GustavoThrace 2005 Syrah

We are excited to release our very first Napa Valley Syrah. Gustavo was curious to work with this variety and this fruit is from the Coombsville area in the southern end of the Napa Valley. Just two barrels of this wine (51 cases) were produced at the winery here in Napa. The grapes were fermented in half ton picking bins and then aged in used French oak barrels until bottling. This is an unusual style for a syrah: not the big, smokey, meaty style of hte Rhone but rather a softer approach with aromas of cola, dried blueberries, dark cherries and summer herbs. There is a creaminess in the mouth that allows this to be a stand alone wine for sipping or pair it with grilled meats, falafels or a soft Montbriac blue. $30/bottle - only available at the tasting room at 1021 McKinstry in Napa

dream customers

With the tremendous reaction to Bottle Shock here at the tasting room we are a bit overwhelmed with filling orders from those curious after seeeing the movie. We open the doors here at 11 am and I was running late this morning, only to arrive and have someone waiting patiently at the front door. Gustavo was already here stocking more wines he had brought up from the winery so I got the doors open and welcomed our visitor. She said no problem with the wait, asked for two bottles of the Barbera and handed me the cash. The wines got bagged up and out she went, just to return some minutes later to say I had given her the wrong change. She was correct and we just laughed about it, stepping over the shipping boxes and orders and confusion that generally exists when first opening in the morning. I asked her how she had found out about the wines and she said a friend had recommended them-our favorite reference! So, with the correct change she left and then returned ten minutes later. She had bought two bottles of Barbera and I had put two bottles of Petite Sirah (in my defense they had been shelved in the wrong place by an employee but still my error). Again she just laughed and said she would be back for more. I couldn't have designed a better reaction than hers, good-natured, understanding and infinitely patient. It makes me re-examine my daily outlook on life and my reaction to things that don't go exactly how I would like them to. She chose to make light about it and won't drag it around with her -although she'd be right to tell others that I'm pretty much of a ditz - while someone else may have made the choice to be upset about it and then complain about it on and on and on. I don't know your name but thank you for adjusting my attitude> Next bottle is on me. T

bottle shock

When we were first approached by the screenwriters of Bottle Shock to see if Gustavo would read the script and 'sign off on it', Gustavo said he wasn't really interested. I am sure there are multiple reasons for his apprehension but as the 'marketing queen' I almost strangled him..........it took some explaining on my part to convince him of the exposure this would give to GustavoThrace. "Just meet them and read the script" I said. So, we had dinner together with the screenwriters and read through the script. Gustavo said ok and then we didn't hear anything else for a year and figured it never got picked up. We were then contacted by Brenda Lhormer, the producer of the movie, who introduced herself and wanted to chat. What a treasure she has turned out to be (as well as her charming husband Marc). It was very revealing to watch her, even at a distance, orchestrate the whole thing. The energy they put into this was astounding. She dragged Freddy Rodriguez - who plays Gustavo in the movie - over for dinner, she sent updates and kept up the cheerleading all the way through Sundance and now in releases. We hosted a party at the new tasting room on Friday before the premiere of the movie here in Napa and then all walked across the street to the theater. Marc Lhormer spoke before the movie started and it was great fun to have our crowd clap/boo/hiss/laugh together (we had been pouring liberally at the tasting room since we were all walking) throughout the movie.
Lots of controversy about the 'details'. Is it factual? Partly. Is it Hollywood? Absolutely. Is it wonderful? We sure think so. Go see it and tell us what you think too. Thrace

things we hate about wine tastings

The enjoyment of one of the huge wine tastings - ZAP, Family Winemakers etc - largely depends on which side of the table you are standing. The pleasure, when you are pouring, is to meet the people who love your wines. It gives us a chance to tell our story, explain what makes us unique and to make new, and sometimes, as in the case of the New Orleans faction, lifelong friends. BUT, after standing on cold cement for five or six hours one can lose his/her sense of humor as the day wears on and those on the receiving side of the table have now been drinking for the same five or six hours. So, here are some of the things that REALLY annoy those of us who have shown up at an event, paid to be there and are donating our wines and time.

