David Coffaro Winery and Vineyard Winemaker's Diary 2006 Weeks 7-8

David Coffaro Vineyard and Winery Winemaker's Diary

Weeks 7 - 8

February 26, 2006 to March 11, 2006

Wednesday March 1, 2006
The Russian River Barrel Tasting is this weekend. Since we sell mostly Futures we are very busy. We will be open with 14 barrel samples on March 3rd through March 6th from 10:00Am until 4:30Pm on Friday and Saturday and from 10:00Am until 4:00Pm on Sunday and Monday. We will have some new rock videos on Saturday and Sunday, but will start with Woodstock at 10:00Am on Saturday. Chili will be served on Saturday and Sunday. Friday we will have cheese and bread.
Sunday March 5, 2006
7:30Am: It is pouring down rain and it is supposed to get heavier. Even though this is Sunday on The Russian River Barrel Tasting I expect we will have much less customers than in past years. Friday we had about 500 people come through and yesterday we had over 1500. Sales have been running 50% above last year for these two days. Last year we had half the sales on Sunday compared to Saturday, but this Sunday I expect much less. Either two years ago or three years ago (I'm getting old), it rained very heavily on the Sunday of Barrel Tasting, but I was surprised at how many people braved the rain and came out. I expect many people will stay home this year. We are prepared for anything!! We have Chili, wine and especially videos!!
Tuesday March 7, 2006
We are trying to recover from this past weekend. On Sunday it rained all day and about 600 people braved the rain to see us. I have heard from several customers that they decided not to attend so I am very happy. Overall our sales were up well over 50% from last year and we did not serve bottled wine. We went through about 18 cases of wine from the barrel, but we sold about 350 cases. Now I must decide what wines to offer for our Pre-Harvest 2006 Futures scheduled for the end of this month. Also I must decide whether to buy more grapes for this year. Right now I am planning to have only 3400 cases of Estate fruit available and that is if we have an average year. Almost everyone is predicting a small crop. Last year we consumed about 5,700 cases of wine, but produced about 7,000 cases. I say consumed because besides sold wine that included bulk wine sold, donations, poured wine and wine for our family and Library. I am anxious to see which wines sold the most over the Russian River Barrel Tasting. Pat will start putting the orders into the computer today. That will help me to decide whether to purchase grapes this year.
Wednesday March 8, 2006
I have some rough numbers for sales this last weekend and again the 2005 Block 4 was the best seller. To me the most surprising was that the 2005 My Zin sold double the 2005 Estate Zin. This year most of the grapes going into the My Zin came from other vineyards. What was surprising also was that all 6 of the 100% blends were last and most of those grapes were purchased. This is confusing: Do I buy more grapes??!!! Here are the first returns, unofficially (All 2005 Futures to be bottled in July, 2006). #1 Block 4, #2 My zin, #3 Escuro, # 4 and #5 tied between Terre Melange and Estate Cuvee. Real close behind was Petite Sirah and Fresco. Then there was Barbera, Estate Zin, Carignan, Sangiovese and Pinot in that order. The Cabernet was 13th and the Chardonnay was last. I really like all of these wines. We served bread and cheese on Friday. We served Chili on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was quite warm and sunny while Sunday was cold and rainy. I'll have interesting results for each day tomorrow. Pat has finished putting all orders for Friday into the computer. Today Steve and I counted all orders for Saturday and Sunday by hand, so we have unofficial results for those days. More tomorrow.
Thursday March 9, 2006
My daughter said she was confused by by the last paragraph in my diary last night. I have redone it, but I haven't heard whether she understands it now. I am trying to be a communicator, but sometimes I fail. If Kate says she does not understand it I know she is right.
Here are the unofficial totals in percentages from last weekend. Overall Block 4 had about 15% of the total followed by My Zin at 10%, Escuro at 9 % and Estate Cuvee at 8% of all totals. Petite Sirah was next followed by several others at about 7%. The Cabernet and Chardonnay were last, not surprising since I am not known for Chardonnay and the Cab is very young. What was very interesting is that the lighter wines such as the Chardonnay, Pinot and Fresco did real well on Friday when we were serving cheese and bread.

