Welcome to the Bridge
Bridging all aspects of our Winery from the Vineyard, to
the Cellar, Winery Grounds, Tasting Room and beyond. Our ongoing newsletter is an ideal way to stay up to date with all aspects of the Winery
and our newest wine releases!
In this Edition:
Check out some great images of the grapes we've harvested to date and learn what's happening as harvest continues. See how the cellar is doing with all these grapes. We give a special thanks to all who joined us for the amazing 2019 Harvest Dinner and invite you to even more tasting room events! Meet Alex and Julie Rodarte, more in our series of friends and family, learn about the upcoming 2017 Cabernet Sauvignon and get an update on the status of both wine clubs. Finally, learn about more upcoming events including the Holiday in the Vineyard Event we have scheduled November 30th and December 1st.
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Vineyard News
Harvest 2019 - Photo Collage of Harvest Grapes
by Operations Manager, Joe Salman
As stated in the last newsletter harvest we started in Mid August with some Chardonnay for a sparkling wine...
This was followed with Gewurztraminer...
...and Sauvignon Blanc, and shortly after that we harvested Pinot Gris (below).
Our first lot we brought into the winery was Chenin Blanc. September 4th.
During this time Pinot Noir was harvested and we later brought Symphony (below) into the winery.
Chardonnay was harvested for still wines during the week of September 9th, but then an interesting morning came on September 16th when we harvested Riesling (below) for Grand Island Vineyards and it rained.
Later on that week we harvested a small lot of Fiano.
That same week Primitivo (below) and Merlot.
As always at Grand Island Vineyards, we grow it, we make it and we sell it here!
Hope you enjoy the wine and pictures, more to come to finish up harvest.
Joe Salman
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Cellar News
Harvest - We're in the Eye of the Storm People!
(in the cellar)
By Winemaker Ed Seikel
Harvest is once again in full swing and we're now moving into the "Eye of the Storm" in the cellar. All of our white varietals have been harvested and are finishing up with their fermentations, the early reds are being pressed off and removed from their skins, but the next big wave of reds are still waiting out on the vines ripening up.
These varietals will begin coming in over the next two weeks or so, and then we'll be close to finishing up our 2019 harvest here at GIV!
Once everything has finished fermentation and the red varietals are all pressed off we will barrel them (along with a few white wines) down for aging, and then begin prepping the rest of the finished white wines for our winter bottling!
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Tasting Room
Hard to top the Harvest Dinner, but we're going to try.
By Tasting Room Manager Tess Jonson
Join us on October 18th, 19th, 20th or 21st for the Salman Family Reserve weekend.
We will be exclusively tasting our reserve wines and one of our newest releases the After Dark dessert wine.
Our Reserve wines are from select barrels with alternate vinification techniques that have resulted in wines with unique and exciting characteristics.
These wines are very limited so come give them a try while they're still available!
Mark your calendars and save the date, Holiday in the Vineyards is BACK! Join us on November 30th and December 1st from
noon - 4 pm for your one-stop shop of holiday fun and a good way to knock out some Christmas shopping! Barrel tasting, sweet treats, numerous vendors and a free glass of wine if you bring an unwrapped toy for our toy drive.
Wine is always an amazing gift!
Who doesn't like to get wine? I mean you can get me some if you'd like ;)
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Wine Family
Say Hello to Alex and Julie Rodarte
Meet Alex and Julie, two of our favorite wine club members who reside in Sacramento. Julie is now retired but used to work with the Elk Grove Unified and Special Ed programs while Alex worked for the Environmental Protection Agency for over 32 years! Julie now is the full time nana of three beautiful grand babies.
These high school sweethearts have been married for 36 years while along the way Julie got her A.A. in Social Science from Sac City then Sac State while Alex comes from the School of Hard Knocks! Julie volunteered a lot for Special Ed programs while Alex worked for KROY radio (owned by Sa AC magazine) when they first moved to Sacramento and even modeled for Weinstock's once!
