The weather was perfect and the birds were chirping and the people were munching, sipping and staring through binoculars. Yes, Bird Day at Schlumberger was once again a total blast! And best of all, together we helped to raise much-needed funds for the fine folks at the Sonoma County Bird Rescue Center. And now for the photos…

Kent, Wendy & Doug prep goodies for the Big Event...

A birder birding in the garden

Birding can be a thirsty activity. Winemaker Brunson sets things right

Turkey Vulture with Rescue Center handler.

Mela shows off a very Great Horned Owl.

Very cool Osprey.

This is what's in the nesting boxes in our vineyards -- the Barn Owl.

Who can say she's not beautiful?

Check out the eyes on this tiny raptor -- the Merlin.

So there you have it.  And if you missed it, don’t fear — the next big event in the Worms to Wine Series. Critter Day at Schlumberger, takes place on Saturday June 15 from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM. We’ll be featuring all of the creatures, great and small, that contribute to our sustainable farming practices on the Estate. Details will be coming soon so check back…

tony

First, a quick note: If you haven’t already read PART 1 of this blog please click here to get caught up.

Well fortified, the team develops a plan of attack...

I was in a bit of a rush so I grabbed the first bottle of wine I came across in the Cellar — the 2003 Michel-Schlumberger syrah. I’ve always worshipped the syrah from our Benchland vineyards so the fact the wine tasted KILLER was no surprise. What was a bit out of the ordinary was the occasion. It was late at night and the four us polished off that bottle of syrah while sitting on the dock at Lake Schlumberger in pitch dark under a sea of stars, dressed in rubber waders and sporting headlamps, binoculars and dip nets. And talking about frogs. And when this very civil strategy session was complete we flipped on our lights and waded into the black water in search of the Red-Legged Frog.

Frogs, it turns out, are actually fairly easy to spot in the dark. Their eyes reflect the light back when spotted with a powerful headlamp. A quick glance around with the lights revealed numerous glowing eyes along the shoreline. We also spotted the glowing eyes of a very confused Mother Goose sitting on her eggs in The Love Nest in the middle of the lake!

Natasha spots a big one...

Once a frog was spotted we were usually able to slowly creep up on it (much like a heron fishing in shallow water) until Natasha was close enough to make the identification. Making a positive i.d. in the light of a headlamp through binoculars while crouching in cold, dark water is truly a talent and Natasha has plenty of it. The most abundant and noisiest frog, by far, is the Sierra Tree Frog. These tiny little guys drove me crazy because you could be virtually standing on top of one, right over where the frog was still loudly croaking away, but it was almost impossible to actually see it. The Bullfrogs were much, much larger and, therefore, much easier to spot. And if the stalking went well Natasha could get close enough to deftly scoop the dipnet right under the specimen and scoop it up out of the water. When I tried I found that the scooping part was pretty easy but keeping a large, agitated frog in the net until I could get a hold of it properly was downright comical. Although the survey required quiet and calm we spent quite a bit of time laughing hysterically each time I would net a frog only to have it launch several feet right back out of the net to the safety of the water like a Calaveras County champion!

Our floating quarry, eyes glowing, just offshore...

Natasha begins her approach...

Working for position. It's best to creep up on the frog from behind...

A split second later and the frog is in the net!

It's a Bullfrog. Decent sized but no monster. Actually kinda cute...

So we waded and surveyed and laughed till around midnight. And no Red-Legged Frogs were spotted. But I haven’t given up. In the end, we were only able to survey a fraction of the frog habitat on the Estate. And now that I know the basics of frogging technique and identification I’m more ready than ever to continue the quest. I guess mostly because the quest is so darn fun.

Hugh makes a new friend.

So, Question O’ The Day: What in the world do frogs have to do with world class wines? The Answer: Everything. Frogs, you see, are very sensitive to pesticides and habitat destruction. A pond teeming with frogs (and turtles and fish) indicates a very healthy, pristine ecosystem. Combine that with vineyards sporting lush, green, permanent cover crops to support beneficial bugs, bees and birds and it’s no wonder that you’ve got some seriously happy vines. And happy vines make great wines that make great, happy people. It’s that simple.

Tony

Armed with binoculars, a Coors Light I got from the Vineyard guys and two hours of time to kill before the Big Event, I headed off on a reconnaissance mission. The evening was spectacular. The birds and the bees were going off with that “first good sunny day after a long cold, wet spell” happiness. All was very well in the vineyards of Michel-Schlumberger.

But then I heard it and it sent a little tingle up my spine.

I had listened to that very same sound many times, just hours before in fact, on the site I found on the internet. I already knew the call well, of course, but I needed to be positively sure. And standing on the hill overlooking the lake in the syrah block, I was sure. It was the call of the Bullfrog. And the Bullfrog and I had an important date in two hours time…

American Bullfrog. Deceptively cute...

Although the American Bullfrog is found throughout most of California they are not natives to The Golden State. To be exact, their home range is pretty much from the edge of Canada south to the Rio Grande River in Texas, and from the East Coast all the way west to New Mexico and Colorado.

Bullfrog devours a tree frog

And this transplant is not necessarily a welcome one.  The non-native American Bullfrog is probably responsible for some of the decline of many native species, including frogs, turtles, snakes, and waterfowl. In short, Bullfrogs are big and tough and they eat anything they can they stuff down there throats. Literally. Documented prey includes rodents, small turtles, snakes, birds, and even bats. And, oh yes, they eat a lot of frogs. Especially frogs smaller than them, like the California Red-Legged Frog.

The California Red-Legged Frog is truly a California frog – it is found in no other state. And unlike the Bullfrog, it is listed as a Threatened Species by U.S. Fish & Wildlife. It is estimated that this species has disappeared from 70% of its original range and is now only found in about 238 streams or drainages in 23 counties of California. Although the most serious threats to this frog are loss of habitat from urbanization and agriculture and exposure to pesticides, the voracious Bullfrog certainly isn’t helping matters.

The beautiful and noble California Red-Legged Frog

And here’s where Natasha Dvorak enters the picture. Natasha is a local frog expert and lover of M-S wines. I met her at Fish Day a few weeks back and when conversation turned from steelhead trout to frogs I had to admit my complete ignorance of pretty much anything amphibian. Maybe it was the cabernet we were sipping but somehow it didn’t seem that odd at the time when she suggested that maybe we should suit up in waders and tromp around Lake Schlumberger in the middle of the night with headlamps, binoculars and dip nets to search for Red-Legged Frogs. Sure, why not? After another glass of wine a date was set.

Yes, folks — we were going Frogging.

But that was weeks ago. And tonight’s the night. And now it’s nearly 8:00 PM and I’m sitting at the computer after completing my recon and hearing the Bullfrog and in a few minutes I’ll be meeting up with Natasha and two other intrepid volunteers to brave the bullying Bullfrogs and search for our little local hero the California Red-Legged Frog. It’s peak mating season for frogs so they should be extra feisty tonight.

