Anomaly Vineyards

It's our fifth harvest morning - but don't get confused, it's not 5 days in a row, it's the fifth "call" in stock speak, which I don't, so let me explain! The first day of harvest is truly the first day we pick the fruit off the vines and sort those little berries until we can sort no more and our eyes are bleary and we aren't sure if we are moving or if it's the sorting belt. Then the next time we pick is Harvest Day 2 (but it actually could be a week later - just depends on the grapes and when they are ready which is our winemaker's call - one of the most stressful decisions we think as once the grapes are off the vine, there is no more ripening, no second chances, no more, "hmmm, should we let them hang another day or two....." So we are on our 5th harvest day this morning although harvest began for us on September 17. Hope that makes sense! And now, back to the sorting table! Chantico.

Tomorrow is our third pick day. Want to guess how many pick days we will have? My guess (and it is truly a guess) is 9 - we shall see! My challenge has been creating a Facebook Fan Page for Anomaly. My first try ended up being a Group page which, I have learned, is NOT a Fan Page! So now I am trying to get our "groupies" (love that term!) to become our Fans! If you want to be a fan, you just click the Become a Fan button on the right side of this Blog, and then each time you log into Facebook and go to the Anomaly Vineyards page (the one with the little black logo, NOT the one with the silhouettes of the two people - they are Groupies) you will see photos, video, and just fun stuff about what is going on at the winery.

What is the diff between this Blog and the Facebook Fan Page - well I just don't know, but I'm trying to keep up with all the technology of the times, so I thought I'd be remiss if I didn't also have a Fan Page! I mean, dinner conversation always ends up with Facebook talk - and we want to at least appear to be with it!

Hope this beautiful Fall season finds you all well and happy! Chantico.

Today was (almost) flawless. Usually when harvest begins, we can count on a glitch - the power won't go on, the sorting belt has an issue, something.... But today, everything went smoothly. We brought in about 4 tons of fruit and hand-sorted it - twice: once before the destemmer and once after, We celebrated with a bottle of champagne and our the annual revealing of the Harvest T-Shirts at the end of a long day. Tomorrow we do it again (well, not the champagne part!). Harvest is here! Chantico.

The day has arrived. In 9 short hours (I'd better get to sleep!) we begin Day One of the annual Anomaly Harvest! We are all very excited (maybe that's why I'm still awake). Provisions are waiting (orange juice, cantalope, freshly-picked strawberries, grapes--the eating variety, homemade biscuits, coffee ready to be brewed), the scale is set up, the Weighmaster is ready (that's my job!) and now it's just the waiting until daybreak for the fun to begin. Photos and updates tomorrow (if the day ends at a reasonable time). Chantico!

We thought it might happen last week, then we thought--maybe this week. Now, we're thinking maybe the week after next. If you looked at our calendars, beginning in September they are free of any appointments, obligations, vacations, and anything else not directly related to harvest. It's that time of year! We are all pretty jazzed as it's been a great year for the grapes. The weather is now settling down (what gives with the 103 last week??) and milder temps are predicted for the upcoming week - maybe in a little cool drizzle - woo hoo!

Stay tuned as we once again enter Harvest - Anomaly Style!
Chantico!

You may not have noticed, but I have been "absent" of late. Our son got married on August 29 and for the past, oh, year, I have been in wedding planning mode! But it's over, it was wonderful, and I'm back - just in time for harvest! If any of you are curious about the nuptuals, click here - it's a video made by Jason Aaron Goldfarb (www.originalworksonline.com) and he is pretty fantastic. He's our daughter's friend and this was his wedding gift to them. Chantico,
http://www.viddler.com/player/9964d22e/

Dawn Gorman of Ohio! The winning slogan is: "If I've Only One Life, Let me Live it as a Cab" and the front slogan, also from Dawn, is, "Magically Delicious"

Thank you to everyone who entered the Dry T-Shirt Contest this year. There were many great entries and we always put them away for review for next harvest - and if yours is chosen, yes, you still get a bottle of our current vintage and of course a (dry) t-shirt!

We are about to enter harvest next week - keep your ears perked and eyes peeled as I may try to upload video so you can really get up close and personal - without having to get sticky or purple!

Chantico!

It’s mid-August and it’s that time – say it with me! What time is it?? WHAT TIME IS IT? I can’t hear you??!!! Yes, that's right, it’s DRY T-SHIRT CONTEST TIME!

