Corking the Magnums

Date: Fri, May 30, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

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What goes on in the cellar?

Date: Tue, May 27, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

Besides wine coming in, settling down, resting for two years (sort of like a bear in hibernation) then coming back out just to rest another year in bottle, the cellar is home to our tastings. And a respite when the heat reaches 105 degrees! Chantico.

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Our friends from Sun Valley

Date: Mon, May 26, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

Not often, but once in a great while, we meet some people that are so special, they leave a place not only in our memory but in our hearts as well. John ("Chappy") and Steve are two such people. They were the hosts for a wine dinner we participated in for the Sun Valley Center for the Arts in Idaho last summer. There were about 25 guests at the dinner and I was lucky enough to be seated next to Steve. We chatted most of the evening - about dogs (they have two: the girls—Chantal and Katrina, beautiful standard poodles), horses (they have a beautiful barn with their family of horses in residence!) and just about everything. Steve sat closer to Chappy and they hit it off as well. We stayed long after the guests had left and were given a personal tour of the barn, met the horses, the "girls" and felt right at home. We left their beautiful property hoping they would come visit us in the Napa Valley one day. They came this past weekend! On their "loop" to visit friends and family from Idaho to California to Washington, they stopped for one night and stayed with us. They bonded immediately to Danny, Cosette and Ashby - and we couldn't have had a nicer time. Safe travels, Steve and Chappy. We'll see you soon. Chantico.
Steve, "Danny Dancer", and Chappy

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What's with the rain??

Date: Sun, May 25, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

We woke up this morning to rain - yes, RAIN. It actually feels quite nice, given the heat we've been experiencing later. The grapes are fine - it's a very light rain and we aren't concerned about the flowers being knocked off and compromising harvest - now, if it begins to rain harder...... But it won't. No, it' won't! Chantico.

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Future Forklift Operator

Date: Sat, May 24, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

We were watching our grandson, Everett, yesterday. When he heard the motor of the forklift begin to roar (actually, it sort of grunts), he couldn't wait to go out and see it. Then, when Grandpa Steve put him in the driver's seat, the look on his face rivalled that of eating ice cream! Chantico.

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When it sizzles in LA

Date: Mon, May 19, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

We drove to the southland this weekend (okay, you do the math on driving vs. flying - see Steve, I told you so!) for the Cystic Fibrosis Winemasters annual tasting. The event was held at the Warner Brothers Studio lot in Burbank and what an incredible venue - the setting with all the trees and grass made the heat tolerable. The food purveyors were fantastic - and the wines were incredible. And then there was the auction, which again broke an all-time record - they netted, yes NETTED $1.6 million for Cystic Fibrosis. Barbara and Allen Balik - you are incredible. Here are some photos of the weekend. Our son drove up from San Diego to help pour, and our fashionable daughter, direct from LA, came on Sunday and attended the brunch. We saw a lot of our customers and made some new friends as well. Not a bad business to be in - not all all! Chantico.

Drive or fly??


Barbara Balik - the WonderWoman who makes it happen



Barbara's son, Randy, with Steve



Son Chris with Mom Linda
















Chris and Emilie

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Winemasters 2008

Date: Fri, May 16, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

We are off this weekend to pour Anomaly 2005 for the annual Cystic Fibrosis Winemasters event held at Warner Brothers Studio in Burbank. Son, Chris, will drive up from San Diego to help pour and daughter Emilie, will attend celebratory brunch on Sunday! Look for photos next week! Stay cool - and Chantico.

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You have PEOPLE??!!

Date: Fri, May 16, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

So, after a tasting or a charity dinner at the winery, we generally are left with - well, you can see below what I'm talking about. Often those "partaking" in the tasting/dinner ask if they can help clean up, to which of course we reply, "No no, we have people." Relieved, the guests return to their homes, freed of any clean-up guilt.
Then Steve and I take our tray down to the cellar, gather up the glasses, return to the kithen in our house, and begin! It's nice to have PEOPLE, isn't it?! Chantico!

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And speaking of Brandon.....

Date: Wed, May 14, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

Brandon and his PIC (partner in crime/kitchen) prepared an amazing meal for our charity auction dinner to benefit Cystic Fibrosis held in the winery cellar. Here you can see them at work (or play!) and some of their beautiful creations. Enjoy. Chantico!

Mike (left) and Brandon


Composed Vegetable Salad with Anomaly Olive Oil from Cortona (thanks, Andy!)


Oven-Roasted Tomatoes over Summer Squash

And so close you can almost taste it....



A Happy Chef Brandon


We get by with a little help from our friends—Peter Downey and Brooke Cheshier

Brandon, please STAY in California.

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Is it summer yet?

Date: Wed, May 14, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

As you can see, there's not a cloud in the sky. It's May 14 and it's 101 degrees at 2:45 p.m. The winery is withstanding the heat, but we're not standing quite as tall and proud! Brandon Olsen, one of the amazing chefs at Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc Restaurant in Yountville, and our "adopted" son from Toronto, is coming to have dinner with us tonight. How do you "chef" for a chef? I say, Barbeque! Other than the dinner preparations, and the incredible traffic on I-80 this morning, so much so that I actually turned around half-way to my weekly writing class and came back to the winery - before the traffic on Highway 29 reached its peak! Stay cool. And, Chantico.

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Our new look!

Date: Wed, May 14, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

So, what do you think of the new look of our blog? Marshal Walker, a friend and extremely knowledgeable Blog designer, set this up for us. (You, too, can have a snazzy-looking blog - I can tell you how to reach Marshal if you are interested, just pop me a Comment!). Now the task will be for me to do it justice and keep you loyal readers out there up to date on the goings on at Anomaly Vineyards.

On the Olive Oil front, we just finished hand-bottling and labeling the oil from the fastinos that were shipped here direct from Tuscany in Italy. Remember, the olives were picked from Steve's brother's property in Cortona (if any of you have read Under The Tuscan Sun, you know Cortona) and pressed into olive oil that was then put into the fastinos and shipped direct to us here at Anomaly. The oil has a wonderful, fruity quality that is perfect on our salads, vegetables, and pretty much anything else. We are now selling it only through our website (just in case you're interested!).

The weather has been hot and is going to get hotter this week - tomorrow is predicted to hit 100 degrees. The grapes are happy and are just about ready to "bloom." Heat, much better than rain. So we say, bring it on!

Hope all has been well for you, and I promise (that I will try) to keep the blog up to date. As always, Chantico.

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Our new blog look - coming soon!

Date: Tue, May 13, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

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And Who's this Guy?

Date: Mon, Apr 21, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

It's Mark Porembski - our winemaker!

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And Who's this Guy?

Date: Mon, Apr 21, 2008 Winery Blogs Wine Business

It's Mark Porembski - our winemaker!

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