I feel like Marlin Perkins. Or, more accurately — Jim. Anyway, gotta go. Stay tuned to find out what went down…

Tony

P.S. To hear the spine-chilling call of the American Bullfrog click here. If you’ve got the nerve…

Now THAT'S a Bullfrog!

This was not your typical winery event. In fact, it didn’t really seem like an “event” at all – more like a buncha really nice folks simply hanging out together, sipping amazing wine, wandering around on a beautiful day looking at birds and learning about steelhead trout and salmon and the creeks in which they spawn.

In short, our first annual Fish Day was a great way to kick off the 2010 Michel-Schlumberger Worms to Wine Nature Series. We were blessed with great weather, plenty of HUGE steelhead trout, and two outstanding human beings as tour guides — Ranger Michael Carroll and Elliott Doss of California Fish and Game.

For those who missed it, here’s what went down…

Ranger Michael greets guests at the hatchery.

Checking out massive steelhead trout heading upstream, feverish to spawn...

Our intrepid guide, Ranger Michael.

A good 12 pounder.

Inside the hatchery.

Fellow ranger takes some measurements and records the results.

Then it was back to the Estate for wine and sunshine.

Fish expert Elliott Doss assembling guests to walk Wine Creek.

Elliott showing off his restoration work on Wine Creek.

Looking for steelhead -- we found some little ones!

Finishing off the fine morning with snacks, conversation and a personal tasting of Mike Brunson's favorite wines.

There you have it — Fish Day 2010! A portion of the proceeds from this event is going to Friends of Lake Sonoma. NOW is a great time to visit the hatchery (and it’s perfect for kids, too).  Get out there and help out our piscine pals.

And mark those calendars for the next event in the Worms to Wine Nature Series. We will be hosting my very favorite winery event of the year, Bird Day, on Saturday April 17. Stay tuned for details…

Bass Wishes and Sanddabbly Yours,

tony

p.s.   And a special message for those of you who attended the event – the chicken is O.K.!!!

OK — Mike Brunson is not a chicken.  But our chickens are really an integral part of our winemaking — so I guess that makes them more like ‘assistant winemakers’.  I think Mike could live with that.

Bug eaters, organic manure spreaders (and creators), wine ‘finers’, meal providers — these chickens of ours at Michel-Schlumberger are pretty incredible.  And honestly, they just aren’t appreciated for all they do for us. 

Well — now is the time for them to receive the respect due.  In our ongoing ‘Do You Know Michel-Schlumberger’ video series, click below to meet our feathered enologists. 

And if you get a chance to visit us high above Dry Creek Valley (please do — there is no place on Earth quite like Michel-Schlumberger!), make sure you give a shout out (quietly though, they’re laying eggs!) to the chickens.  And if you see our winemaker Mike, make sure you let him know that you know his secret – chickens!

Click here to view the embedded video.

Michel-Schlumberger is a mouthful…in many ways.  Clearly the wines are stunning & delicious, but just saying the name is often a challenge. 

We recognize this — and we embrace it!  Here’s the latest in our ‘Do You Know Michel-Schlumberger?’ video series.  Enjoy — and let us know how you say ‘Michel-Schlumberger’.  One thing is clear — no matter how you say it, there is no place on Earth quite like Michel-Schlumberger!!

Click here to view the embedded video.

You can feel it in the air. The excitement is as thick as this morning’s fog in Dry Creek Valley. Yes, folks, we are merely days away from the kick-off of our new (and exciting) Worms to Wine Nature Series at Michel-Schlumberger. In case you haven’t heard yet, this year we will present to you six fun, filling and educational events that highlight various aspects of our organic and sustainable farming practices. The series kicks off with Fish Day at Schlumberger from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM on Saturday March 20.

Last week Brunson, Wendy and I paid a quick visit to the Lake Sonoma Fish Hatchery to hash out some details (actually, we really just wanted to get away from our desks for awhile). Ranger Michael Carroll literally greeted us at the door with open arms. Michael is one of those preciously rare types that is simply so friendly and cool and knowledgeable that you can’t help but feel at peace with the world when you’re around him. This guy could take you on a tour of a feedlot and you’d still be smiling the whole time.

So it had been a few years since I’d been to the hatchery and they’ve really done some cool improvements in the meantime. Ranger Michael started by strolling us along the small creek which links Dry Creek to the hatchery raceways. Numerous HUGE steelhead trout were paired up in the shallow creek, ready to spawn and perfectly visible from the walkway above. Simply breathtaking. Especially considering the view of the ponds around the hatchery grounds that buzzed with the activity of all sorts of waterfowl (I especially was enamoured with the incredibly beautiful wood ducks). And just when I thought it couldn’t get any better Michael glanced up and pointed to the sky where a bald eagle soared in lazy circles. Wow.

Inside the hatchery was just as amazing. I’ll spare you the details (you’ll soon see for yourself) but I will say that we were treated to plenty of face-to-face introductions with every one of the Steelhead life stages from egg to 15 pounder.

Anyway, the warm up tour was fun but frankly I’m itching for game day. So here’s the official scoop:

12:45 to 1:00 PM: All guests please meet at the Lake Sonoma Hatchery parking lot to check in.

1:00 to 2:00 PM: Hatchery tour with Ranger Michael Carroll. Following the tour, guests will drive to Michel-Schlumberger (about a 12 minute drive south of the hatchery).

2:30 to 3:00 PM: Walk, talk and sip along recently-restored Wine Creek with Winemaker Mike Brunson and fish expert Elliott Doss of California Fish and Game.

3:15 to 4:00 PM: Personal Cellar tasting of Mike’s favorite wines with snacks and pleasant conversation.

Event price is $20 and a portion of Fish Day proceeds goes to The Friends of Lake Sonoma – a non-profit organization whose purpose is to serve and support the interpretive and visitor service programs at Lake Sonoma. RSVPs for this event are nice but are not required. To RSVP or for questions or more details please contact our staff at #433-7427. Oh, and please plan on dressing warmly with comfortable walking shoes.

There you have it. I will see you there!

tony

We are thrilled to start a new chapter at Michel-Schlumberger — a chapter that is less like a book…and more like a…movie!  With the help of our friend Hardy Wallace, we are creating a series of videos designed to let all of you ‘discover’ this special place.  Click below for our first in a series of ‘Do You Know…Michel-Schlumberger?’.  And let’s make this a bit interactive…let us know what you’d like us to do for future ‘do you know’ videos.  I think we might have some fun with this…

Click here to view the embedded video.

WOW – it’s a stunningly incredibly gloriously refreshingly sunny day at Schlumberger today! That’s one reason this week’s post is gonna be short and sweet – frankly, after the many weeks of cold rain I’d much rather go wander outside and experience the Estate rather than sit here on my computer and write about it. Besides that, my camera is busted (who knew a 2 foot drop onto a carpeted floor could turn a $200 digital camera into a disposable piece of junk?).