For the Harvest 2008 t-shirts, Colleen Riordan of Georgia won the bottle of Anomaly Vineyards Cabernet with the slogan:
YOU PICKED A VINE TIME TO LEAVE ME LUCILLE. The Runner-up was Malcolm Roberts of Berkeley, California who won the front of the t-shirt logo with, "Picked, Pressed and Poured."

What will be the 2009 t-shirt slogan? Let’s take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

In 2007, the winning slogan was "Anomaly, It's More Than Just A Crush" 2006's winning slogan was "Cluster's Last Stand", and previous winners were Tanks For The Memories; Picky, Picky, Picky; and Think Globally, Drink Anomaly!

The winning slogan-writer gets not only a T-Shirt with the winning slogan, but also a bottle of 2006 Anomaly Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon. So put on your thinking caps and send 'em in. You can send in as many as you like, but hurry, harvest is just around the corner! Oh please, say it ain't so….! Send your entries to: Linda@Anomalyvineyards.com

Our Team Anomaly will vote on the winning slogan and the winner will be notified by email and by a snail mail package. The runner up gets the same prize!

Get those creative juices (preferably cab juice) flowing, and we look forward to your entries! As always, Chantico.

Last week, Joe Delia, one of our favorite customers, made the ultimate sacrifice—he and his wife, Terri, invited seven guests to a filet mignon dinner where they poured every year of Anomaly made to date - seven years for seven guests (well, nine actually!). He shared the above photo as proof as well as the following comments:
"I think you can tell from the smile on my face that we had a great time! Thank you for creating a truly outstanding product!!

The 2000 was considered to be the favorite. Silky smooth tannins and fruit forward, it was a delicious bottle which started the tasting off with a bang.

The '04 and '03 (in that order) were judged to be the best accompaniment to the dinner.

Best Regards,
Joe Delia"

Joe and Terri - thank you so much for sharing this moment with us. And as always, Chantico!

Well, see for yourself! The vineyards are thriving. We have been very fortunate not to have had any rain during the flowering period (sort of like the "mating" period for grapes!) so the little tiny grapes have begun to form on the vines reminding us that harvest will soon be here. Chantico!

Is happening over at Anomaly Vineyards? Why haven't you heard from The Blogger? Well, I'll tell you - we are here and things are good. We haven't (and I use the term "we" loosely - as it should say "I" but I'm too embarrassed to incriminate myself) blogged in a while, I know, I mean, "we" know. . And the reason for lack of writing is that our youngest son, Chris, is getting married and I am deep into wedding planning mode. Okay, that is not a good excuse, but it's the best I have.

Hope the Spring is treating you well and I will "try" to write more often. I promise.
Chantico!

So, to continue my "oh so informative" blog of a few moments ago....
The Meals on Wheels Star Chefs & Vintners event will be held this Sunday, May 17, 2009, at the
Festival Pavilion, in San Francisco's Fort Mason Center

Chef Nancy Oakes of Boulevard will once again lead the most illustrious line-up of culinary talents, along with the most celebrated vintners of Northern California - Anomaly included! Please come by.

Chantico!

Steve and I are heading to the Southland (read: Los Angeles) this Saturday for the annual Winemasters auction for Cystic Fibrosis. This event, spearheaded by Barbara and Allen Balik (genius organizers) is a benefit for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. It is held at Warner Brothers Studios and is one of our very favorite charities and events. if you find yourself in the LA basin.... please come to the event and stop by to say hi and share a glass of Anomaly with us.

In other Hot of the Presses news, Gerich will be pouring the 2006 Anomaly at the annual Meals on Wheels - Star Chefs & Vintners gala to be held this month - but Gerich, I need the exact date... .Gerich? Gerich.... GERICH....!

Til I hear back from Gerich,
Chantico!

Every year (and sometimes more often than that) we do an Anomaly Retrospective. Mark lines up all of the vintages of Anomaly, covers the bottles in brown bags to disguise the years, and we do a blind tasting. Not only is it fun, but it's quite eductional to see how the wines have aged. He even snuck a barrel sample of the 2007 into the tasting. I am pleased to report that we loved the 2007 and it ranked quite high on all our palates. Here's a shot of Seth doing what we like to call, serious work! Chantico.

So, yesterday was a big day at Anomaly. Our "team" of handy carpenters and builders (who, at other times also handle winemaking, marketing, tasting, and general frolicking about the winery) built these amazing racks that will not only hold our barrels (full and empty) but will allow for 360 degree rotation! See below for the "fruits" (well, that comes at harvest) of their labor. And Chantico!

