May 2009

Wouldn't ya know it? We're entirely sold out of all our Pinots. I guess Tulocay Pinot heads are just going to have to go back to drinking Romanée-Conti. Bummer!

March 2009

Our wine club has been an astonishing success. We're astonished because after years of prompting and cajoling by Tulocay's many friends and visitors, we finally started one. What it took was our friend Mickey (a.k.a. Michelle), who threatened to withhold certain — er — affections from the boss if he didn't get off his duff and do it.

Also amazingly successful has been our recession prompted, end-of-bin sale of the 2001 Sierra Oaks Syrah. In this time of economic challenge Tulocay is doing its part to (a) fuel the economy and (b) provide the proper means to alleviate the pain for those who have seen their investments go south.

And just in case anyone is wondering, despite the rumors Tulocay has NOT requested a stimulus bailout from Mr. Obama. In fact, after limping along business-wise for nearly 35 years in Napa Valley, we feel we have something to teach the likes of General Motors, AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, etc. Thus, we are offering to reveal to them our patented business plan for a mere 1/10th of one percent of what they receive from the federal government ... or at least a nice wine purchase of wine for their fancy-schmancy parties.

Is this fair? You betcha! (As a former vice presidential candidate would say.)

January 2009

We just learned that the 2006 Rancho Sarco Cabernet Sauvignon has earned a Double Gold Medal at the 2009 San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition. That's the good news. The bad news is that there are only 230 cases available.

Also, we are now offering our 2001 Sierra Oaks Syrah for half-price — just $12 a bottle. From El Dorado County in the Sierra Foothills, it is very French in style and fully mature. Because it is throwing quite a bit of sediment, we recommend decanting it or pouring it through a coffee filter before serving. (Sorry, no other discounts apply.)

Winter 2008

The boss has now bottled the 2007 Chardonnay and the 2006 Rancho Sarco Cabernet Sauvignon. He's choosing to hold the Chardonnay back till it gains a bit more familiarity with the bottle, but he's offering the 2006 Rancho Sarco Cabernet now for those who want to lay it away for the future.

Read the interview with the boss in the October issue of North Bay Biz magazine. The opening line:

Bill Cadman is a character and a half, with a quick wit and easy charm — and his wines have the same feel.

The boss? Naw... no way. I'd say "half-wit" and "down-on-the-farm charm." That's more like the guy I know.

— Skippy, Chief Cellar Rat

The Tulocay AVA Controversy

Okay, so Tulocay Winery has been in the midst of a controversy. Can you believe that? Tulocay? A winery that likes to make its wines "by the book" (heh, heh)?

Well, the controversy is not about winemaking. It's about wine place. That is, appellation. That is, vineyard of origin.

It so happens that a couple of guys have proposed that the area east of Napa city should receive its own AVA — or American Viticultural Area — designation.

While AVAs are good in terms of informing the consumer where a wine has been grown, the problem is that "Tulocay" is not the name of the area east of Napa. It's actually called "Coombsville" after Nathan Coombs, "who purchased the land from Nicholas Figueroa's Rancho entre-Napa, an 1836 Mexican land grant. It was out this parcel that Coombs created the city of Napa in 1847" (Wikipedia).

Tulocay, on the other hand, was the original Wappo (Indian) name for present-day Napa south to San Francisco Bay.

Today, residents of Napa call the area "Coombsville," not "Tulocay."

So why call it Tulocay instead of Coombsville? Because "We felt Coombsville sent kind of a redneck vibe," says Aaron Pott, one of the "Tulocay" proponents.

Does that mean such exclusive Napa Valley AVAs like "Yountville" and "Oakville" are also "redneck"? We doubt that winegrowers in those areas, who receive premium prices for their grapes, think so.

We here at Tulocay think an AVA for our area, from which we get our famed Haynes Vineyard grapes, would be great. But we think it should be called by its correct name, Coombsville, and not Tulocay.

Heck, we're a "redneck winery" — and proud of it! — even though we've gone by the name of Tulocay since 1975.

In vino veritas!

— Skippy, Chief Cellar Rat

P.S. If you want to read more about the controversy, check out the following online articles:

"Napa Vintners Seek Cachet, Profit With Labels" by Cindy Skrzycki from Bloomberg.com and the Washington Post

"Coombsville Wine Country" from calwineries.com

"Would you buy a wine from Hootersville?" from the Dayton Daily News

"Name dispute stalls new Napa AVA" from the Napa Register

"Proposed Establishment of the Tulocay Viticultural Area" from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau

Quotes from the film MONDOVINO by Jonathan Nossiter

"Where there are vines, there's civilisation. There's no barbarism." — Hubert de Montille, Domaine Hubert de Montille, Volnay

"I planted vines when my husband died. Ever since then, all this love inside me, I give it to the vines. I talk to them. I have an exchange with them." — Yvonne Hegoburu, Winemaker, Jurançon

"Wine is dead. Let's be clear, wine is dead. And not just wine. Fruits. Cheeses...." — Aimé Guibert, Winemaker, Mas de Daumas-Gassac

"Wine is an almost religious relationship between man and the natural elements. With the immaterial. It takes a poet to make a great wine." — Aimé Guibert