Anyway, last week my lovely wife and I cracked open a bottle of Michel-Schlumberger 2007 cabernet franc to drown our rain-induced sorrows. Lord have mercy, what a wine! I couldn’t get over the sheer berry-ness — oodles of dark, ripe, rich blackberry framed perfectly by a touch of cocoa and spice. Serious yummy fun.

Cabernet franc grapes

An incredibly tasty Schlumberger wine is, of course, no huge surprise. What is interesting, though, is the past history of this grape in our vineyards. For years the cab franc never quite made the cut to be considered for a varietal offering. Until Brunson stepped in. So the Question o’ the Day I posed to Mike the Winemaker is this:

How did you transform the cabernet franc at Michel-Schlumberger from a lackluster blender into a stellar stand-alone superstar?

Mike Brunson, Winemaker and Fisherman

Brunson: In 2005 we stopped inoculating with cultured yeast and made a few more changes before and during fermentation (zero temp control, smaller batch fermentation, soaking longer on the front end and pulling off skins earlier on the back end) that have given us great results.

It helps that the vines are really starting to mature as well. Out in the vineyard they’ve received a bit more nutrient in the form of fish emulsion and compost than they had prior to 2004, and the effort of our Vineyarists in cover crop and canopy management have paid huge dividends as well.

So there you have it. From the mouth of the master. And I would’ve said that is was simply magic…

Tony

p.s.  I don’t mean to be a tease but this particular wine is already long gone — we only produced 280 cases and all of it was reserved as a special treat for our Wine Bench club members. The good news? There’s more cab franc and other very special offerings on the way. Stay tuned…

A pretty cool thing happened at the winery this week.  A new kid in town who has made quite a name for himself joined our staff.  His name is Hardy Wallace and for those of you who don’t know who he is, let me provide a brief background on him.

Early last year, Murphy Goode Winery in Healdsburg launched this big media campaign to find a Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent and it made huge news in the wine business as well as national and international press.  It was titled “A Really Goode Job” and the winner was to receive a generous salary, a furnished home in wine country and was to become the social media face of the winery.  Thousands of applicants vied for the job and Hardy was the eventual winner.  He was a huge success and increased traffic, consumer impressions and in turn, sales at the winery through his efforts.  The job lasted six months which meant that Hardy needed to find new digs and a new gig.

That’s where we fit into the picture.  We have long admired his prowess with the mouse and all things mediawise so we began discussions with Hardy about working some of his magic here.  Even though he was going to be working full time on a project of his dreams with another winery, he still had a day a week that he could devote to a new project.  We were it…a perfect fit.  And since he needed a new place to live and we had an extra suite at the winery, well, the rest is history.

As part of rookie hazing we unleashed a barrage of critters at him….he spotted our resident bobcat his first night hereand then early the next morning experienced the wrath of our giant rooster.

I do believe that once Hardy masters the modern technology that we have at the winery, he will settle in just fine.

Now that he is here, we will be creating a series of really fun and informative content that will be hosted on our website, YouTube, Facebook, and on your favorite blog, The Benchland Blog.  In the coming weeks, we will post more material as soon as it is produced and I guarantee that you will enjoy what you see. 

In addition to watching his comings and goings here, I recommend viewing his personal blog, Dirty South Wine.  You will find it funny, entertaining and informative.  When asked his feelings on being here, all he could do was grab his woman and exclaim, “I can’t wait until everyone leaves and they forget to lock the wine cabinets.”

Many of you know me as wine educator and tour guide here at Michel-Schlumberger but what you may not know is that I am an amateur mycologist of twenty seven years.  Every fall I go out into the woods and collect mushrooms for study and consumption as well as lead forays for those new to the world of fungi.

This year is no exception.

With the first rain my fellow wine educator Evan Erickson and I headed out towards the coast for a long day of hunting and Mother Nature did not disappoint us. Within the first few hours we had collected a plethora of tasty little gems including Boletus Edulis (Porcini), Oyster mushrooms Pleurotus Ostreatus and a few Boletus Regius (Red capped butter boletes).  At another favorite spot we found some chanterelles that someone else had discarded! And a few Italian favorites, the Coccora mushroom, Amanita Calyptrata along with some very nice coral mushrooms.

And of course no day would be complete without a run in with law!  A very pleasant park ranger helped us find our way off some private land. 

Next we headed home to dry our quarry in food dehydrators. This concentrates the flavor of the Boletes as well as many other mushrooms. Once dried the mushrooms can be stored for cooking in the coming months. A favorite dish of mine for the Porcini is Risotto Milanese con fungi. As with all of my cooking I don’t use recipes but I will try to explain how it is cooked and hopefully you will refine it as you cook it for your friends. It’s pretty simple:

First take a handful of dried Porcini and re-hydrate them in a bowl of Michel-Schlumberger Masion Rouge.  I tend to use a lot of mushrooms but you can adjust the amount to your liking.  Set the mushrooms aside for now, you will add them much later.  In a large cast iron skillet sauté one chopped onion in un-salted butter until the onion is soft and golden.  Next raise the temperature to high and add Arborio Rizzo (Italian rice) around a coffee cup full will do the trick.  Add a pinch or two of saffron stirring constantly to avoid burning the rice.  After a few minutes of searing the rice (Don’t burn it!) add about a cup of red wine, again, preferably Michel-Schlumberger Maison Rouge.  The wine will steam off rather fast leaving the deep red orange rice in the pan.  Turn the burner back down to medium and begin to add broth of your choosing.  I use beef broth but have used vegetable broth as well and had great results.  The broth should be pre-warmed on the stove before hand and it’s best to put in a few ladles at a time. The idea is to slow cook the liquid into the rice. If it begins to boil aggressively you will need to turn it down.

The key to a great risotto is slowly cooking it constantly stirring and I mean constantly stirring it and continually adding more liquid as it absorbs into the rice.  I always make sure that I have plenty of broth (4 or 5 cans) on the stove.  As the risotto begins to thicken you can add the porcini either whole or chopped as well as the reserved wine they were hydrating in.

The whole process should take around 45 minutes.  If you find it taking less time you will end up with watery risotto and chewy rice.  Add salt as desired. I tend to not add any salt being the broth will provide plenty and I top the dish with a Parmesano Reggiano or padano cheese, which will contribute to the salt content as well. 

All that’s left to do is serve the risotto up on warmed plates and open another bottle of the Masion Rouge for you and your guests!

I hope this will peek your interest in our friends on forest floor as well as tickle your tummy on a cold winter day.  Remember to only pick wild mushrooms armed with a basic knowledge of what it is you are foraging for. The holy grail of mushroom identification is David Aurora’s ‘Mushrooms Demystified’, as well as, ‘All the Rain Promises and More’. Never eat any wild mushroom that you are not 100 percent sure of it’s identification. There are many local mycological clubs throughout the country that can assist you with identification, classes, and guided forays. Enjoy!