It's that time of year - filing. I haven't done it in oh so many months, so I solicited the help of my trusted friend, Cosette. She looks as thrilled as I am about it. Chantico.

Linda loves making chocolate chip cookies - but likes eating them even better!

This is Seth, I think he actually is whistling while he works!

It's that time of year again, time to put away the red-stained, grape-sorting fingers and get out the baker's hands. Last night, each of us Anomaly elves spent the evening baking cookies for our loyal distributors (and yes, even the non-loyal ones, although we are fortunate not to have any of those). Seth made Mushroom Meringues, Gerich made Corn Flake wreaths, Linda made Chocolate Chip Cookies, and Mark made Pecan Sandies. This morning, we put them into baggies, packed them into boxes and off we went to the post office. The recipes are below along with a photo of Gerich at work. More photos to come! Chantico. The Anomaly Team.

Gerich proudly puts the finishing touches on his wreaths

Seth's Mushroom Meringues

1/2 Cup Egg Whites (room temperature)
1/4 Teaspoon Cream of Tartar
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
1 Cup Superfine Sugar
Cocoa
1 Package Melting Chocolate (such as Guittard Melt n' Mold)

Place egg whites in bowl of electric mixer. With wire whisk attachment beat on moderate speed until foamy - about a minute.
Add cream of tartar and salt. Continue beating at medium-high speed. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar every 30 seconds until all has been added.
Increase to high speed and continue to beat for 7-8 minutes until very stiff (15-18 minutes total).
Place meringue mixture into pastry bag with wide (1/2") tip.

Squeeze a dot of meringue into each corner of a baking sheet, then line with foil (this will seal the foil to the baking sheet).
Pipe out an equal number of caps and stems:

Caps - Pipe out 2" diameter rounds.
Stems - Pipe out 3/4" rounds with more height.

Bake meringues at 225 degrees for one our. Gently remove from baking sheet.

Melt chocolate. Spread chocolate on bottom of cap, then press stem into the chocolate coated underside of the cap.

Wait 30 minutes to dry, then enjoy.
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Mark's Pecan Sandies

Cream 1 cup of butter with 1/4 cup of confectionery sugar and a 1/4 cup of regular sugar. Fold in 2 tsp of vanilla and 2 tsp of water. Mix in 1 cup of chopped pecans and 2 cups of sifted flour. Allow dough to chill for better handling. Bake at 325 degrees for about 20 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar.
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Gerich's Corn Flake Wreaths

1/2 c. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla
30 marshmallows
3 1/2 c. cornflakes
1/4 tsp. (or more) green food coloring
red cinnamon candies

Melt butter & marshmallows over low heat, or in microwave (“MW”)* 2 min.on medium. Remove from heat; add coloring, vanilla and cornflakes. Blend thoroughly. While still warm drop from teaspoon onto ungreased cookie sheet or foil. Shape into wreaths w/ fingers dipped in cold water. Decorate w/ cinnamon candies (three per wreath looks good. Makes 25-30 when doubled. Best to make 2 batches rather than doubling ingredients.

*With MW, melt butter on med. or 70 % power. Add marshmellows and MW until softened (approx. 2 min.) med 70 % power Stir. and continue recipe as above.
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Linda's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup (1 cube) unsalted butter
1/2 cup (1 cube) margarine
2/3 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
3 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups good-quality chocolate chips
1 cup walnuts (optional)

Heat oven to 325. Beat butter, margarine and sugars in mixer until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla and beat. Add flour, salt, soda until incorporated. Blend in chocholate chips. (optional - add walnuts if you like them). Bake for 12-15 min. or until light brown.

We don't often punish those who work at the winery, but when we do..... we have the perfect place. And yes, parents, it's for rent....! Chantico.

Okay, this is not official winery blog-ness, but it is exciting news. Our son, Chris, proposed last month to his girlfriend of 6 years (yes, it's about time!) and she said YES!! Chantico to all!

Oh, the glamour of the wine business - just ask Gerich! We pressed out another tank of our cabernet yesterday, and as anyone in this line of work (yes, "WORK!") will tell you, the clean-up takes longer than the wine-making. Once the grapes were pressed, the Dieme (aka The Press) had to be cleaned. Gerich drew the short straw. See for yourself! Chantico.