YES! Summer Concerts are here!!

June 25, 2012

One of the best things about summer, undoubtedly, is the Castoro Cellars outdoor summer concert series! There aren’t a whole lot of things in life better than watching music outdoors while drinking wine and eating delicious food. Especially when you consider the entire series if 100% off the grid, powered by a Mobile Solar Generator provided by Semmes and co. Pretty cool stuff if you ask me!

As usual, we have an awesome line-up of artists this summer with one of the most exciting shows right around the corner. This coming Saturday June 30th we will be hosting Jon Anderson of the band “Yes” and AJ Croce, son of the late great Jim Croce. Both artists boast very impressive careers and are sure to treat all of those in attendance to a very special evening. All outdoor shows at Castoro Cellars are extremely intimate, giving the audience an experience that is all too rare these days.

It’s not too often you can sit right in front of the stage and watch musicians like Anderson who have performed on some of the largest stages in the world. Anderson’s former band “Yes” is widely acclaimed for hit songs such as “Owner of a lonely heart” and “close to the edge.”

The lesser-known Croce also has a very impressive resume including performances with B.B. King, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles to name a few. Although Croce’s father was quite famous, AJ has truly made a name for himself and has a unique style of his own. AJ Croce could turn out to be one of the best kept secrets around so I’d be sure to get a ticket asap if you don’t want to miss out on this great show.

Catering for the event will be provided by our good friends at Thomas Hill Organics located in downtown Paso Robles.

For information on tickets and upcoming events please visit our website at http://www.castorocellars.com/events.php or call 1-888-DAM-FINE

Cheers,

Luke

To warmer days and longer nights . . .

June 4, 2012

Now that we’re into the second week of June it feels more and more like summer each day. The days have been warm, the nights have been long and exciting summer plans that once seemed so far away are rapidly approaching! One of my favorite things about summer are the long, warm evenings. There’s nothing better than sitting outside with friends and family while enjoying some good food and delicious wines.

As a matter of fact that is just what our crew was up to this past Sunday while attending and pouring wine at the 9th annual Paso Pinot and Paella Festival. The weather was right, the food was delicious and the wine was flowing. The event hosted a sold out crowd in the downtown Templeton Community Park and those who were lucky enough to attend experienced something truly special; local food, live music, Paso Pinot and a sense of community. This year we poured our 2010 Whale Rock Pinot Noir and our 2010 Blind Faith Pinot Noir, both of which were big hits. If this is an event you want to attend next year, get your tickets early because I have a feeling it will sell out even faster than this year!

In other exciting news, our Grappa barn is coming along quite nicely (pictures below). The 100-year-old barn has a lot of character and it’s a lot of fun refurbishing the old structure so we can put it to use. When it’s all said and done this barn will be a pretty amazing space to host our still and make Grappa. There is quite a lot of work to be done on the structure but that doesn’t keep us from experiencing a great sense of excitement and anticipation for this new endeavor. Stay tuned and stay thirsty my friends!

Till next time,

Cheers,

Luke

30th Annual Wine Festival? Yes please!

May 15, 2012

Are you ready for the 30th annual Paso Robles Wine Festival?!? Well, believe it or not, even after 30 years we are ready! It’s crazy how fast time flies and how much this beautiful wine-growing region has grown. In just a few short days Paso Robles will be buzzing with eager tasters and all of the wineries will open their doors to share their delicious Central Coast wines. At Castoro Cellars we are honored to have been a part of so many Wine Festival weekends and we can proudly say that they get better and better each and every year!

This year, being the 30th anniversary, we have gone all out once again to ensure a wonderful weekend is had by all Wine Fest patrons. The festivities begin at Castoro on Friday night with our Red Hot Pizza Party featuring delicious pizzas from a wood burning fire and great live music by The Red Skunk Band. The pizzas are being provided by That’s Amore Pizza and will knock your socks off! The party will also feature barrel tastings as well as bottle tastings of current and select library wines. Tickets for Friday night’s event are available on our website or by phone (888-Dam-Fine) and are $37.50 or just an even $30.00 for our wonderful wine club members.

For those of you who can’t make the party on Friday night, no need to worry, there will be plenty of time to party and enjoy the beautiful weather at our open house on Saturday and Sunday. Both days will feature live music with The Belmores on Saturday and annual favorite Zzah on Sunday. There will also be delicious food and of course plenty of Dam Fine Wine. We will have barrel tastings, library tastings and all of the usual favorites. The tasting fee will be $5.00 or free for wine clubbers.

We truly appreciate all of your support over the years and we wouldn’t be able keep doing this without you. With that said we look forward to seeing you at another Paso Robles Wine Festival and if you can’t make it this year there is always next year!

Cheers,

Luke

Paso Pinot and Paella Festival!

May 1, 2012

The 9th annual Paso Pinot and Paella Festival is right around the corner and let me tell you now, this event will be amazing! Not only is the name fun to say but also every aspect of the name is something most of us enjoy . . . a lot. Pinot Noir is a wonderful wine and amazing with food, Paella, for those who have not had it, is one of the most flavorful dishes around and finally we all love a good festival (especially a festival featuring wine and food from Paso Robles). All of the Pinots being poured at the event will be from wineries in the Paso Robles appellation and I can’t think of a better way to taste them all than this great event.

