Welcome to the Bridge - Monthly Newsletter of Grand Island Vineyards | | |
|
For more than 50 years our family has tended our vineyards and grown our own grapes, for our wines, along the lush banks of the Sacramento River. We are striving to perfect the art and science of grape growing, and we’re proud to share the rewards of our labor by creating wines that showcase distinctive grapes perfectly. Bridging all aspects of our Winery from the Vineyard, to the Cellar, Winery Grounds,Tasting Room and beyond. | | |
Two Grand Island Vineyards Clubs to Choose From! | |
|
Check Out These Two New Wines for November!
Written by Winemaker, David Shattuck
| |
We are excited to be releasing two new wines in November: The 2020 Salman Family Reserve Petit Verdot and the 2019 Grand Island Vineyards Petite Sirah
2020 Salman Family Reserve Petit Verdot
While the last couple vintages of Petit Verdot have been some of my favorite red wines, the 2020 home ranch Petit Verdot immediately distinguished itself as a special wine. From the initial fermentation and early aging, this wine demonstrated varietal character, power, and grace in equal measures. We knew that this wine was likely going to make its way into the Salman Family Reserve portfolio. I have always enjoyed the dichotomy of Petit Verdot: strength in tannin and body with a contrasting softness in aroma and flavor. This wine has the ability to pair easily with grilled steak, lamb kofta, hard cheeses, or fried mushrooms.
The initial aromas are ripe blackberry with a burst of wild floral aromas including sage, jasmine, and violet. The flavors lean towards loam, vanilla bean, sarsaparilla, and pluot. The dense tannin structure is surprisingly soft with a restrained elegance. The finish is long with a hint of minerality and a lingering essence of jasmine blossom and sweet oak.
2019 Petite Sirah
Petite Sirah is a staple of the Clarksburg appellation for good reason. This robust red wine features intriguing ripe berry flavors, inky color, and abundant tannin. We are very excited for this vintage, a long fermentation and 6 months of bottle aging have rewarded us with a dense wine showcasing velvety structure and a bright fruit core that will pair well with grilled pork chops with fruit chutney, flash fried wild mushrooms, or moroccan lamb dishes.
The wine is noticeably inky purple in color. The first aromas present are an intoxicating mix of blueberry compote and sweet oak. As the wine opens, hints of forest loam, candied orange peel, and whisky lactone emerge. The wine is dense with well aged tannins and a pleasing acid balance that fades into coconut notes from the american oak barrels.
| |
|
Getting Ready for the Holidays with GIV
Written by Tasting Room Manager, Tess Jonson
| |
|
The holiday season is just around the corner and we have some great deals to get you ready for the holidays.
Check out those suggested wines on your wine club! You will only find those deals through your club shipments so make sure to add and update wines before we charge your shipment on Saturday, November 5th.
Next chance to snag some deals is at L’Apéro at Grand Island Vineyards. Join us for the time honored French tradition of drinks, appetizers, and spending time together.
This event will have Holiday specials, futures, and fun fun fun will be had. Make your reservations today!
| |
Meet Wine Ambassador, Renee Cunanan! | |
|
We are so pleased to introduce our newest wine ambassador to GIV. Renee has all the qualities of the rest of the staff you love.
Renee is very personable, hard working, and strives for impeccable customer service. As a professional in the medical industry being her main job, she loves to be at Grand Island Vineyards to relax and unwind. Plus being a mom is another full time job, but she never seems to have a lack of energy.
Renee has too many favorite wines from Grand Island Vineyards to just choose one. We welcome Renee to the GIV family and hope you will stop by soon to meet her.
| |
|
|
Overview of the 2022 Harvest, What We Learned
Written by Winemaker, Ed Seikel
| |
|
Last week we pressed our final wine off of skins, so the 2022 harvest is now officially over for us in the cellar! Now that things are slowing down, I thought it would be fun to do a quick overview of what happened and what we're most excited about from this harvest.
In total, we brought in about 40 tons of grapes for GIV, spread across 11 different lots. Between the early freezes, drought, record-breaking heat wave, fires, and early rain, nature certainly didn't go easy on us. But, while we were certainly affected by the weather this year, we were fairly lucky in how little it seems to have impacted the overall fruit quality once we had it in the cellar. The white wines fermented very nicely despite the heat wave hitting right after they were all brought in, and the red wines were all able to stay on their skins for around 3 weeks and really picked up a lot of color and varietal character.
The wines that really stood out to us this year were our two new varietals: Pinot Gris and Malbec. The Pinot Gris fermented beautifully and has developed a really rich mouthfeel while aging on its lees. The Malbec looked like it was going to be pretty special even while it was still hanging on the vine and it continues to impress. It is incredibly dark and rich and should be an awesome addition to our growing Bordeaux varietal lineup. (See all of our available wines here.)
If you would like to be one of the first to try the new Pinot Gris, I will be doing tastings right from the tank during our fall member pick up party: L'Apero At Grand Island Vineyards, Saturday November 12th. Visit our website or tasting room for more info and to get your tickets soon!
| |
|
We Made It - The Last Day of Harvest (Sigh)!
Written by Operations Manager, Joe Salman
| |
|
Last day of Harvest October 13th 2022!
We finished up with the season in October in a much more calmer environment than late August and September. October was small handpicked lots of Primitivo, Cab Franc, Petite Sirah, Cab Sauv and Petit Verdot.
I get asked a lot, "How was the year?" and I will answer. "Besides the blocks that were hit with frost damage, the most of other blocks produced quite well and winemaking will talk about the quality of them."
In fact as I have mentioned before in this off time of year, I evaluate the year from vineyard to vineyard, farming practices, costs, yields, soils, and of course sample the wines with Ed and David. Long term decisions are made at this time of year, as out in the field we look to ensure strong nutrient storage for the vines before they go to bed for the winter.
Our shop is busy with cleaning, painting and servicing equipment. It will all come around again soon, so I while things are a bit slower I hope to see you at L'APÉRO AT GRAND ISLAND VINEYARDS. The winemakers and me will be there serving are favorite wines with delicious food pairings.
| |
RESERVE RED WINE 3 PACK
3 BOTTLE SALE
$111.00
club price: $94.35
| |  |
RESERVE 2018 CHENIN BLANC CASE SALE
$150.00
club price: $127.50
| | | | | |