Dave

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	*Wednesday March 1, 2006* The Russian River Barrel Tasting is this weekend. Since we sell mostly Futures we are very busy. We will be open with 14 barrel samples on March 3rd through March 6th from 10:00Am until 4:30Pm on Friday and Saturday and from 10:00Am until 4:00Pm on Sunday and Monday. We will have some new rock videos on Saturday and Sunday, but will start with Woodstock at 10:00Am on Saturday. Chili will be served on Saturday and Sunday. Friday we will have cheese and bread. *Sunday March 5, 2006* 7:30Am: It is pouring down rain and it is supposed to get heavier. Even though this is Sunday on The Russian River Barrel Tasting I expect we will have much less customers than in past years. Friday we had about 500 people come through and yesterday we had over 1500. Sales have been running 50% above last year for these two days. Last year we had half the sales on Sunday compared to Saturday, but this Sunday I expect much less. Either two years ago or three years ago (I'm getting old), it rained very heavily on the Sunday of Barrel Tasting, but I was surprised at how many people braved the rain and came out. I expect many people will stay home this year. We are prepared for anything!! We have Chili, wine and especially videos!! *Tuesday March 7, 2006* We are trying to recover from this past weekend. On Sunday it rained all day and about 600 people braved the rain to see us. I have heard from several customers that they decided not to attend so I am very happy. Overall our sales were up well over 50% from last year and we did not serve bottled wine. We went through about 18 cases of wine from the barrel, but we sold about 350 cases. Now I must decide what wines to offer for our Pre-Harvest 2006 Futures scheduled for the end of this month. Also I must decide whether to buy more grapes for this year. Right now I am planning to have only 3400 cases of Estate fruit available and that is if we have an average year. Almost everyone is predicting a small crop. Last year we consumed about 5,700 cases of wine, but produced about 7,000 cases. I say consumed because besides sold wine that included bulk wine sold, donations, poured wine and wine for our family and Library. I am anxious to see which wines sold the most over the Russian River Barrel Tasting. Pat will start putting the orders into the computer today. That will help me to decide whether to purchase grapes this year. *Wednesday March 8, 2006* I have some rough numbers for sales this last weekend and again the 2005 Block 4 was the best seller. To me the most surprising was that the 2005 My Zin sold double the 2005 Estate Zin. This year most of the grapes going into the My Zin came from other vineyards. What was surprising also was that all 6 of the 100% blends were last and most of those grapes were purchased. This is confusing: Do I buy more grapes??!!! Here are the first returns, unofficially (All 2005 Futures to be bottled in July, 2006). #1 Block 4, #2 My zin, #3 Escuro, # 4 and #5 tied between Terre Melange and Estate Cuvee. Real close behind was Petite Sirah and Fresco. Then there was Barbera, Estate Zin, Carignan, Sangiovese and Pinot in that order. The Cabernet was 13th and the Chardonnay was last. I really like all of these wines. We served bread and cheese on Friday. We served Chili on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was quite warm and sunny while Sunday was cold and rainy. I'll have interesting results for each day tomorrow. Pat has finished putting all orders for Friday into the computer. Today Steve and I counted all orders for Saturday and Sunday by hand, so we have unofficial results for those days. More tomorrow. *Thursday March 9, 2006* My daughter said she was confused by by the last paragraph in my diary last night. I have redone it, but I haven't heard whether she understands it now. I am trying to be a communicator, but sometimes I fail. If Kate says she does not understand it I know she is right. Here are the unofficial totals in percentages from last weekend. Overall Block 4 had about 15% of the total followed by My Zin at 10%, Escuro at 9 % and Estate Cuvee at 8% of all totals. Petite Sirah was next followed by several others at about 7%. The Cabernet and Chardonnay were last, not surprising since I am not known for Chardonnay and the Cab is very young. What was very interesting is that the lighter wines such as the Chardonnay, Pinot and Fresco did real well on Friday when we were serving cheese and bread.
	Dave

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