Fellow friend Mario Moreno told them about the Winery a few weeks after it opened, they just love the wine and the people. Julie likes the RED, while Alex prefers the Blanc and the Cabernet Franc. Those are three really good wines. They also really like Boss and Turkavich.
Enjoying wine by the back patio around the fire pit, they come at least once a month and always bring a homemade dish for the staff, god bless em. We've had Mexican hot dogs, carnitas, tortas, homemade salsa, homemade chorizo and tacos canasta! While they didn't have any direct connection when they came in, they certainly do now as we are proud to call Alex and Julie both friends and family :)
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Wine Spotlight
Grand Island Vineyards:
Cabernet Sauvignon (2017)
By Winemaker David Shattuck
As the summer season finally gives way to fall, we turn our attention to the newest Grand Island Vineyards release: The
2017 Cabernet Sauvignon.
This wine comes from a block directly across from the winery and produces one of our favorite reds wines. This Cabernet is fermented to provide a softer and more approachable experience as soon as it is released. We like to pair it with mushroom risotto, duck confit, bbq pork, and braised beef.
The wines pours a dusty brick hue. The initial aromas are of fresh current, strawberry preserve, and sweet oak. As the wine opens, interesting notes of loam and herbs mingle with raspberry to bring complexity. The mouthfeel is soft and the tannins are smooth. The wines finishes with a hint of sweetness and spiced oak.
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Wine Club
Two Wine Clubs to Choose From - Wine Family and Reserve
By Wine Club Ambassador Melanie Jonson
 GIV WINE FAMILY (3 bottles, quarterly shipments, 15% discount on GIV and Bridgehead)
If you still haven't picked up August's wine club shipment of the 2017 Cabernet Franc, 2017 Petite Sirah, and the 2018 Rosé of Cabernet, then please do so!
Any wine that hasn't been picked up we will hold until October 27th. After that, we ship out any remaining pick-ups unless you contact us ahead of time!
Have questions about your wine club? Want to know something specific for an event? Then feel free to contact us via telephone, email, or come to our tasting room. Our hours are Friday through Monday, 10 AM to 5 PM. We also recommend that you add
[email protected]
t
o your contacts to ensure emails don't end up in your spam folder.
RESERVE CLUB (2 bottles, biannual shipments, 20% discount Salman Family Reserve)
Our next Reserve club shipment is coming up in November. Next for release will be the Reserve Chardonnay and the Reserve Pinot Noir. However! Come the weekend of October 18th to the 21st, we're showcasing our Reserve wines much as we did for the Harvest Dinner. Instead of having our atypical tasting menu, it's the Reserve's time to shine in our tasting room.
Those of you who are a part of both of our clubs, GIV Family and Reserve, remember that you get a 20% discount off all wines! Yes, even Bridgehead and our Grand Island Vineyard label.
If you are not already in the Reserve Wine Club, or to access your existing account, please sign up or log in using our
online access area
on our website. To verify your account upon sign up (via Billing Information or by Email) you can do so at our online Account Verification page.
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Upcoming Events
View all events, R.S.V.P. or get tickets to Grand Island Events and Tours here!
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GIV After Dark
Join us in GIV's tasting room, during our after hours, for live music and delicious wine! Buy your favorite by the bottle or by the glass and enjoy the talented musicians we've chosen for the night!
Entertainment: Howlin' Allen
Event Duration:
3 hrs - 5:30 to 8:30pm
Price: FREE!
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Reserve Weekend
It's time for the Reserve wine to shine.
Event Duration:
7 hrs - 10:00am to 5:00pm
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GIV After Dark
Join us in GIV's tasting room, during our after hours, for live music and delicious wine! Buy your favorite by the bottle or by the glass and enjoy the talented musicians we've chosen for the night!
Entertainment: Mike Kalend
Event Duration:
3 hrs - 5:30 - 8:30pm
Price: FREE
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