September 1, 2016

Another vintage is officially underway in beautiful Amador County and all signs are pointing to another high quality year. We have been blessed with four very good years here, and 2016 is shaping up to be another exceptional year. The season began with a longer than normal bloom in the vineyards, and apart from our typical July heatwaves, growing conditions have been ideal with daytime highs in the mid 90’s and nighttime temperatures in the upper 50’s. Simply put, Mother Nature has blessed us with optimal conditions for world class wines!
 
Harvest started with a small amount of Viognier on Wednesday, August 17th, which is about 11 days later than last year. The current weather pattern shows a bit of a cooling trend which will help tremendously with obtaining optimal physiological ripeness.
 
In the cellar, we finished bottling the 2014 vintage in June and are very pleased with all the new wines. The 2014 Vineyard Designates are stunning, and each of them are inherently unique just like the terroir of Amador County. One of the new wines that has yet to be released, the 2014 Grand Reserve Barbera, is a true show stopper if I don’t say so myself! Aged for 14 months in a brand new, 3000L untoasted French Oak cask, this is the purest Barbera we’ve ever made. It is silk-smooth, edgeless and unmistakably a true Barbera in every way possible. Only 50 cases were made!

We strive daily in our unrelenting quest for the perfect wine and to make sure each wine exhibits our high quality standards which always emphasizes freshness, vitality and drinkability. This is the winemaking philosophy we live by.
 
My letters never completely express our sincere gratitude to each and every one of our Members and guests. At Renwood, we are genetically programmed to make the best wines that we possibly can, to provide the best guest experiences, and to wholeheartedly be grateful that we get to share our hard work with you.

Kind Regards, 

Joe Shebl