November, 2004

Greetings from Bialla Vineyards

Waiting for wine to mature is painful indeed, but we are getting closer. We are now months, not years, away from our first release. Let me give you a brief update.

Hector Lopez, as you may recall, managed Caymus Vineyards for sixteen plus years then went out on his own and is now managing our vineyard. He has brought some new innovations in vineyard management which have yielded a superb harvest this year, our second. His method of cane cracking and pruning is a new art form I wasn't familiar with. The fruit was harvested uniform in quality throughout the vineyard which is key for success.

Our Winemaker, Craig McClean, went so far as to say, "I won't go out on a limb but we could have some really, really good wine in our '04 harvest." Craig never brags, ever - not even on the golf course. So for him to say this is a big deal is something we are excited about. Our '03 harvest has been tasted out of the barrel a few times now, and it keeps getting better and better each time. I'm very excited about what we have created and am so anxious to share it. Our approach to spare no expense but simply make the best wine possible seems to be paying off.

Last month we hired Icon Design legend Jeffrey Caldewey to create our label. We are so fortunate that he took on our project. I can't tell you excited Linda and I are. Jeffrey is perhaps the greatest talent in this field. He visited our vineyard and tasted our wine before agreeing to take on our project. To view some of his work, go to: www.icondesigngroup.net. As soon as our label is complete we'll put it on our web site to share with you.

On the industrial side of the latest developments, our cave is nearing completion. Again, pictures will be available soon. The cave consists of barrel storage, complete facilities for racking and fermentation, single-bottle storage sections, and a special dining area carved out for fun evenings, of course. As our first release draws near in mid- to Fall '05, we'll keep you posted on all of our progress. In the meantime, the Bialla family wishes you a happy holiday season and all the best for the coming New Year.