These days, if you were to pull up a barstool at the Boar’s Nest in Dry Creek Valley (the local’s spot for a pint or four) and eavesdrop on the general conversation, at least some of it would probably sound like this:

Local Guy: “More rain a comin’, I hear.”
Other Local Guy: “Yup. Well, we need it.”

This would be likely be followed by silence and a lot of staring out the window into the cold wet grayness outside.

Yeah, we really DO need the rain to saturate the soil and fill the creeks, rivers and reservoirs. But you gotta admit, rain gets kinda depressing after awhile.

That’s why I felt almost giddy yesterday when the rain stopped for a few hours and the sun came out and I wandered out to the garden to find that the bees had responded instantly to the break in the weather. Hundreds of honey bees were pouring in and out of our 3 Estate hives, the ones going in loaded with colorful yellow and orange pollen collected from the first blooms of the year (mostly mustard).

That, of course, leads to the question of the day – what are those bees doing with all that pollen?

Variety of multi-colored pollen cells under a very high powered microscope.

Pollen, a powdery dust-like substance, is the male germ cell produced by various flowering plants. Pollination occurs when pollen grains are transferred from the male to the female reproductive structures. This transfer can be mediated by the wind, in which case the plant is described as anemophilous (literally “wind-loving”). Anemophilous plants typically produce great quantities of very lightweight pollen grains. Entomophilous (literally “insect-loving”) plants produce pollen that is relatively heavy, sticky and protein-rich. This type of pollen is also called “bee pollen”.

Honey bee filling pollen baskets.

Honey bees collect pollen from flowers and store it in specialized “pollen baskets” attached to their hind legs. The pollen is then formed into granules containing from one hundred thousand to five million pollen spores. These granules are the principal source of protein, fat, minerals, and vitamins essential for the growth and development of larvae. Adult bees will eat pollen but can subsist solely on honey, a pure carbohydrate diet. Each honey bee colony collects more than 60 pounds of pollen per year.

But, like honey, pollen is not just for bees…

Bee pollen is often referred to as nature’s most complete food, containing at least 18 amino acids, more than a dozen vitamins, 28 minerals, 11 enzymes or co-enzymes, 14 beneficial fatty acids and 11 carbohydrates. It is also low in calories. I guess it’s no wonder that human consumption of bee pollen is praised in the Bible, other religious books, and ancient Chinese and Egyptian texts.

Numerous tiny hairs enable honey bees to capture flower pollen on their bodies as they forage.

The alleged health benefits of bee pollen is way too huge to detail in this post but includes the treatment of seasonal allergies, fatigue, constipation, prostate diseases, sore throats, acne, wounds, asthma, arthritis, eye problems, obesity and depression. And did I mention that pollen, like our Michel-Schlumberger cabernet, is also a powerful antioxidant? And check this out — The British Royal Society of Naturalists found that mice fed exclusively bee pollen had long and healthy lives through at least several generations!

Bee pollen granules.

So does this mean we should all run out and find some pollen to nibble on? Well, maybe. I reckon that even if pollen is not the miracle food many folks claim it to be then at least its consumption will directly encourage the preservation of the rapidly declining honey bees.

Pollen granules are available on-line and at most health food stores. Fortunately, you can also opt for simply taking a few spoonfuls of pollen-laden honey everyday. The trick is to make sure to get raw, unfiltered, local honey for the very best results.

Bee Healthy!

Tony

Electron microscope image of a single pollen cell. Very cool...

“The real voyage of discovery consists of not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.”

Marcel Proust

Years ago, I had just finished a SCUBA certification course in Thailand and our instructor was taking us out to a dive site noted for regular sightings of Whale Sharks, the world’s largest fish (up to 40 feet in length, in case you’re curious). But when we arrived at the spot the conditions were horrible – choppy waves had kicked up sand and underwater visibility was maybe 20 feet. There would be no whale shark sightings that day. We were all very bummed. Except for our instructor.

“I’ve been diving all over the world for over 20 years,” he told us. “Some of the very best dives I’ve ever had were in conditions much worse than this. When the water is very clear you have a tendency to look at everything at once, as a landscape. But limited visibility forces you to take a close look at all the incredible things right in front of your face. Normally, you’d float right over all the small stuff and never know it even existed.”

Needless to say, we all had an amazing dive that day.

I was reminded of this Life Lesson last week when Brunson and I were wandering the vineyard. It was late afternoon and the lighting was incredible and the recent rains had turned the hillsides green and Mount St. Helena stood out beautifully to the east and…

“Hey, check that out,” Mike exclaimed, breaking my reverie.

He pointed into the branches of the tree above us. On the edge of a limb sat a tiny Northern Pygmy Owl, maybe 6 inches tall. It was sitting perfectly still, seemingly oblivious to the chattering, irritated group of Robins perched on the other side of the tree. After a minute it dove down off the limb right toward our heads and then shot off across the vineyard and into the wilderness, chased by the Robins which were obviously anxious to get that predator off of their turf. It was the first Pygmy Owl I’ve ever seen in the wild

Maybe I learned (re-learned?) my lesson after that. Several days later I was hunting mushrooms on Serenity Hill overlooking the estate lake. I was blown away by all the shapes and sizes and varieties of fungus on the forest floor and I spent a good 20 minutes slowly strolling, head down, eyes to the earth. I jumped a bit in surprise when I nearly stepped on a large turtle, about 8 inches across, basking in the sun on the leaf litter.

I’ve seen plenty of turtles on the Estate but never close up. The turtles that hang out around the edge of the lake are very skittish and scurry into the water before you can get anywhere close. But this turtle was up on top of the hill, about 50 yards from the lake. And a very steep hill, road and drainage ditch stood between it and the lake. What the heck was it doing there? As I stood and pondered I realized that I knew virtually nothing about turtles. I picked it up for a close examination before I decided to carry it back to the water’s edge and release it. And when I got back to the office I got on the computer to do some research.

Turns out the Western Pond Turtle (Clemmys marmorata) has a lifespan of up to 40 years and is the only fresh-water turtle native to the North American Pacific Coast west of the Sierra-Cascade divide. Historically, this turtle could be found from Baja to Washington but these days the population has plummeted and believed to be virtually gone from its northern and southern range. Today, the Western Pond Turtle is listed as a Category 2 federal candidate species and The California Department of Fish and Game considers it to be a species of special concern. In short, there aren’t a lot of these guys around anymore.

I also discovered that pond turtles regularly utilize upland terrestrial habitat. Females will dig shallow nests and lay eggs on land. These turtles also regularly overwinter in uplands, burying themselves beneath the leaf litter.

What a bunch of very cool information, right? And it all started by focusing on the small picture.

So come on out to Michel-Schlumberger and check out all of the little things going on. You’ll be blown away.

