bottles Three New Wines, by David Shattuck

News from the GIV Tasting Room, by Tess Jonson

A big thank you to our Wine Club members for joining in on some amazing barrel tastings and meeting our awesome winemakers David Shattuck and Ed Seikel. I think I can say that we are ALL pretty excited for the 2016 Cabernet Franc, as both the 2013 and 2014 are flying off the shelves!  If you haven't been to the winery lately, you should definitely consider a visit. Spring has brought everything to bloom, jack rabbits are out to play in force and we have some new wines coming very soon.  The Grand Island Vineyards one year anniversary party (a fabulous two day event) is coming up towards the end of May where we will be having live music/entertainment, catering, wine, gourmet food trucks, a classic car show, kite flying exhibitions and much, much more. Visit our events/tours section for more information. 

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Courtney Elmore - GIV Wine Tasting Ambassador
 

Courtney is the right-hand to Tasting Room Manager Tess Jonson and on the front lines of the GIV point of sale system. A Red Wine lover by nature whose favorite is the GIV Cab Franc, Courtney says.......  " The reason I am here is because of the true community happening in this place; the focus really is on the entire community prospering and I love knowing all the customers by name, their children and mutual activities as a lot of us have all grown up together. "  Courtney has a B.S. in Business Administration that is very helpful to us and she  also works for the Department of Justice Cyber Crime Division. While she can't talk about everything she does professionally, she has some VERY interesting stories to share. We invite you to stop by and meet Courtney, you'll definitely be glad you did as her wine knowledge is quite impressive! 

Gewürztraminer - BRIDGEHEAD, Clarksburg 2015
 

This month we're proud to introduce the newly released 2013 vintage of our Gewürztraminer.  It is most notably grown in Alsace, along the border between France and Germany, and due to that German influence is one of the few french wines labeled as a varietal as opposed to by region.  The word gewurz in German means spice, as in big and bold aromas, which shouldn't surprise those already familiar with this varietal.  Gewürztraminer is known for it's unique perfume of lychee, honeysuckle, bright citrus and refreshing minerality.  

The 2013 Gewürztraminer is now available in our tasting room, and while we're excited to offer you our newest vintage of Gewürztraminer there is still a limited number of 2012 vintage cases available at a nice discount as well!

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News, Dates and Shipping Times for Wine Club Members

The next Wine Club Shipment/Pickup Party is currently scheduled for May 2017.  Our featured bottle this quarter is the new 2016 GIV Sauvignon Blanc! The other two highlighted wines include 2016 Bridgehead Rosé of Cabernet and the Bridgehead RED Winemakers Blend. As always, the last two wines can be changed in your wine club member account online. 

To enroll in the Wine Club, or to access your existing account and make changes on which wines you would like to receive each shipment, please login using our online access area. To verify your account upon signup (via Billing Information or by Email) you can do so at our online  Account Verification Area.

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GIV After Dark Event 

- Friday, April 7, 2017