Dear CCR, About that wine I gave you ....

Bottling the Estate 2012 "Merleatage"
a dreamy Rhone-style wine with
character, perhaps our best ever.

Dear CCR - The One and Only,

Together we founded The Bootlegger's Express. We didn't realize it at the time and didn't call it that, but we crossed state lines and brought wine to the people and the people were pleased.

It was June 2005 and I siphoned a few bottles of wine from the barrel of Syrah, our first batch ever. We drove this precious cargo to Las Vegas along with our products to exhibit at the INFOCOMM trade show and after each guest saw our document camera, LCD annotation tablet and cherry-wood lectern, we pulled out a clear plastic cup and served anywhere from a sip to a glass of that purple nectar. This, in spite of the unions, the inflated convention center wine prices, Joe Pesci, Robert De Niro, and Nevada's alcohol laws. How illegal was that? It was wine for the people and a way for us to show gratitude to our business partners who talk about it to this day.  We had arrived in Las Vegas baby, not leaving it, and after our work at the exhibit hall we crashed the Crestron Party held at the musical "We Will Rock You" and at the finale we stood up and danced in the aisles and shouted at the top of our lungs to Freddie Mercury's music "we are the champions of the world!" and the next day hungover with excitement as visitors walked by our booth we chanted in hoarse voices "We Will Rock You!" because we had rockin' good products.

You will be happy to know that both the wine - and products - have improved. And the spirit of the Bootlegger's Express lives on.

You knew Bluey the Australian Shepherd from the time he was a puppy and he was always excited to see you.  He was a dog, after all. I could never look at you the way some dogs and other men did - there are laws against such things since we were work colleagues - and though I would flaunt laws designed to thwart bootleggers I would never violate the laws of being a gentleman but I will say when we were at an exposition or a client meeting and you put on your makeup you were transfigured from California hippie into California beauty. Inside, you always had the most beautiful heart. And I am always grateful I was sent an angel to help our business.

When I wrote the story about Bluey's last days I said this is not a story about a dog; it's a story about us, and when I think of you and how you cared for your father your story is so much more noble. Your papa asked your mom, "Are you going to date another man after I'm gone?" Bluey had asked, "Are you going to get another dog?"

I remember you taking care of your papa and your "boyfriend" - as you called him but to us he was your husband - when he had cancer and that is so much more than caring for an old dog. You were a saint. You were such a great care-giver you even looked at care for the elderly as a career option.

If I summarized your memorial service it is this: You are Love.

For me, wine is love. Through wine and the inaugural run of the Bootlegger's Express, together we brought love to the people.

About that wine I gave you ... it is perhaps the best wine we have ever made. Here's how it came to be. I was visiting my dad a couple of years ago and he said, "I have this wine I want you to try. It's an expensive wine I usually don't drink but I'd like to share a bottle with you."  It was a Rhone wine from France, a 2009 Vacqueyras made from 75% Grenache grapes and 25% Syrah and the fruit was pronounced and it was the most enjoyable wine I've had from France and since we also grow Grenache I said "I want to make a wine like this!" So when our 2012 harvest came in we had enough Grenache juice for almost 3/4 barrel and to fill up the barrel blended in Tempranillo and when I tasted it after fermentation it resembled that Vacqueyras wine.

We aged it 19 months in a hybrid French-American oak barrel and when I heard the other week you had made the grade, oh boy, I was just numb.  I thought that was because we had lost Bluey recently and had lost the Queen of the Vineyard for a while - but she came back by the grace of God and CPR from the paramedics - and that my tears were dried-out but I realized the reason I've shown little emotion at your news is that I know you are with the Lord you love. In the fullness of time we will all understand "the why?" but secure in the knowledge you are comforted and healed, last Saturday was the day to reflect on your life while bottling, bottling the best wine we ever made. We're calling it "Estate Merleatage 2012"

Now that the bottling's done I'll figure out a way to get this wine up to Santa Barbara where it may nourish the pilgrims of your memory as they gather to reminiscence about the joy you brought to all the people you met, where ever you went, while dancing to the beat of African drums.

(Originally published on 5/17/2014 for CCR, the one, the only)

1st Shipment To New York City

Dear Wayne,


About that wine I sent you....

You mentioned the New York City wine distributor you know is also the owner of an Italian restaurant so I  included North American wines made from grapevines with an Italian origin. I purchased the grapes grown by Camillo Magoni who immigrated to Baja California from Italy. It is said the cuttings used to plant his vineyard were carried by suitcase from Italy to the hills of Guadeloupe Valley, just over the border from San Diego. We have made a 2006 Nebbiolo from Camillo's grapes that was to die for and I think there are 12 or so bottles left in the world. So it was in 2009 when we kicked into high gear that we contracted to purchase more grapes from Camillo, this time Aglianico and Montepulciano. What I have sent you is a bottle of each: 100% Aglianico (which we call Ugly Hanako since that rhymes with our daughter's name and I had trouble getting my Baja-grown Aglianico label approved by the TTB) and 100% Montepulciano (the so-called "Monty",  because I also had trouble with the TTB with that label if it were called Montepulciano from Guadeloupe Valley). Both wines reflect the tough character of the Mexican soil. Friends of ours have described the Aglianico as "earthy". The Montepulciano is less earthy: its color is lighter, cleaner. You will catch some fruit on the nose. Both wines would pair well I think with rich, hearty Italian dishes.  I will let you and the distributor be the judge. (For my taste, I find the character of the soil salty, although not as salty as your character.)

Opposite the wines whose grapes grew in Mexico is a 2009 Mourvedre whose grapes were trucked to us by Paso Robles Bill. Paso is one of the greatest wine regions in the world and we love the wines produced there and jumped at the opportunity to purchase her grapes. .What surprises me about this wine is its light color (it might remind you of a Pinot) and there are times when I detect the essence of strawberry on the nose.  This is a well balanced wine -- a bit more "fruit" than the others, probably the result of being cold soaked for over a week after harvest, and a slow fermentation that brought out all of the flavors. I have not met a woman who has not liked this wine. It pairs well with appetizers and lighter dishes. I'm curious what the New York distributeur/restrauteur has to say about it. I like it.

The final selection is a wine made entirely from San Diego Grapes.  This wine is still in a pre-release stage and I'm curious (and hopeful) what it will do in the bottle.  Our 2009 "Merleatage" (named after our Blue-Merle Aussie) is made from combining what were full French oak barrels of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Franc and Petite Sirah. We also had about 15 gallons of Cabernet Sauvignon as well we had to deal with (which went into the mix), and when I tweaked it, I blended in 10 gallons of our estate Tempranillo to give it more bite. Because more than 3 barrels of wine went into the mix, this is the largest lot of any wine we've made (about 80 cases produced). A reason for sending it to you and the distributor to try is that there is enough to sell, if there is demand. We opened a bottle to test after sending you yours and enjoyed it with the lamb roast I slow-cooked for Easter. The wine was enjoyable, and as I said, we are full of hope and expectation that this one will turn out to be "not too bad" and perhaps, even "pretty good" although not among the best we have ever made. (Those are too few to send to the distributor; we are holding those back for our best customers. However, we will soon start bottling some of the 2010 wines and there should be good ones among them and enough to allocate some to distribution.)

We have a few friends and fans alive and well and living in New York City who would love to be able to purchase our wines so we await your judgement and wish you and your friends an enjoyable tasting because our wine is meant to be shared among friends.