Peace and Pond Turtles,

Tony

We’ve spoken and written about it often — and now is a great time to actually experience it.  Wine Creek, the tiny but oh-so-important stream running through Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate is flowing steadily, and the salmon and steelhead are back to spawn.

For those unaware, this tiny tributary is reportedly one of the last three native salmon spawning creeks in Sonoma County!  And the specific salmon that return to Wine Creek are genetically predisposed to come to this specific creek.  Without it, that species very well might disappear forever.

At Michel-Schlumberger, we just don’t think that is right so we spend lots of time, money & energy (in conjunction with the Department of Fish & Game, Trout Unlimited & the California Conservation Corps) to make sure this seemingly insignificant body of water is a healthy environment for the fish.

Why? Because it’s is the right thing to do!

I invite you to read about what Michel-Schlumberger and our neighbors at Quivira and Preston are doing to establish a healthy population of native salmon in Trout Unlimited recent article “A Toast to Restoration and Redemption:  Water, Wine & Salmon”. 

In addition, I’d like to invite everyone to come up to the Estate right now, while the fish are visiting, enjoy a glass of wine, and go on a tour of our organically farmed ranch, paying particular attention to Wine Creek.  The fish aren’t easy to find, but as our tour & tasting guru Frank says, ‘The fish are here…you can smell ‘em!’.  And that, is a very, very good thing! 

And think about it — you gotta believe that if we spend this much care and concern for the fish — we much really spend some time & care for our vineyards and wines. It’s the right thing to do!

And SAVE THE DATE!! ‘Fish Day at Schlumberger’ is coming Saturday, March 2oth.  Learn all about Wine Creek restoration, the life of steelhead & salmon…and maybe sip a great wine or two.  Red wine with fish?  Of course!!

MS courtyard in the winter

To the common passerby, it may appear that most winegrowers do things exactly the same way as everyone else. Once you start to gain just a bit of viticultural knowledge, you start to realize that there are some differences. The more you learn, the more you realize that every farmer does things a little differently than the next. What are the driving forces behind these decisions that farmers make? It could be the site. It could be tradition. It could be economics. It could be an experimental block. It could be to encourage vigor. It could be to limit vigor. It could be to address a nutrient deficiency…the list is endless and in most cases, it’s a combination of all of the above. All I can tell you is why we do things the way we do. There is no right or wrong…just different (and in some cases toxic…see Tony’s post on Monsanto). I wanted to start the year with a little list of some of the things that we do differently and why we do them. Here goes:

1. We don’t burn our clippings- Most burn days fall on the most beautiful days of the winter. You start the day in awe and then at 9am the fires start and next thing you know, it’s hazy and gray. We keep our clippings and then chip them into our compost pile where they add much needed nutrients to the pile. It also forces us to turn our piles, which is critical to the success of the compost.
2. We don’t use herbicides- we use Olde English Southdown Baby Doll Sheep and handwork to address our weeds. In fact, in most cases we actually encourage undervine growth. The competition from the grasses reduces the vigor of vines. For example, Syrah is known to be very vigorous. Even when planted on vigor limiting rootstocks, it can go off. A little cover crop under the vine can slow things down a bit and provide vital cover and stability for our soils during the heavy downpours that we’re known to get here on the Westside of Dry Creek Valley.
3. Permanent cover crops- As stated above, it can help with vine balance and erosion control. In addition, we have permanent cover crop to ensure that the water that runs off of this ranch is clean and doesn’t dump loads of sediment into Wine Creek. We’ve worked very hard to restore our portion of Wine Creek (with help from Dept. Fish and Game, Trout Unlimited, Fish Friendly Farming and CA Conservation Corps) and have seen our efforts rewarded with increased Salmonid spottings. Permanent Cover Crops also contribute a slow release of nutrients into the soil and allow all the critters in the soil to establish a colony that will help over the long term. In much of our soils, you can’t take a shovelful of our soil without scooping out  2-5 worms…it’s loaded. That’s a good sign of healthy soil and healthy soil structure. Nice.

Why do we do these things? Because we believe that this is the best farming system for these ranches and our people. It supports balance in not only the vines, but both ranches as well. We are happy to move sheep or use a shovel or hoe, instead of driving a tractor spraying herbicides. We are happy to chip our clippings and reuse them, instead of burning them. Everyone knows burning stuff can be fun, but on a large scale, it just doesn’t make sense for us. All in all, we believe that this is the best system for our people, our ranches and ultimately our wines. Here’s to 2010!

Happy New Year!

Wow, that year went by crazy fast. I guess maybe that was because of all the really fun stuff that went down at the Michel-Schlumberger in 2009 (“time flies…”, after all). I guess that’s also why I’m pretty darn fired up to be back at work after a relaxing Christmas break. We’ve got so many new and cool ideas and plans that I just can’t wait to dive in and get this party started.

But before I get too carried away with plans for the future I need to take care of the now. Yesterday I went out to visit our heritage chickens and wish them a Happy New Year. I was very pleased to discover that they had a gift for me – 8 small eggs. Yes, the batch of tiny yellow newborn chicks we started with in July is now a colorful flock of egg laying adult hens (not quite full grown but getting there). In honor of our chickens (and the breakfast I’m going to have this weekend) I thought I’d revisit what’s in the coop.

Dominique

The Dominique (also known as the Dominicker) originated in the United Kingdom. It was brought to New England from southern England during colonial times and is now considered America’s oldest breed of chicken. During the early to mid 1800s the Dominique was the most popular chicken in the U.S. By the late 1800s, however, their numbers began to decline as Asiatic breeds became more popular. By 1950 the Dominiques were so rare as to be considered nearly extinct. Due to a revival of interest in them and other rare breeds, the Dominiques have made a comeback and are now listed on the “Watch” list, indicating lesser danger of extinction. Dominique hens tend to be calm and personable, making them great as show birds or family pets.

Black New Jersey Giant

The Jersey Giant chicken was developed between 1870 and 1890 by John and Thomas Black in Burlington County, New Jersey. Their original intention was to create a chicken that could potentially replace the turkey as a premium table bird. As its name implies, these chickens are impressive in size with mature roosters weighing 13 pounds and the mature hens weighing 10 pounds, making them the largest purebred chicken breed. Despite their intimidating size, Jersey Giants are extremely friendly with both pets and people.

Light Brahma

Brahmas are an Asiatic breed of chicken, originating in the Brahmaputra region in India where they were known as “Gray Chittagongs.” The first Brahmas were brought to the U.S. from India in 1846, and were used as a utility fowl for their edibility and generous egg laying and hardiness even during the winter months. This breed is “feather-footed”, meaning (obviously) that they have a small bunch of feathers growing on their feet. Brahmas are exceptionally calm (probably the mellowest of our 4 breeds). They are not skittish or easily scared, making them a popular choice for families with children.

