January, 2006

Mid-winter news...

We pruned our vines at the vineyard this week and the cycle of making great wine has begun all over again. The soil is wet, no damage from the storms and conditions are ideal for a great year already, much like '04.

Last week we also tasted our '04 and also '05 and are really, really happy with the direction our wine is going in. Craig MacLean, our wine-maker, is pushing the envelope with innovation. Watching the art of making great wine from a master is truly fun.

We had our wine tasted quite casually a few weeks ago at our favorite watering hole in downtown Napa, the Bounty Hunter. The response was instant, so we agreed to sell 25 cases to the Bounty Hunter, who will offer it to their most prestigious wine club. We are flattered to be in such great company and be in the same league as some of the best wines Napa has to offer.

If you don't know the Bounty Hunter be sure to pay a visit to www.bountyhunterwine.com it could be your last stop for some of the greatest wine from around the globe.

So waiting for buds to appear on the vines while sitting on the porch and gazing over the vineyard nursing a glass of wine. I made an attempt to describe the cycle of a year in Napa (read below).

Enjoy our wine and thank you for your continued support.

--Vito and Linda Bialla
Bialla Vineyards

Napa
Frosty ground... signs of life
Sunlight brighter... longer warmer
Vines breath deeply, awaken slow
Napa valley life... it stirs

Tiny grass sprouts from the ground
A lonely hawk screams loud... a nesting mate
Mountain awakens the season gives birth
Napa is coming alive today

Mexicans smiling show up in trucks
Excitement building, so much fuss
Pruning, grooming chattering much
Sprouts are bursting, race towards the sun

Tiny clusters pop up all around
Leaves explode... that Napa sound
Days get longer, vineyard hums
Shoots grow stronger, power on

Turkeys mating cockling loud
Napa Valley sounds abound
Life is at its finest now
Animals, vines and god in one

Clusters green one grape turns blue
Dozens follow and pursue
Within days they're dark rich blue
God's children in the barrel soon

We test the brix and spit the juice
Is pink just right are seeds brown blue?
Conductor rests, the orchestra awaits...
We wait... we wait... we spit some more

The call comes in the nick of time
Next day we scramble--its harvest time
In hours vineyard stripped and raped
The precious fruit is gone, vines naked cry...

We crush we squeeze, sun barely up
Dishwater juice had better shape up
In hours liquid turns to tar like black
Anticipation... oh the perfect juice

The crushing ends, it's barrel time
Gods children have their home at last
We take a break clean up and smile
The holidays approach... its celebration time