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Long Distance Operator

Hello Friends,

Quick update and then I need to get on the tractor and mow like the wind. The generous rainfall has turned our cover crop into a veritable nitrogen-fixing jungle.

WINE SHOP UPDATE

We ordinarily taste by appointment and sell most of our wines directly, but in these challenging times we have opened our online wine shop to the general public and will ship these wines directly to your door. Please review the list and visit the shop at /wines

Currently in the shop:

2018 Bien Nacido Syrah (95-97+ pts Dunnuck) NEW RELEASE
2017 Adams Ranch Vineyard (95 pts Vinous, 94+ pts Dunnuck) NEW RELEASE
2017 Ledge “MCA Cuvée” Red Blend NEW RELEASE
2019 James Berry Vineyard Rosé (Counoise) NEW RELEASE
2017 James Berry Vineyard Rhône Blend (95+ Dunnuck) WINE CLUB ONLY

NOT IN SHOP BUT AVAILABLE BY REQUEST (please email us with a wish list):

2015 Ledge Grenache (95 Dunnuck, 94 Vinous)
2016 Ledge Grenache (94 Dunnuck)
2015 Ledge “MCA Cuvée” (92-94 Dunnuck, 93 Vinous)
2014 Ledge Dante Dusi Zinfandel (91-93 Dunnuck)
2015 Ledge Dante Dusi Zinfandel (NR)
2014 Ledge Vineyard Drive Red Blend (91-93 Dunnuck, 93 Vinous)
2016 Ledge “MCA Cuvée” (93 Dunnuck)


Don’t hesitate to email us with any questions.

We wish you all well.

Mark and Ciera Adams
Ledge Vineyards

She Sells Sea Shells

A skunk sat on a stump.
The stump thunk the skunk stunk.
The skunk thunk the stump stunk.

---

We know that all of the current craziness really stinks and we hope you are managing as well as can be expected.

We are trucking along and staying positive.

We will open up the wine shop to the public next week. Wine Club shipments go out this Monday the 30th.

In the meantime, NEWS!

Ciera has been working hard running the business end of things and making sure everyone's wine club orders are properly prepped.  Elizabeth is working on a variety of school projects from home and maintaining a healthy "cyber social life" and I've been working on pruning, building our nursery and preparing to shoot short videos about our wines and the vineyards that they come from.

This is also my favorite time to walk around the ranch and hunt for neat stones and organisms of all stripes. For example, I was delighted to literally stumble upon this volleyball-sized rock today that is loaded with shells. You wouldn't know it. The clams were almost completely covered in sandstone. Elizabeth and I took warm water, vinegar and a toothbrush to it and are excited to clean it up even further.

This is a perfect example of the rare terroir that we have up here at the Adams Ranch, old sandstone and beaches, where our neighbors have limestone, vertebrate fossils and calcareous soils.


A Volleyball Sized Rock Loaded with Shells, Found near the Meter-By-Meter Syrah planting.
Adams Ranch Vineyard (3/25/2020).


Elizabeth and Ciera at the Nursery, with the Lake Block (Roussanne) and Fin (Grenache) behind them. 
Adams Ranch Vineyard (3/24/2020).


Elizabeth at the Ball Field with the Orchard and Fin Blocks beside her. 
Adams Ranch Vineyard (3/25/2020).

Deliverin'

Greetings Everyone,

We hope this finds you well and somewhat occupied in these times of separation and uncertainty. We are organizing the house (game closet, pantry, office, shed, attic, etc.) and preparing for bud break in the vineyard. We are happy to report that wine has been considered an "essential" item by the State of California and Ledge is accepting and delivering wine orders.  We will follow up soon with a complete list of wines available for delivery, but do not hesitate to inquire by email with any questions.

Take care out there, 

Mark & Ciera

PS. We havent forgotten about sharing new photos. Stay tuned and we will update this post.

Electric Prunes

Hello Friends,

The vines have been pruned in their various methods (goblet, guyot and cordon), and we are collecting cuttings for the nursery. The cover crop looks great and is loaded with various clovers, grasses and legumes which will remain in place for a week or so longer when we will mow and hoe the vineyard. We are grateful for the rain and hope to get a few more inches this week. Photos to come.

Should you need wine at this time, please contact us, we are delivering - which may be handy as you are likely hunkering down like we are. Wine club will be processed on Monday the 16th, at which time the online store will open and the general public will have access to our inventory. Thanks as always for reading and stay safe out there.

