Joymail

Congratulations to Ms. Cristina Hoyt on her recent engagement!

What a beautiful moment of pure "JOY" captured!  

We are so honored to have been a part of it,

Cheers to you both!

Joymail

WATCH OUT HEIDI! Straight out'a "West Virginy"-  our photographer friend,

Mr. Andrew Ferguson, has captured a day in the life of Rombauer as a supermodel- on the East Coast!

Thanks for the photo, Andrew!

Joymail

 Thanks for the 'joymail' Bill!

Send us your pics/ vids about  livin' the Rombauer Regime

and you just might see them show up here! It's all about the J.O.Y. ...

World Wide Chardonnay Tasting & Tweet Up

On Thursday, May 6th, wine lovers from around the world who also use twitter will be meeting in different locations to taste and celebrate the Chardonnay grape.  Rombauer Vineyards along with many other wineries in Napa Valley are joining this international event (called a tweetup). At Rombauer we will be offering tastings of yours truly- 2008 Carneros Chardonnay.

The event will take place from 5PM to 7PM at Rombauer Vineyards and feature our 100% malolactic fermentation Chardonnay.  The tasting fee is free  and there will be a shrimp boil to pair with the Chardonnay as well.

If you are a tweeter, there will be free wifi available at Rombauer so that you can tweet along all night. If not don't let twitter deter you from stopping by Rombauer and tasting some exciting local wines, you might learn a thing or two about Social Media as well! Bring a friend, or two...

FOR TWITTER :

Use the hashtag: #Chardonnay

FOR MORE DIRECTION ON HOW TO PARTICIPATE- CHECK OUT THIS INFORMATIVE VIDEO CREATED BY MR RICK BAKAS OF ST SUPERY WINERY:

#Chardonnay

FREE THE GRAPES! & TAKE ACTION TODAY

A letter from the Napa Valley Vintners :

"In an effort to turn back the clock on the direct shipment of wine to consumers, a bill has been introduced in Congress recently that would, in effect, overturn the 2005 “Granholm v. Heald” U.S. Supreme Court decision that helped pave the way for wineries to ship wine directly to many more consumers around the country.

H.R. 5034, crafted by the National Beer Wholesalers Association would make it practically impossible to bring legal action against states’ wine shipping laws that violate the Constitution’s Commerce Clause by prohibiting wine shipment from out of state, while permitting their own in-state wineries to ship direct. The end result would be a return to discriminatory wine shipping laws within the states, creating economic hardship for wineries that consider direct shipment and important sales channel and greatly restricting choice among wine consumers nationwide.

The NVV believes that consumers in all 50 states should have the ability to directly purchase fine wine. Many medium to small wineries have very limited distribution and garner little attention from the large distributors. These wineries survive by selling wine through mailing lists, wine clubs, and over the internet.

Napa Valley Vintners agree that the existing three-tier system should be augmented, not eliminated, and should provide controls and regulations necessary to respect local laws, avoid underage access and provide provisions to make tax payments. It is not the intent of any winery to sell alcohol to minors or to avoid payment of local, state or federal taxes on their wines.

What the NVV is doing:


The NVV has been deeply engaged in the Direct Shipping issue for more than a dozen years. After several years of championing the cause through its own programs, the NVV formed Free the Grapes! and spun it off as a separate organization in 1998. Free the Grapes! was created so that there would be a complementary consumer advocacy side to direct shipping legislative and legal efforts. Since the creation of Free the Grapes! the NVV has donated nearly $400,000 in direct cash contributions to the organization.

In the years prior to the formation the Free the Grapes! the NVV provided support to the cause through in-kind contributions and continues such efforts to this day. These efforts included urging member wineries to donate funds, providing timely and relevant information to members, grassroots lobbying, and public awareness programs.

Additionally, starting in 2008, NVV has been a main financial sponsor of the Direct to Consumer Symposium, the wine industry's premier summit on direct marketing and sales.

How you can help:

Congressman, Mike Thompson, is already fighting on your behalf. However, it is important that Members of Congress from all across the country hear from consumers as to why H.R. 5034 is bad for them. Use your  e-mail database and Facebook page to encourage friends and family to visit http://www.freethegrapes.org/ where they may personalize a letter to their congressional representatives. To view Free the Grapes! sample language for a letter to congress click here.

Go Viral

Add your comments to the hundreds on the STOP HR 5034 Facebook site.

Thank Mike Thompson

Congressman Mike Thompson, as always, is in the corner of the wine industry. Congressman Thompson, along with fellow Wine Caucus Co-Chairman George Radanovich, testified on behalf of the wine industry at last month’s House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on this issue. Additionally, the two members discouraged their colleagues in Congress from signing onto the legislation, pointing out that it would, “Devastate California’s and other state’s wine industries, stunt economic growth, and harm consumers by allowing discriminatory law.” "

As a member of the Napa Valley Vintner's, here at Rombauer, we encourage each of you- for the continued enjoyment of Rombauer wines across the country, to take action. Your continued patronage and support is graciously  appreciated.

Cheers!

21st Annual Wine&Spirits Magazine Restaurant Poll

APRIL 2010

21st Annual Restaurant Poll

The poll was compiled from data provided by 210 restaurants from

Zagat Surveys’ most popular restaurants in America.

Rombauer Vineyards

was ranked as the

5th Most Popular winery brand

in American restaurants.

Rombauer Vineyards’ Carneros Chardonnay

was ranked as the

3rd Most Popular Chardonnay

in American restaurants.

Congratulations to our fabulous winemaking team for their continued outstanding work!

Cheers!

Los Carneros Budbreak 2010

This past week, I had the pleasure of riding through Rombauer’s Chardonnay vineyards in Carneros alongside our winemaker and native Australian, Richie Allen. Together we experienced a phenomenon taking place right now all over Napa Valley called “bud break.”

The importance of "budburst" (for those of you who are students like myself… which, let’s face it, as wine lovers we are and always will be students!) is the first time that the winemaker and vineyard manager -- and for all intents and purposes, anyone else associated with the development of the vine -- will get to see the fruit set, and start eyeing the crop loads. There are many variables that affect the timing of bud break and when it will begin.

The soil temperature and varietal type both have an impact. Vines grown in warmer soils will begin to bud earlier than those grown in cooler soils. The degree to which the soil type retains heat is also very important. Cooler soils, especially clay, will delay bud break, while rockier, warmer soils will accelerate it. The type of varietal also has an impact on when bud break will occur.

If bud break occurs too early, the young shoots may be vulnerable to frost damage during spring. However, if bud break occurs too late, the grapes may not have enough time to fully ripen. The grower may also be in the uncomfortable position of deciding to let the grapes hang during the fall when frost and rain can damage a crop at the end of the growing season.

Along the ride in Richie's four wheel drive, we tackled four different blocks in the Buchli Vineyard in Carneros, most of which is Chardonnay, including the botrytis section. (Note From the Author: Never forget your boots or your 4x4 when touring vineyards!),

I hope you enjoy these photos documenting our ride and this fabulous part of the special viticulture process here at Rombauer Vineyards. As our token Aussie says, "G'day mate… Cheers!"

Budburst 2010