Raw Power

I am having a great time showing our wines to new and existing Ledge fans all over Michigan. Stay tuned for a trip recap coming upon my return this weekend.

Nov 28, 2018 at 7:01 PM Permalink

Kick Out the Jams

Harvest is all wrapped up and tomorrow is Thanksgiving. We here at Ledge Vineyards wish you all a safe and happy Holiday.

Pig out & Pinkies up! 

Please reach out to us and share your sights, tastes and stories.  We can be found @LedgeVineyards on Facebook and Instagram, and our email is info@LedgeVineyards.com

As for me, I am honored to be off to host several wine events in the "Wolverine State" aka "The Great Lakes State" aka " Water Wonderland" aka "The Awesome Mitton", you know, Michigan, where it is certain to be FRICKEN FREEZING MR. BIGGLESWORTH...

Seriously though, I am delighted to get back up there. It is one of my favorite places to visit, mostly because of the fine folks from this great state who have have supported us for over 10 years. Thank You!

I am especially excited for a sold out winemaker dinner at The Wrought Iron Grill where we will be pouring a 5 course meal with wine pairings (note - if you have tickets and are reading this, we actually shipped 2 more wines, so it will be 7 wines).

Thanks to all of you in Michigan for welcoming us. I very much look forward to visiting and tasting these awesome wines with you.

I have spent a decent amount of time in Michigan and am thrilled to return. The food, beer and spirits are incredible and the people are kind and genuine. I was also fortunate enough to experience some delicious Michigan wines at an event in Petoskey the last time I was there. I especially remember more than a few ice wines that were exceptional.

Thanks for checking in.

Bye for now.

MCA 

Nov 21, 2018 at 5:25 PM Permalink

Twinkle Twinkle Lucky Star

Levon Helm of The Band once sang:

Life is a carnival
Believe it or not
Life is a carnival
Two bits a shot

Sixteen years later Merle Haggard sang:

Twinkle, twinkle, lucky star
Can you send me luck from where you are?
Can you make a rainbow shine that far?
Twinkle, twinkle, lucky star

My mood is franctic, a little joyful about a fruitful harvest and yet worried, horrified and relieved about our many friends in South and North California who are dodging bullets one week and flames the next. Fuck it. Crazy times. The shit really seems to be hitting the fan as we hurdle toward 2019. If growing up in Templeton taught me anything, it taught me how to dust myself off, get up and keep kicking ass. What other option is there really? 

My folks tune in to this blog from time to time and I am well aware that they aren't thrilled with my salty language, but if you were to come out to the house for a proper hang, this is the language I use. Hell, it's the language I use around my folks (with the occasional reprimand if we are at the dinner table).

The point being - BE REAL.

We had a lovely, bountiful harvest. Every ferment finished beautifully. Here's a photo of a wine barrel.

Until next time ladies and germs. Be nice to each other.

MCA

Nov 14, 2018 at 7:00 PM Permalink

Restless Farewell

By this time next week harvest 2018 will have officially wrapped.

Our last ferment has gone dry and we will barrel down within the next few days. Whoop whoop!



To summarize, here's what we did:

Adams Ranch Co-Ferment: 95% Syrah, 5% Roussanne
25% whole cluster, wild fermented, barreled down into new and neutral 3-400 liter french oak barrels.

Adams Ranch Barrel Ferment: 100% Grenache
Destemmed and wild fermented in an open top 400 liter new oak barrel. 

James Berry Vineyard Co-Ferment: 40% Grenache, 30% Syrah, 20% Morvedre, 10% Roussanne
25% whole cluster, wild fermented, barreled down into new French oak barrels.

Bien Nacido Estate: 100% Estrella Clone Syrah
10% whole cluster, wild fermented and barreled down to 3-500 liter new and neutral French and Hungarian oak.

Rolph Family Vineyard Co-Ferment: 75% Grenache, 25% Syrah
Destemmed and wild fermented, barreled down into 3-400 liter new and neutral French oak barrels.

Rolph Family Vineyard: Petite Sirah
100% destemmed, wild fermented, barreled down to a 500 liter new French oak barrel

Rolph Family Vineyard: Zinfandel
100% destemmed, wild fermented, barreled down and combined with the remaining Petite Sirah in neutral 3-400 liter French Oak barrels.

One last thing:

Happy Birthday Mom, you're the best!

Nov 7, 2018 at 3:30 PM Permalink