Blue Wyandotte

The Wyandotte breed was developed in New York State in the early 1870s. The name is derived from a tribe of North American Indians. They tend to be quite friendly, and not flighty, and so make good pets for people. They are also very vocal, uttering soft clucks on a regular basis. Although all of our chickens are special I find these ladies to be perhaps the most beautiful.

Rhode Island Red

This single bird in our coop is not actually a heritage breed. Actually, it’s not even a chicken. I was quite surprised to find this rooster in the coop about a month ago. I still don’t know exactly who put the rooster in there or why (I love it when stuff like that happens). Anyway, he’s very beautiful and quite friendly. I’m no chicken expert but I’m guessing he’s a Rhode Island Red. If anyone thinks differently, please let me know…

Tony

P.S. Cool photo of the week:

I was strolling through the very cool old section of Puerto Vallarta with my Mom recently and I glanced up and saw this dog in the quatrefoil window. Nice!

In the beginning (John 1:1)….no wait, in the big inning (Jon Miller, San Francisco Giants broadcaster, April 5)…that’s more like it.  We all love beginnings.  My favorite beginning is the day pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training (February 18th)   because it means that opening day is not far behind.
  There is just something to the sound and feel of baseball in the springtime that makes everyone feel optimistic and walk with an extra hop in their step. 

Beginnings in the wine business happen all the time…first of the year, bud break, bloom, verasion, harvest, crush, bottling, pruning, tilling and repeat.  The first of the year allows us to really catch our breath.  The vineyard crew’s work is done, holiday sales are complete and the staff is in slow season mode.  The management team is hard at work crunching numbers and gets a chance to reflect on the past year’s results.
     

We then set forth a plan for the coming year containing a clear and achievable vision.      

We then get the staff together and share this vision with them with a very predictable reaction. 

As many of you know, we have something really special going on here.  As we begin 2010 (Twenty Ten, 201K or whatever you wish to call it), Michel Schlumberger is in a unique position.  In one of the toughest years economically, our business grew last year.  More people are choosing to do business with wineries like ours that have this fervent commitment to sound organic farming practices and well balanced, not overpowering wines.  We like that.   

As we begin the new year with arguably the best retail staff (as well as adminstration and cellar/vineyard staff) in the business,    we are indeed walking with a hop in our step and looking at this coming year with great enthusiasm and are honored do be doing what we are doing–getting paid to talk about, produce, and sell adult beverages for a living.  It is so cool to be us. 

If you have never been to our winery, get here now.  If you can’t drop everything and get here now, plan on visiting us this year.  We have so many events going on this year it would make a convention center exhausted.  Once you come here, you will immediately be planning your next trip here.

Come see us as we begin the new year.  Oh, and if you are coming to Winter Wineland, be sure to visit the Winter Wineland Olympics at Michel Schlumberger.  And taste our Gold medal winning wines.  January 16 & 17.

Come see us.

Jim

Devo, the Christmas whippet

Wishing you the very happiest of the holiday season.  See you in 2010!

tony

So I was chopping chard in the kitchen last week when my lovely wife, Lorraine, blurted out, “My favorite album cover of all time!”

Although her declaration came straight out of the blue I was not taken aback – she has a very endearing way of sometimes saying seemingly nonsensical things at weird times.

“So what is it?” I asked.

“Whipped Cream & Other Delights by Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass. My mom played it all the time. As a little girl I thought the cover was so cool – that lady all covered with whipped cream. I loved to just stare at it.”

That, I thought, was a good answer. But the question was even better. What makes a truly great album cover? In the interest of thinking of something interesting to post I decided to find out.

I quizzed six friends and associates. Obviously, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so I had to choose my beholders carefully. The qualifications were fairly simple – trust worthy and creative types who were both passionate about music and old enough to remember the good ol’ days of vinyl and cardboard (sorry young bucks, a CD cover is not the same as an album cover).

By the way, what does this have to do with my usual organic farming and wine rants? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

O.K. — here we go…

Jay Kell. Founder, Verge Wine Cellars. Jay was born in Arkansas and plays outstanding acoustic guitar. The boy can sing, too.

“Freewheeling Bobby Dylan – it was the first Dylan album I bought. Like nearly every human being, I was dumped and identified with the song “Don’t Think Twice”, which I must have heard originally on some classic rock station. It was only later that I found I liked nearly every other song the man’s written.”

Mike Brunson. Winemaker, Michel-Schlumberger. The only guy in the world I’m certain really, really loves all sorts of music as much as myself.

“I’m going with Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti and it’s changing windows (when you slid the sleeve out) in the apartment complex. On top of that, it’s their best recording.”

Judd Wallenbrock. General Manager, Michel-Schlumberger. Judd’s not afraid to dress up in full bee-keeper gear (veil included) and play bad Dylan covers on a cheap guitar to bemused winery visitors. How cool is that?

“I like the Abbey Road cover. Why? Because I like stories — stories behind wine, stories behind labels, stories behind people…and this cover stirred up one of the most controversial and sensational ‘stories’ of all time. Paul is not dead.”

Wendy Rossiter. Human Resources, Michel-Schlumberger. I had to get at least one woman’s perspective on this. Besides, I love the fact that Wendy is an unabashedly HUGE Pat Benatar fan.

“The Chambers Brothers. This just popped up in my head when you asked me. In fact, I can’t even remember exactly what the album cover looks like.”

Blair Poynton. Winemaker, Jed Wines (Australia). O.K., Blair is actually a bit young to really appreciate the days of vinyl but I had to get a foreign perspective on this and the guy knows music…

“Not sure exactly but it would have to be something from the Corrs - because those three sisters are bloody hot!”

Randall Filbert. Senior Consultant, Long View Associates. Old school rocker. This guy could stand up to anybody in a 70’s/80’s rock trivia contest.

“London Calling – The cover is the quintessential rock ‘n’ roll image: the frenzied electric guitarist smashing his axe before a stoned and drunk audience. It’s all presence…no past and no damn future.”

And, finally, for me?

“I like Maggot Brain by Funkadelic because I’m not sure exactly what to make of it. But, amazingly, if you listen to the title track the album cover suddenly seems to make perfect sense.”

Peace and Silliness,

Tony

p.s.  What’s yours?

It’s getting cold and dark these days. The vines are dormant and the summer crops are gone from the organic garden and I’ve resorted to using a small space heater under my desk in my heat-challenged office and many of the vineyard workers have headed South to Mexico for a much-deserved winter break. Meanwhile, the bees in our three Estate hives are mostly hunkered down, basking in 95degree warmth and chowing down on honey. Lots of honey.

Honey bees use honey as fuel to heat the hive, especially during the cold winter months when the colony has stopped foraging for the season. That’s why beekeepers only harvest a calculated fraction of the honey in a managed hive, making sure to leave plenty for the well being of the bees (an average hive needs about 35 pounds of honey to securely carry it through the winter months).

