Happy to report: It’s been a delightful harvest so far. We harvested our Merlot, Block 3, on October 2, followed by Block 2 Merlot on October 4, along with our Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot from Block 1 the same day. We returned Saturday October 5 and harvested the remainder of Block 1 — all…
Every year, as our grapes slowly ripen, we take fruit samples from the vineyard. Sampling begins generally in mid-August for our Sauvignon Blanc, and continue through our last harvest of the vintage, typically mid-October. The practice is simple, but time-consuming. A 100 to 200-berry sample is collected in a sandwich bag from each block being…
It was one of those special days of the year when, over the weekend, Juliana and I harvested a grocery bag’s worth of bright red Hungarian-bred sweet red peppers and brought them home to process. The process is relatively easy. We wash and dry the peppers, and then cut them lengthwise by hand and remove…
Things are moving fast these days at the vineyard. The reds are nearing completion of veraison, the Sauvignon Blanc is sugaring up, olives are fleshing out, and the roses are in bloom. Trino and I have been going through the vineyard daily to drop green fruit from the Cabernets and the Merlot, space out the…
“Wow!” It’s the only word to describe the pace of ripening this year. After a seemingly endless string of warm weather throughout July, veraison has started earlier than I think in any year since we started making wine in 2007. The Merlot is already about 40% colored, perhaps more or less in some blocks, with…
Thrilled and elated to share our new releases with you. Without question — the finest line-up of the membership we have ever released. Premier and Collector Member shipments (and advance orders of new releases) will begin shipping in September, weather permitting. The Crosby’s Reserve Club — our six-bottle wood box featuring the 2021 vintage —…
We installed three large vegetable boxes near our well in the vineyard this year and planted tomatoes and two kinds of peppers, both generally popular in traditional Hungarian cuisine — sweet paprika peppers (for Chicken Paprikas) and gypsy peppers, a brilliantly neon green small pepper that can be eaten with dips, stuffed, or used as…
Thought on Wine labels … So … I think we’ve finally gotten it right. And yet I hesitate to say that, since it’s been seventeen years of label evolution. I’m really happy with the labels now, and I finally think we have it dialed in, but it got me thinking. What finally changed? Why did…
Another staple growing up in NY — linguine with white clam sauce. This was perhaps my family’s most ordered pasta dish at traditional Italian American restaurants in the 70s and 80s — places like Patsy’s, Don Pepe’s. I developed the basic recipe for this in college, and it is cheap and simple — a box…
I love the San Francisco Bay, truly and with my whole heart, and I love this city on a hill where we are currently living, but if I’m being honest, I’ve never really loved the north bay, and I don’t know why. I guess a part of me felt that I was “City & Country”…
What we did here was adapt our original Brisket recipe and gussy it up a bit with some suggestions from Barefoot Contessa – notably, the addition of red wine and leeks. Some things I kept that I thought were important were the ketchup, vinegar, and brown sugar. We made 10.5 pounds of this lovely dish…
This Venison Chili from Miss Allie’s Kitchen is now my go-to venison chili. Even Juliana and the girls were super-impressed with the tones and flavors in this game-meat dish. The key is really the pinch of cinnamon and the addition of citrus on the meat – both are light touches that come through nicely on…