Today we had no one in until we thought about closing the gate about 2:30 and about 3 several new customers came in and one joined the Club, so who knows!!..........Tomorrow is the biggest day since bottling in January so we will bottle half our 2015 wines in the next 6 days.........I will have to taste many wines: this new bottling, and past vintages...........it is a hard job but I encourage our passionate employees to try these wines overnight during bottling but including my wife no one will chose to do what I do and taste 40 wines in the next 6 days. I am ready, finally the days begin.............

9:00 Pm: I have this vicious looking Bit bull dog around here in the last 4 or so years. He is a lot bigger than the usual bit bull so it is concerning. I have called the county and they say the dog should be pinned up so obviously that is not done by my neighbors so I am thinking about the owner and asking him if I can put up a fence. These neighbors are renters. I have to consider, that several of my customers have been confronted by this large dog.

Tuesday July 5, 2016

My daughter Kate likes less oak, She is still very young. She prefers 10 month aging over our 16. I am making a white blend this year and would like to add some oak, but maybe none. I respect my daughter so I may go for none since there will be so many varieties in the mix and I want to see if I can taste the complexity in a white wine like I do with our Block 4............

Today we bottled our 2015 Block 4 aged only 10 months. We also bottled our 2015 My Zin. I had 2013 Block 4 opened and it was by far the most complex wine and the 2014. 2013 has layers of spice character that the 2014 or 2015 do not have now........obviously these 2014 and 2015 Block 4 10 month aged wines need time for the spice caharcter. Wine is a mystery so who knows what these wines will be like next year. I tried a 2012 Block 4 a week ago and thought it is just coming around so time will tell.............2013 is king now

Thursday July 7, 2016

8:15 Pm: As always things happen in my life, many more than I have time to relate. Bottling info to most of you is more important so I will give an update on that and soon I will talk about other things........

I like the 2015 Italiano, some decent structure. I still like the 2015 Petite Sirah with good fruit and more tannin. The 2015 Zinfandel was a big hit for me and also the 2014. As some of you know I like to blend so 2015 Zinfandel and 2015 Petite Sirah are 100 hundred percent. They both had nice oak character so maybe that is why I liked them. I still think we should bottle only 10 month wines but I know I would lose customers who prefer longer aging. Tomorrow I may open some of these 16 Month aged versions from 2014, (several 2015 wines, 15 by tomorrow will have been bottled). Then I can see how they compare...........It is fun.........

I  guess there are faster elevators now, but to a 26 year old, it was an adventure I will never forget........................

Now on to dog problems I have with neighbors

also Renters in Seattle.........more later

8:00: Pm: More maybe later.............OK, tonight is a Friday which means a lot to most of us!! I still love working everyday, and hopefully help my brain work......

I used to think of Friday back in 1969 to 1972. I was working in the financial district and there were some nice young ladies then at the bank of America.............most of them in the Bank of America Building in 1969. As I have said to many, A few of us young 20 year olds were hired by the Bank Of America..........we where blown away to be the first people and first office for the Credit Analysis Department. We would do important things, I guess but I was more into getting off and talk to Stock Brokers, so much fun. We were on the the 42nd floor I guess. The Officers were on two floors lower, I think. These elevators: WOOOOWWWW

So if you were on the bottom floor and wanted to get to 42, it seemed like it took only 30 seconds. It would be fun to see if I was right then........

9:00 Pm: So I have several Neighbors about from 100 feet to I guess 300. This is a 10 to 15 acre parcel that is for one residence, no rentals BUT I have ignored that my neighbor who owns MANY acres around here and HAS a lot more money than I is choosing to rent to two illegal structures, very small AND have them allow 4 dogs................

I have put up with this for 4 or 5 years, These dogs bark, these dogs terrorize my customers by lunging at them and they shit all over our property in many places. So

Finally I contacted the county. I figured they had more important things  to tend to BUT I was amazed they have been working with me for over two weeks.

Interesting I found out yesterday the guy in the smaller place has only been here for a few weeks. He was so nice and said he did not think his dogs were the problem. I believed him so I handed him a bottle of wine.

It is the other neighbors..............long story

I want to end today with a high note. The 2015 wines are fine. One of these days I have to go back and see what I wrote last year. I am sure I may be wrong about several of our vintages but I am honest for that moment about what I believed in. 2014 needs time like 2012 did and 2012 Block 4 is finally beating out 2013............

That said, you didn't think I was forgetting my largest investment in the stock market, Tesla (TSLA). I subscribe to the site, below..........where very intelligent people are writing about the bankruptcy of Tesla, many articles every day. They are shorting the stock. I keep buying more because I love my 90D, Model S. but i do not believe in blind faith. No one can predict the future, but it is obvious, oil will be replaced with something................