Honey is really amazing stuff. It’s one of the oldest foods in existence (it was found in the tomb of King Tut) and it never spoils! It’s also extremely precious – an average worker bee makes only about 1/12 teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. And to top it off honey is delicious — the texture and flavor varying seasonally and geographically, depending on the forage source. That’s some very cool stuff and I guess that explains why humans have hunted and collected honey for at least the past 10,000 years.

So what exactly is honey? It’s pretty simple, really. Honey bees collect nectar from blooming flowers. The nectar is temporarily stored in the bee’s “honey stomach” in which it is partially digested via special enzymes. The nectar is then regurgitated into the cells of the honeycomb, fanned by the bee’s wings to induce evaporation and concentrate the nectar, and then it is sealed with a wax cap to prevent oxidation and spoilage. In a nutshell, honey is simply concentrated flower nectar. I guess that explains why it’s so tasty. But honey is oh so much more than just delicious…

Honey has been used for just about forever to treat an incredibly long list of ailments. It has seriously potent anti-microbial properties (remember, it never spoils?). Topically, it’s great for treating wounds and helps to reduce swelling and scarring. Honey has also been used for centuries as a treatment for sore throats and coughs, and according to recent research may in fact be as effective as many common cough medicines. It’s got cancer-fighting antioxidant properties (one antioxidant, pinocembrin, is only found in honey). It is often used for treating digestive problems such as diarrhea, indigestion, stomach ulcers and gastroenteritis. It’s a natural energy booster yet recognized as a treatment for insomnia. It helps prevent cavities. And the list goes on and on (I would encourage those interested to do a simple web search for more information).

I take at least 2 fat teaspoons a day, once with breakfast and once just before bed. For me it reduces the effects of my allergies (this is related to the flower pollen found in honey). But more than that honey just seems so incredibly natural and delicious and easy to find – it seems weird not to eat it!

Probably the very best reason to take honey, though, is to help its producer — the honey bee. By now, pretty much everyone knows that Colony Collapse Disorder is threatening the honey bee with extinction. Buying and consuming local honey from your local beekeeper is one great way to support management and research of bee colonies.

It’s just that simple. And delicious.

Peace & Honey

Tony

p.s. Speaking of bees, Our first annual Bee Day At Schlumberger will be held on June 5 of next year. We’re gonna celebrate all things bees with all sorts of special tours, talks, tastings and demonstrations. Mark those calendars!

Alright folks, I’ve got some really good news this week. I’m very proud and excited to announce a brand-spanking new program at Michel-Schlumberger for 2010 – the Worms to Wine Nature Series. We’ll be hosting six fun and informative nature-related events that showcase various elements of our organic and sustainable farming practices at our Estate. We’re still working out details but in the meantime here’s a special sneak preview (remember – you heard it here first…):

MARCH: Fish Day at Schlumberger

Celebrating all things fishy, we’ll start the afternoon with a personal tour of the fish hatchery at Lake Sonoma with Ranger Michael Carroll. It’s a very cool place — we’ll meet spawning salmon and steelhead trout up close and personal. Following the tour we’ll head back to Michel-Schlumberger for a walk and talk with Winemaker Brunson along fish friendly and recently restored Wine Creek. Finally, we’ll cap it off with some really great wine and food around the fireplace inside the Estate.

APRIL: Bird Day at Schlumberger

This annual fundraiser for The Bird Rescue Center of Sonoma County is one of my very favorite events of the year. We’ve moved the event to Spring in 2010 to take advantage of the migratory species that pass through our region. Expect bird walks led by local experts, spotting scopes and feeder demos, and Audubon Society displays. The event will culminate with a fun and educational show and tell of various big raptors by the folks from the Bird Rescue Center. And if we’re lucky we’ll get Brunson to cook up those incredible garden veggie topped pizzas again!

MAY: Critter Day at Schlumberger

It takes a lot of great animals to make great wine. Come out and meet the unsung heroes of Michel-Schlumberger – our English Babydoll sheep (with a shearing demonstration), heritage chickens and a brand new pair of goats! We’ll show you how we use these animals as part of our sustainable farming system. And it’s not just the furry and feathery critters that will be on display. We’ll tour the organic veggie garden and check out the bugs, both good and bad, and learn how we help them to help us. And Jacques Schlumberger will be on hand to show folks our honey bee garden and show off our hives. Heck, you can even meet our vineyard dogs, Marvin and Peanut.

JUNE: Bee Day at Schlumberger

With the recent and alarming decline in honey bees worldwide, NOW is the time to take action and show serious support for our buzzy buddies who do more for the health of the Earth than you can possibly imagine. Look forward to an afternoon of Bee and Veggie Garden tours, demonstration hives, an observation hive, a honey extraction demonstration, honey tasting, talks by local experts and practical information on what you can do to help the bees. I highly encourage you to bee there…

JULY: Oysterama

This event proves that learning can be healthy, fun and filling. This popular event features a Nature Walk around Tomales Bay followed by a picnic feast of fresh oysters (half shell and BBQ) paired with our outstanding wines. Need I say more?

AUGUST: Stargazer’s Dinner

We’ll spend an evening feasting and sipping to a spectacular slide show presentation by a local astronomer. Then we’ll wander on up to the lake to gaze out into the heavens through some seriously pro telescopes. Nighttime at Lake Schlumberger under a blanket of stars and planets is something you simply have to experience in your lifetime. Really.

So there you have it. I’ll post details and dates as they come available. In the meantime, drink good wine.

Naturally Yours,

Tony

I’ve worked at Michel-Schlumberger for something like 14 years. It always amazes me to tell that to folks because I’ve always been the type of guy who’s always on the move. I get bored very easily and I love to learn new stuff. Status quo is my biggest turn-off. But I’m not the only one with such an affliction.

Brunson’s the kind of guy who absolutely thrives on trying anything new. Here’s a classic example – years ago I began plucking on an electric guitar and I casually remarked (joked) to Mike that he should learn to play drums so we could start a band and become rock stars. Within a few months he saved up and bought a kit, set it up in his garage and began practicing. That was about 10 years ago and now he is a rock star. The guy is crazy like that.

And it’s not just extra-curricular stuff. For all the hours both Mike and I work growing grapes and making wine we spend at least an equal amount of time thinking and pondering and dreaming of cool new stuff we can try out in the vineyard and cellar. One of the reasons this year’s harvest was extra special and fun for us was because of all the experimental stuff we had going on. Here’s one small (but fun) example from Crush 2009, complete with shots of the action!

First, we selected the very best fruit from our very best Cabernet vineyard block – 100% “Jackson Selection” cab from our organically-grown Bradford Mountain vineyard. This is the same stuff that is the base for our stunningly stellar Deux Terres Bordeaux blend.

These days the status quo in wine production is big lots of grapes fermented in huge stainless steel tanks utilizing pumps to mix the must for extraction (“pump-overs”). We decided to take a much more minimalist, old school, and hand-crafted approach to this particular wine.

