April 24 - May 14, 2011

	Monday May 2, 2011 Tomorrow is my birthday so it looks like I will make another year. This last weekend was fun as we shared the Passport event with many friends. Our sales were down somewhat but our online sales are still doing well. Our 2010 Sauv Blanc and 2009 sparkling wine is ready to ship or pick up. We have sold out of our sparkling wine at this time. Futures can be purchased on the next lot so contact me if you are interested. Wednesday May 4, 2011 I am obsessed because I want to know who was worse??? They both died on May first........bin Laden or Hitler................ Actually Hitler probably committed suicide on April 30, 1945. bin Laden was evil also but Hitler was responsible for millions of deaths. bin Laden surely can not to accused of that many. So Hitler is the most evil. Thursday May 12, 2011 In the last 4 weeks many things have happened, some for the good and some for the bad. Obviously the worst thing to happen for us was the sudden death of Steve Wigmore at the age of 38. He evidently hurt his back and was in a great deal of pain so he went to the emergency and was supplied with two strong pain killing shots. He must have been so knocked out that he could not awaken when he had digestive problems and apparently suffocated. It just makes you realize life at any age is very fragile. I am guessing I must of seen Steve close to 100 times in the last two years even though he was not a full time employee. He was here everyday for the last two harvests and every day here he was so easy to work with even though Harvest can be very demanding. Starting back on April 14, Steve, Matt, Catarino, Salvador and Martha helped pack up 700 boxes for our wine club. Also later that week we disgorged our sparkling wine and labeled our 2010 Sauv Blanc. Steve finished his work and left on the afternoon of April 20, went to the emergency and died that night. He did not complain of anything for the whole 6 days he was here doing hard work. It has been very hard on all involved with David Coffaro Winery. The following weekend of April 22, 23 and 24 our immediate family made a trip down to Carmel to celebrate Easter. Steve was always on our minds. Then on Monday April 25 two of our best customers flew in from New York especially to meet us for the first time and they spent a whole week here including helping for the Passport weekend April 30 and May First. On April 26 I sulfur dusted the vineyard for the first time. On April 29 Pat's two sisters and three friends arrived to stay and help for Passport.....more rich food. On May 2nd Pat, Susie and I celebrated my birthday at Cyrus restaurant, a fabulous meal of very rich food and great service. On May 5th I sulfured the vineyard for the second time and on May 6th Pat, Susie and I went to San Francisco to visit Kate and see two Mahler symphonies. Pat and I were home again on Monday and Brad our web designer and his wife Dri arrived on Tuesday for a visit and more rich food. Yesterday I dropped Pat off at the bus stop headed back to San Francisco where she is attending two S.F. Giants games with her sister. Brad and Dri left this morning to head back home and I am home alone for the first time in 4 weeks even without Pat. Tomorrow I head back to San Francisco to attend another Mahler symphony and dinner at 10pm....more rich food. Pat and I will head back home on Saturday and will be without guests for the first time in 4 weeks, normal?....no because on Monday we head off to drive up to Seattle by way of the Oregon Coast to visit Susie. Matt and Cindi will stay to hold down the fort. Of course there has been many bottles of wine opened in the last 4 weeks, well over 50. I hope to survive the next two weeks but I don't know if my digestive system will. 9:00pm: Ok after some wine, I want to get into some positives and a little about the future.  Steve was a big part of why we made some great wines in 2009 and 2010. We will miss him. We are actually looking for someone to take over for Steve. It will be hard work so if any of you know someone who would be interested in spending 3 months, everyday under the tutelage of Matt and I, please let us know. It won't be easy!!!! I want to thank everyone here on the night of April 30. That was a night when all of our helpers came to join in a catered dinner by Catalina and a new Matt and a new Mike. I had so much fun with them all weekend, especially after we heard about bin Laden's death Sunday night. We had about 20 people who helped, including me sometimes, Pat all the time and our employees all the time. Catarino and Salvador could not make the evening event on Saturday, I think they prefer Mexican food and I understand. Cindi and Matt were great and Bill, Cindi's friend is a lot of fun. There were also Pat's sisters and Rick, Sharon's Husband who is more fun. Then there was Jim and Amy from the East Coast......more fun.........They looked like they enjoyed themselves everyday here. I'll never forget the looks in Jim's and Amy's eyes after a trip on the 27th. When they came back from the first trip ever up through the Redwoods down the Coast and back here in 8 hours, they were faces of joy. There were also Mike and Nicole. They are some of the nicest people to me I have known. I try to give them a few friendly digs and they come back at me but with only nice things. Last of all there is Duane and Kay. Kay is wonderful and Duane is a challenge. He has had more experience in the big world. He probably is the most fun to figure out. Saturday April 30 was fun, but all of us thought about Steve at times.
	Dave david@coffaro.com
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