Kind Regards,
Mark & Ciera 

Fly Like an Eagle

These photos were taken today and yesterday on the rancho. Her/his wings make a mighty loud flop. I knew damn well it wasn't a red tail hawk or a buzzard. It is a glorious bird and it is exciting to have this beautiful bald eagle around.

Details

Twilight on the Frozen Lake

North wind about to break
On footprints in the snow
Silence down below
You're beautiful beyond words
You're beautiful to me
You can make me cry
Never say goodbye...

--

Hello Again,

Quick report from our trip to Michigan: We had a few excellent wine dinners and caught up with a great many friends up there. We had one dinner at The Wrought Iron Grill in Owosso, and another at The Soup Spoon in Lansing. Thanks to all who participated. The below photo is on Reeds Lake in east Grand Rapids, where if you look closely you can see a light green hue. That there is a golfing green. I thought we were crazy playing tree golf back on the ranch. These guys play on this frozen lake and use ice-fishing devices to carve out the holes. Unfortunately I didn't get to play, but the visit was a good one and I look forward to visiting you all again.

Stay Tuned for Ledgefest updates and more. Our next update is March 4th. Bien Nacido is in bottle and wine club is OPEN. Email us for details on how to get the wines. 

Until next time, stay cool.
MCA
  

Have You Any Wool?

Get ready for a boat load of sheep and alpaca photos. These guys rule. Mom took the photo below. We were preparing our wine club offer today, so we need to put the sheep photos on the back burner for now. Rest assured there are many, many more to come. I'm thinking about starting a separate sheep blog with an emphasis on alpacas. We don't own them (they are here to graze for the season), but we are going to name them. I'm seriously thinking about doing a Barbara Walters style feature on every one of these furry fellers. Stay tuned!

In other news:

Wine Club opened today. Here is what we are sending out.

2018 LEDGE - Bien Nacido Block 11 Estrella Clone Syrah (95-97+ pts. Jeb Dunnuck)
2017 LEDGE - James Berry Vineyard Grenache Blend (95+ pts Jeb Dunnuck, 95 pts Vinous)
2017 LEDGE - Adams Ranch Vineyard Syrah Blend (94+ pts Jeb Dunnuck, 95 pts Vinous)
2017 LEDGE - MCA Cuvée Red Blend (Grenache, Cinsaut, Tannat Blend)
2019 LEDGE - James Berry Vineyard MCA Rosé (Counoise, Cinsaut)

There is still a little time left if you want to try to secure any of the above releases. They will sell out.

We'll see ya later. 
MCA

P.S. I see a Clive, an Elton and a Blythe. More soon...

LEDGEFEST 2

Every once in a while we like to put up rare bottles in the store for purchase.

The online store is open and has some surprises. SHOP HERE

The Ovis are coming, The Ovis are coming!

Next week we will have a flock of sheep grazing and fertilizing the vineyard. Baaaaaaa'd to the bone.

Photos to come next week.

Ledgefest 2 is April 18th.

This is a Private Ledge Vineyards Wine Club Event here at the ranch. Wine Club has priority, followed by mailing list. This will sell out, so jump on the club, or at the very least the mailing list if you wish to attend. Food, drinks, music, games and camping. Five dollars from evey ticket will go to Must Charities and we will be joined by our friends at Bristols Cider House and TDNE Brewery for some beverage variation. Etto Pastificio will be there to keep people fed. Kid and dog friendly, as long as your dogs and your kids are friendly. For more information contact info@ledgevineyards.com or leave a message at the number on the poster. RSVP notices will go out via email next week. Make haste.


 

Must Be Doin' Something Right

Vinous
Exploring All Things Wine
February 4th, 2020

Paso Robles Can't Stop Winning
by Josh Raynolds

Ciera and Mark Adams’ wines are delivering, by my estimation, some of the best bang-for-the-buck wines in Paso Robles. They draw fruit from some of the top vineyards in the region as well as from their own, 40-acre estate, which sits at 1,230 feet in the Willow Creek District and which they have been steadily planting since 2005. The style here straddles richness and energy, even in warm vintage, and the wines are deceptively forward, especially in 2017, which Mark said is ”a hallmark of the vintage,” while adding that “even if they’re less rich than the 2016s, they are still plenty big.” Lots of whole clusters are used here, which is no doubt the reason that the Ledge wines are typically highly and exotically perfumed, with distinct spice and floral character. New oak is always used judiciously, if at all, and I have never noticed it expressed in the slightest manner; on the contrary, even at their ripest these are always among the most elegant and unadorned wines of region, vintage in and vintage out.