Cellar Master Ramiro Leon carefully removed the heads from 3 beautiful French oak barrels and we very gently de-stemmed and crushed our prized cab grapes into the wooden vessels for fermentation. The must was “punched-down” three times daily, entirely by hand. Winemaker Brunson opted for a completely native yeast fermentation in respect for the special grapes and our very special Benchland terroir. Once fermentation was complete we carefully dumped the barrels onto a screen over a sump and Mike, Blair (our good friend and intern from Australia) and I HAND PRESSED the must. At about 20 minutes of pressing per barrel it was a lot of hard work but it was also a fine, sunny Sunday and we were having such a blast doing it and the wine tasted KILLER!!! And in the end our 6 hands pressed enough wine to perfectly top a single French oak barrel – how’s that for meant to be?

I don’t mean to be a tease – this wine will likely age in barrel for over 2 years and get another year of bottle age or so on top of that. That means there’ll be no cork popping for almost 4 more years. And if we do decide to release the wine on it’s own there will be only a precious 20 cases or so to go around (yet another reason to join our Wine Bench Club). More importantly, I think projects like these clearly demonstrate Mike’s steadfast commitment not to be steadfast. There’s always something new at Michel-Schlumberger. Bored? Why, no…

Hey folks! Really sorry I’ve been blog-free for a few weeks. As you can imagine it’s been a bit crazy with Crush in full swing the past month. But I’m back and I’m very, very pleased to announce that Harvest 2009 is officially over at Michel-Schlumberger — the last grapes were picked on Sunday, just before the dreaded typhoon storm hit Sonoma County on Monday night and dumped several inches of rain on us.

WOW, what a year! Seriously folks, I’ve worked in the vineyard and cellar of M-S for 13 years and I’ve never seen happier vines or tasted better juice. At the risk of jinxing the vintage I have to say that these will be among the finest wines ever produced by Mike Brunson (please don’t tell him I said that). I’ll elaborate on this in future posts but right now my brain is foggy and creativity is running low. What? I’m going to take the easy way out this week out and post some random camera phone shots of 2009 Crush. Check it out:

O.K., you probably can't actually see them but this shot is from the crush pad, minutes away from the end of Harvest 2009, as the pickers work their way through Bloque Loco (cabernet sauvignon).

Basura bucket.

Fermenting must in small bins. These are punched down several times each day by hand.

Brunson shows his son Zach the finer points of making wine.

Ever wonder what it looks like to clean the inside of a 12 ton press in the dark?

Intern Oren punches down some cab in an open top fermenter. Notice how the picture quality is all fuzzy -- that's what happens to your cell phone camera after you shoot pics in a dark, wet press.

This post is dedicated to Oren's dog, Gisele... A very good dog.

Last night my lovely wife and I had a bottle of 2006 Michel-Schlumberger ‘Le Fou’ pinot noir. Wow — what an experience! Right off the bat the wine was showing luscious fruit, fine structure and acid for age-ability, and a hint of that nearly indescribable “forest floor” aroma that typically characterizes a fine Burgundy. After about 20 more minutes of swirling and sniffing, the finer complexities began to show – ripe pomegranate, red cherry and Christmas spices melding perfectly with silky smooth tannins. A half an hour later the wine had reached it’s full virtually indescribable glory. And later on when the pizza arrived (yes, we paired the pinot with a beautiful NY style pizza) we were quite happy with how the spice and fruit in the wine harmonized so well with each slice.

And now I’d like to compare last night’s wine tasting experience with a quick summary of what goes down at a wine competition. A “professional taster” sits at a table with a scorecard and a pencil. An assistant opens maybe 15 bottles of wine or more and pours the wine into a whole buncha glasses. The taster sniffs and sips and ponders for a moment and gives the wine a score or a medal (or not). That’s it. Done deal. And then the believers flock to the store to snap up the 94 point cabernet and the Gold Medal pinot.

O.K., I guess I’m being a bit snarky. But, at this point, I need to make a horrible confession. I used to be a Spectator believer. Young and naïve, I would dutifully take my monthly buying guide to the wine shop and snap up all the Best Buys and Cellar Selections I could afford (which wasn’t much, actually). But eventually I saw the light and realized what wine writer Dan Berger recently commented on – wines with subtle finesse and character don’t win medals, the monster oak and alcohol wines do. And monster wines don’t pair well with food and they don’t age well. These wines are like a bad pop song, designed to smack you in the face with immediate gratification but little else. Sure you may be tapping your toe the first time you hear “Achy Breaky Heart” but after two or three more listens you realize that you’ve been had.

These days I look at wine tasting not as a singular event but as an entire experience. It’s about the people you’re with, the food you’re serving, the occasion, the ambience, the weather, the music, the mood. It’s about a taster’s relationship with the winery and Winemaker. And it’s especially about the mystical way a wine opens up and evolves over time, to be sipped and savored over the course of an hour or two. It’s really that simple.

But even if one ignores the whole “experience” argument and really, really wants an expert to pave the way then who, exactly, can one turn to? A recent study looked at the results of several thousand wines entered in 13 major U.S. wine competitions and found little consistency in which wines won gold medals. Another study found judges often rated the same quite differently when they tasted it twice in the same blind flight of wines. Hmmm….

So the moral of this story is simple — learn for yourself. Discover your own palate, not Parker’s. Eat, drink, chat with friends, rock out and enjoy the experience. And leave the medals to Michael Phelps.

Happy Sipping,

Tony

Here’s something a little different — the other day, a helicopter came down and swooped up water from our lake… and I just keep thinking how awesome this place is.

There is never a dull moment here at Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate, especially with harvest in full swing, but there is still room for unexpected events.  The other day I was giving a 36 person cheese and wine pairing out under our glorious oak tree when we were buzzed by a rather large helicopter.  It seemed to be flying very low for a helicopter of its caliber and we couldn’t figure out its reason for flying over our property.

As the party was enjoying their wine and cheeses while conjuring up helicopter tales, Wine Educator Evan Erickson was touring a group about our property and witnessed the helicopter’s true mission. As it turns out, there was a fire destroying acreage near the winery so the California Fire Department (CFD) needed to use our splendid lake as an emergency water source.

The group of 9 people on tour had the opportunity to observe the CFD operation within 100 ft!  Their timing was superb, as they were on the dam of the lake and couldn’t be closer unless they had rowed out to the love nest (our home to nesting Canada Geese) . The force from the chopper’s blades created a windy mist that relieved the folks temporarily from the summer heat.  It was quite the the sight.  Benchland Club member (that would be our wine club!) Jerry Hollister (who provided the photos) was one of the witnesses, “It was totally unexpected and tremendously powerful.”

This is not the first time the CFD had used our lake as a water source, for some of the longer tenured employees have seen this happen before. But it was the first time anyone was at the lake when the helicopter came down to scoop water.

You never know what type of wild excursion can happen here at Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate, but rest assured, it is always an experience. Come visit and see what adventure you find.

Joseph Barnwell