PLEASE don't say:
"What is your best wine?"
"Did you bring anything good?"
"What is your favorite wine?"
"Do you have any white zinfandel?"
"Go ahead and fill up my glass so I don't have to keep coming back."
"Can I have a bottle?"
"I've never heard of you." (we've never heard of you either)

don't wear perfume/cologne
If you are spitting please do it close to the bucket so our literature isn't splashed
don't leave your dirty dishes on our table
don't talk on your cell phone at our table
listen to your friends when they tell you that you've had enough

You must have a list of the things that vintners do while pouring that bother you as well. Let us know what they are.

chicago

now on my third day in Chicago and it's truly incredible. 75 degrees, sunny, clean and very vibrant. wines have been well received and I am sharing a room at the charming Whitehall Hotel on the Miracle Mile so we're walking distance to almost everything. The event tonight is the Wine, Women and Shoes fundraiser for Unicef at the Museum of Contemporary Art so I will be pouring the 2004 chardonnay and the signature zinfandel to the sold out crowd. Meanwhile, we are bar/restaurant hopping our way through town. We've had glasses of the Perata Cabenet at NoMi, flights of champagnes at Cru, an incredible roasted artichoke with a brie and grain mustard sauce at Bistro 110, a sublime skate wing dusted with almond flour and finished in a brown butter at Blue Water Grill, the tuna tartare at Elan and, of course, pizza at Gino's. We are off to "Kevin's" for lunch and will see where we end up from there. And yes, we are selling wine all the while. Sometimes this job has huge rewards like this, building a memory of three wonderful days.

portland

the last three days were spent in Portland, Oregon, getting to know a new sales team, manager and owners. Having only been to Portland once before when it was sunny and warm I was once again welcomed with perfect weather. It was only the stories from the sales reps that told me that it's really not always like that. The downtown scene is amazing with the plethora of restaurants, the new lofts and the sidewalks full of strollers in the evenings. The advantage of doing sales throughout the city is getting to see, and eat in the quaint little neighborhoods. There was a wonderful cheese plate at Curds and Whey, served with a dense fig bread and a fennel puree. The final dinner was at Olea, where the bowls of fresh corn soup were scraped up by all who had ordered it. The seared ahi tuna was served over a diced panzanella salad and the contrast in textures and flavors were fabulous. I am anxious to return and revisit the new wine bar that is just opening where one of the small plates is to be salads on a stick, which is such a great idea I am going to steal it for use at the winery. Thanks to all who dragged me around the city and wined and dined me.

low alcohol wines

Oh please........... all of a sudden there are myriad articles being written about 'low alcohol' wines - meaning anything under 14 per cent alcohol, where it should have been in the first place. These winemakers are saying they are doing something 'special' by making lower alcohol wines, by making them drinkable if you ask me. Wasn't/isn't that the goal all along? When did the public get the shaft by being told/convinced that huge alcohol wines were the ones that had flavor? The high alcohol wines became darlings of the media who traded balance, taste and elegance in for the big bullies of the wine world.
Let's go back and look at a history of GustavoThrace wines from the start in 1996. A simply graph would show that 98% of our wines have been at 14% or under, well balanced and designed specifically to compliment and, indeed, show off the foods you are pairing with them. The one 'huge' wine we made, a 15.8% petite sirah, was repeatedly tasted blind and the highest anyone ever guessed was that the alcohol was, perhaps, 15%. Which is to also say that one CAN achieve a balance with huge, overripe fruit but it isn't the goal to let the fruit get so ripe that you have to even deal with itin the first place. Now wineries are jumping on the bandwagon to shout that they are also making lower alcohol wines and we are just maintaining that we've been doing it all along, sorta nice to be imitated.............