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Things To Be Thankful For . . .

With Thanksgiving just behind us, I thought it would be nice to express some of the things we are thankful for here at Castoro Cellars! There are many things we are fortunate to have but a few of these things stand out from the rest.

The first is our wonderful staff! We really couldn’t ask for a better crew (even if we drive each other crazy at times). A number of our employees have worked for us over ten years and some over 20! You really become close over time and I think that is reflected in the way or business is run. I spend a lot time reading over our reviews and comments on pages like Facebook and Yelp and I love hearing peoples’ stories about the memorable experiences they had at Castoro because of our staff! It’s one thing to make great wine, but without a great experience that wine will never reach its’ full potential. Our staff makes great wine and offers that great experience!

The second thing I wanted to highlight is our region. The Paso Robles appellation is truly unique and there’s no place we’d rather be! (Sorry Napa) Located directly between Los Angeles and San Francisco, we are close enough to both for a visit but far enough away to miss the traffic and population density. As for the wine, that speaks for itself. Paso Robles is producing world-class wines in multiple varietals largely in part to the amazing soil and weather here on the Central Coast. Close enough to the coast for cool nights but inland enough for warm days. Castoro has grown up with Paso Robles and it has been quite an experience to see the area blossom.

The third, but certainly not last, thing we are truly thankful for is the industry we are in. The wine business may not be as romantic as many think (we are farmers after all) but it is an amazing business to be in nonetheless. There is so much history in wine and we feel honored to be a part of the story. Wine really brings people together and of course goes really well with food and we all LOVE food! A handful of people shared with us which wines of ours they were having with their Thanksgiving meals and it couldn’t have made us happier knowing that our wines were being enjoyed and shared by many on Thanksgiving.

As more holidays approach, keep an eye on our website for upcoming events and specials. We’ve always got a lot in store for you and this year is no exception! December 10-11th we are having our Holiday Open House at the Tasting Room with all kinds of goodies, discounts and holiday sensations.

Until Next Time,

Cheers,

Luke

(The photo below is our tasting room crew after our “Cyber Monday” orders were completed! And a shot of our Turkey dinner wine! )

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Another Crazy Harvest Coming to an End!

Extra, Extra read all about it: “Niels Udsen, owner of Castoro Cellars, says the 2011 Harvest will be over this coming Thursday!” After 30 years of working the grape harvest in Paso Robles, he just may know what he is talking about (maybe). As I spoke with Niels this morning he told me in his 30 years working the harvest in Paso, this year was,”the most bizarre of them all.” “We started out this year with a late frost in April followed by an early frost in the fall, coupled with earlier than normal rains and very mild temperatures. The result of these patterns has been one of the smallest harvests ever in the Paso Robles appellation.” This is pretty crazy stuff if you ask me, but it’s not all bad and fortunately for us, our veteran crew is as capable as any in dealing with the challenges we are facing.

As of now, all we have left on the vine is a little bit of Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec. With a forecast of rain later in the week, we are ready to pick the last of our fruit and shift our focus out at the winery. As I mentioned, this year has not been all bad, the quality of the fruit has been phenomenal and in the end that is what truly matters. Despite low yields, our fruit this year has given us great color and great sugar content, both very important in the wine making process. As Niels put it, “People always talk about “great” years in wine, but I truly feel this year will go down as one of the best we have ever had in terms of quality.” In other words, this vintage is going to be good and it’s going to go fast! I personally couldn’t be more excited to try the 2011 wines when they are released, because diversity as we experienced this year is what keeps wine unique, exciting and endlessly enjoyable.

As we wrap up our 2011 harvest, we thank you all for keeping us going over the years and we look forward to sharing yet another vintage with you all. The wines this year will be worth holding to and will carry a story with them about a year that was like no other!

Til next time!

Cheers,

Luke

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