Checking young vines

Greetings from Naggiar Vineyards! As usual summer has been very busy in the vineyards. This season’s vines and grapes are looking goooood!!

After February and March pruning and a short work break, we started May with the tasks of shoot “thinning” and shoot “positioning” which entails removing extra shoots and tucking long shoots between training wires. Next came pulling off leaves on the north side of the vines to expose grape clusters to indirect sunlight. Starting in July we thinned fruit clusters and dropped green clusters at grape coloring to insure uniform ripening of all grape clusters. All of course done by hand with tender loving care - all 50,000 vines!

Grandson Freddy Inspecting grapes

At the same time young vines planted late last year also needed work. First, weeds were removed from the base of each plant using hoes (try removing weeds from 12,000 young vines using a manual hoe in 90’ temperature). Next each young vine is pruned to 2 main shoots and trained to supporting wires in preparation for them becoming fruit-bearing vines in the 2007 growing season.

Forman Salvador Gonzalez with dropped grape clusters

Lastly July and August saw the start of watering the vineyard just enough to keep the vines healthy and ripening those grapes while at the same time using deficit irrigation to insure clusters and grape berries stay as small as possible. The net result of all this is a beautiful healthy vineyard and premium quality wine grapes being picked at harvest in September. As the saying goes, you need excellent quality wine grapes to make excellent wine!

Mary, Salvador, Diane

On the winery side, things have been just as busy. Spring saw the whole family pitching in at bottling time. A mobile bottling facility on wheels showed up at Rosemary Lane for a whole day. Barrel contents were pumped into tanks and from there the bottling line took over. As the bottling line labels, fills, corks and caps the bottles, cases are packed by hand and stacked onto wooden pallets for storage. The day was lots of fun with pizza and soft drinks for the whole crew.

As for the actual wines, we released two new wines this year in addition to our last years line up. The first is our 2005 Rosé made from lovingly cared for Grenache grapes from our vineyards. This is a bone-dry Rosé bursting with aromas and flavors of strawberries and cherries with hints of spices. Makes for a great refreshing summer wine to go with light summer fare. The second is the 2004 Mistero which is a blend of Sangiovese and Syrah grapes from our estate vineyards. Heady aromas of ripe blackberries, strawberries and raspberries fill the nose followed by a lingering smooth finish. If you like our Sangiovese, you will love the 2004 Mistero.

Speaking about summer and wines, we would like to remind everyone about our ongoing Summer Promotion on our 2004 Viognier and 2005 Rosé. Both of these wines are great served chilled on hot summer days with light finger foods and/or backyard picnics. Pricing until the end of September is as follows:

Last but not least, we have been busy tasting our 2005 barreled wines (one of the fun parts of this job!) to insure that all is well in the barrel room. Along the way and in preparation for the 2006 blending decisions Mike, Diane & Derek Irwin (our Winemaker) are shown tasting some possible blends of our 2005 wines. Let’s see what we can start creating for our customers for the 2007 release!

• We will continue with snail-mail, however, if possible give us your email as we communicate more often via email.
• Make sure your spam-filter is not blocking info@naggiarvineyards.com - in fact include us in your address book that way your computer will recognize us.
• If you don’t receive an email from us at least every 3 months – something is wrong in our connection – give us a call so we can try to correct things.
• Also, check our website for Upcoming Events.

Our first dinner under the stars- with Monkey Cat Restaurant

The Nevada County Association Wine Trail takes place on September 30th and October 1st. This is your opportunity to visit 13 Nevada County Wineries/Vineyards. Purchase a commemorative wine glass for $35/person (in advance) or $40/person the day of the event ( $10 for designated driver) - and come spend some time with the family. Enjoy grape stomping, barrel-sampling of our future wines, and taste our award-winning wines paired with wonderful BBQ Anticuchos (meat on skewers: citrus-marinated chicken, dry-rubbed Tri-tip, veggies & fruit) served with dipping sauces. These scrumptious skewers will be prepared & served by Grass Valley’s Diegos Restaurant.

Sit at our patio tables and take in the music of David Swart on the piano/keyboard – a one-man band playing “music for all occasions” while enjoying your glass of wine. A great time for everyone - don’t forget your camera!

Special Winter Promotion – Starting October 1st until January 30th 2007.

We know, we know – winter is a long way off, however, before you know it, this heat will subside and the holidays will be fast upon us. It is never too early to plan for your gift-giving during Thanksgiving and the Christmas season. To facilitate things for you, why not let Naggiar Vineyards help make your shopping for family, friends & valued customers a little easier and less stressful! We are offering a Special Winter Promotional price on our 2003 Syrah at $18.70/bottle (instead of $22) and our 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon at $20.40/bottle (instead of $24) – plus tax and shipping.

The spirit of old California lives on in the Northern Sierra Foothills. The people are friendly, and share a pioneering spirit that’s refreshingly warm and authentic. Come visit a wine country where traffic jams don’t exist, wine-tasting rooms are not crowded and visitors are still warmly welcomed by owners and winemakers!

Create a memory. Make plans to spend some time with us at Naggiar Vineyards and Winery. Located just 17 miles north of Auburn, the scenic drive offers vistas of graceful Arabian horses, magnificent bison, and natural beauty around every turn in the road. After your arrival, a family member will take you on a guided tour of our vineyards and winery, then treat you to a leisurely wine tasting experience among new friends.

Visits to Naggiar Vineyards for six people or more are by appointment only. Please call 530-268-9059 to make arrangements for a tasting and tour with your friends.