2017 Adams Ranch Vineyard - 95pts
2017 James Berry Vineyard - 95pts
2016 Dante Dusi Vineyard - 94pts
2016 MCA Cuvée - 93pts

Please click the Vinous link above for full reviews. Click below to purchase the wines.

WINE CLUB

REMINDER:
The winemaker dinner this Sunday 2/9/2020 at Decker Kitchen is almost sold out. RSVP HERE.

 

Hustle & Flow

In This Issue:

1. Can't Stop Won't Stop
2. Getting Ready to Bottle Our First Bien Nacido Syrah
3. The Lineage of Ledge Vineyards
4. Get Your Rosé On
5. MCA Cuvée is in the House
6. LedgeFest is ON
7. Today's Photos From the Adams Ranch Vineyard 


CAN'T STOP WON'T STOP

Two new releases have been bottled already this year and next month we will bottle one more. A Decker Kitchen winemaker dinner is scheduled for February 9th. You best giddy up if you want a seat. They are going fast. Giddy up you say? Lone Ranger? No, it's the Rhone Rangers Paso Robles wine tasting event on February 16th at the Paso Robles Event Center. Will Ledge be there? Yes. Hi Yo Silver, Away!  Any Angelenos in the house? We love LA! California Wine Stars is an already sold-out event February 19th at LaBrea Bakery. Come at us oenephiles. Do you copy Michigan? Talk to me goose. We're coming for you February 25th-28th. Grand Rapids and beyond. Ledge is going to cover that mitten like a smitten kitten. Inquire within for details on February happenings.

GETTING READY TO BOTTLE OUR FIRST BIEN NACIDO SYRAH

It's as simple as that. The 2018 Ledge Bien Nacido Syrah tastes spectacular and is ready to be transferred from barrel to tank and from tank to bottle. Our first foray into Santa Barbara County, we will bottle 168 cases of this dazzling fruit juice in the middle of February just in time for our Spring release.

THE LINEAGE OF LEDGE VINEYARDS

This has been mentioned before, but we all know how long the current humanoid attention span lasts.

Look! Squirrel!

This is a very special thing for us, the source of our vines. We are working to perfect our message to accurately express the soul of our little enterprise. The Adams Ranch Vineyard (hence Ledge) was planted from Estrella Clone Syrah that originated from the Bone Rock terraces at James Berry Vineyard (hence Saxum).  The Bone Rock vines were sourced from Bien Nacido's Estrella Clone Syrah (and back to Ledge).  The triangle is complete. Our Block 11 Estrella Clone Syrah is our Grandparent, so to speak. Where it all began and where it is now returning. We couldn't be more excited about bottling up our grandparents and sharing them with you. 

GET YOUR ROSÉ ON

The 2019 Ledge - James Berry Vineyard Rosé of Counoise is in bottle and selling faster than fireworks on the 1st of July. This isn't a sales pitch, it's the truth. Go to the shop and buy now if you want any for Spring or Summer time. If Terry or Pebble are reading this, I've got some saved for you. For the rest of you, get it while the getting is good.

MCA CUVÉE IS IN THE HOUSE

Hailed as the "Value play" from Jeb Dunnuck, the 2017 MCA Cuvée is bottled but not available until we release it to wine club. This is a blend of Grenache, Cinsaut, Tannat, Syrah, Petite Sirah and Zinfandel. All of those grapes come through, believe it or not. We bottled less than 70 cases. Wine club gets dibs. Sign up for wine club here.

LEDGEFEST IS ON

Four bands, kid friendly fun, comfort food, Ledge wines, local beer and cider and more in the Field of Dreams at the Adams Ranch. LedgeFest II is a private extravaganza meant to say THANKS to our wine club, friends and family who have supported Ciera and my dream to deveop a small, sustainable farming project and business. Unless you know the name of my dog and where I hide the chalice of Nogramoor, you are unlikely to attend this event unless you click the wine club button here. 


TODAY'S PHOTOS FROM THE ADAMS RANCH VINEYARD

Now, for the visual learners amongst us, photographs!