June, 2007

Well, we have good news and some sad news.

The sad news is the "sold out" sign is going up in a day or so because we only have about five cases left to offer our friends. We'll fill these on a first-come first-serve basis.

The good news after the sad news is Bialla is bottling the '05 on July 16th. Our winemaker makes wine for consumption vs. storage/aging and display. That means it doesn't have to sit around for years before it reaches its real potential. So I say, "Live for today and fagetta about tomorrow—who knows where you'll be!"

More good news this month: we got our "02 license" which means we are a fully bonded Winery and there are no more licenses to get. It amazes me how may ways a government can find ways to take money from a small business. An ABC type 14 public warehouse license, a wholesales license, a label approval license form TTB, a franchise tax board license, a resale license, a wine growers permit, a basic permit, a county permit, a fictitious names permit, an ABC home office occupation permit, an ABC order granting Officer in Compromise permit, an ABC 17 and 20 license, a planting grapes permit, a grading permit and cave permit, a fire dept permit and a erosion permit, a visitors permit and a permit that allows us to serve wine in specific places on the property at specific times. I even have a license now to go fishing or play golf... wait a minute, who filed those?

The Tiburon wine festival on May19th was a huge success. We love supporting this charity which always sells out in days. My daughter Chelsea, who is now 21, worked the show. We have many followers there and you don't realize how dedicated these people are. There is no reluctance by fans to come up to you, nose to nose, and poke a finger at you saying "Best damn wine in the show". It is the right experience for anyone who owns a brand to know what the consumers are really thinking. In our case it is a complete ego trip, how fortunate we are.

A look ahead: Craig MacLean, our incredible winemaker, said '07 will be a bang up year because the drought conditions we are experiencing usually produce great wine. It all has to do with the struggling conditions making the fruit more intense in search for water while establishing its base for growth for the season. The berries are a bit smaller and the crop is all about intensity. Picking and harvesting is key and patience will be required. Craig is as excited as I've ever seen him.

This year we will harvest about 400 cases as our new planting of vines has kicked in. This is the second year of harvest for the new vineyard and we obviously planted the finest new root stock and vines money can buy. We also have about 10% Merlot to dabble with if Craig so chooses. Increased production will be good and hopefully we won't have to be so tight with inventory in the coming years. Our goal is 500 cases max, and keeping it all in the family.

If you truly have a occasion which calls for some hidden away '04 Cab drop Linda an email at Linda@biallavineyards.com. A special occasion might be your mother has a B-Day over 100... or we elect a completely new congress... or you ask that girl to marry you and she says, "Yes," instead of saying "Let me think about that one."

Thanks for being with us and thanks for sharing our passion,

--Vito and Linda Bialla
Bialla Vineyards