Before I dive into everything that is wonderful about paella, I’d like to let it be known that I love food. I’m sure most people would say the same but I really love food, especially food that is packed with flavor, spice and creativity. Paella is all of the above and for this reason is one of my favorite foods. Paella, often described as the national dish of Spain, is both colorful and flavorful with saffron being a key ingredient. Although it is often served with shellfish, you can expect to see a wide variety of ingredients ranging from prawns and mussels to chicken and duck.

Representing Castoro Cellars this year will be assistant winemaker Sherrie Holzer and Sherry Sweeney from our tasting room. Together they will be pouring our 2010 Blind Faith Estate Pinot Noir and barrel samples of our 2010 Whale Rock Estate Pinot Noir. This is really exciting stuff considering our 2009 Blind Faith Pinot Noir won two Gold medals last year at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition and the Riverside International Wine Competition, resulting in the wine selling out shortly thereafter. The Blind Faith vineyard has been a staple for us over the years, producing great Pinot after great Pinot with the 2010 vintage falling perfectly into line. The barrel sampling of the Whale Rock Pinot Noir is also exciting because this is a first vintage for us from our 100% organically grown vineyard located near our tasting room in Templeton. All of the wines from the Whale Rock vineyard are coming along very nicely and this is a wonderful opportunity to sample the beginnings of a great vineyard.

The event will also feature live music by the group Incendio who are one of the most fun instrumental groups you will ever see. They have a great following on the central coast and play a wonderful mix of latin-inspired flamenco jazz. They are wonderful musicians with a lot of energy and talent.

Tickets for the event are on sale now for $65.00 with all of the proceeds going to Local Youth Performing Arts. Great wine, great food, great music and all for a great cause! For more information on the event and to purchase tickets please visit: http://www.pinotandpaella.com/

The event will take place on Sunday June 3rd from 2-5pm in the Templeton Community Park (where I learned how to swim as a kid).

Til’ Next Time
Cheers,

Luke

Gearing Up for Grappa!!

April 2, 2012

At Castoro Cellars we never seem to have a shortage of projects to keep us busy and one in particular has been circulating (or should I say distilling) for quite some time. That’s right, I used the word “distill” but why would I do that if we are a winery?!?! Well, because our latest project involves a recently purchased “Still” and a long time dream to make and pioneer Grappa on the Central Coast. For those of you who are not familiar, Grappa is made by distilling the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems (i.e., the pomace) left over from winemaking after pressing the grapes. Each year we have giant mounds of pomace left over from processing our grapes, most of which we use for fertilizer and landscaping needs. If you ask me, making Grappa sounds like a much more exciting way to use the pomace!

The first time I was really introduced to Grappa was in the summer of 2003 on a trip to Italy. My Dad, Niels, loves Italy (i.e. Castoro) and part of loving Italy is loving the wonderful foods and beverages they make so well. Grappa is a traditional Italian distillate and “digestivo”, meaning it is typically had after dinner to aid with digestion. Hard alcohol to aid with digestion? Gotta love Italian philosophy! Anyways, on our visit to Italy in 2003 Niels was thrilled with Grappa and the idea of making Grappa at Castoro. Naturally we spent a good portion of our trip touring Grappa facilities, checking out stills and learning about the techniques that make Grappa a one of a kind distillate. If you haven’t tried Grappa I would highly recommend it. The flavor of the Grappa itself is completely dependent on what grape varietal it is made from. The nose of the Grappa tends to be very indicative of the grape, with Muscat Canelli being one of my favorites!

We also plan to use our still to make pear and cherry fruit distillates. We will be planting pear and cherry trees on some of our property as soon as possible so we can make all of our distillates from our own fruit. Our winemaker Tom, recently attended a seminar on Grappa and is very excited to experiment with this new endeavor. Almost as exciting as the Grappa is the facility we plan to house the operation in. Our “Grappa House” will be located in a restored barn near our tasting room that is over 100 years old! That’s not old in Italian standards but it’s a good start for us! We feel this barn is a perfect place to make Grappa and house our copper still.

We really couldn’t be more excited about this dream becoming a reality and above all we look forward to sharing this endeavor with you. Our goal is to not only make Grappa but also to educate, learn and share the history of this traditional drink with the beautiful Central Coast of California. Currently there is an online petition circulating to encourage the state of California to allow craft-distillers to sell/taste their products at their distillery. For more info on this and to sign the petition follow the link below:
http://www.petitionbuzz.com/petitions/tastecalifornia

Cheers,

Luke

Dinner full of WINOs . . .

March 12, 2012

On Sunday night, Niels and I had the pleasure of attending a dinner in Sunnyvale put on by the Santa Clara chapter of the wine group WINO. For those of who are unfamiliar, WINO stands for Wine Investigation for Novices and Oenophiles. The organization was founded in the early 1970s in Orange County and has 5 chapters throughout the state. Each chapter holds WINO dinners once a month, featuring new wines paired with food and a good time. This month, Castoro was the featured wine for the Santa Clara chapter so Niels and I attended the dinner and educated the crowd of over 60 WINOs on each wine that was served along with a little history of the winery.

Many of the members in attendance have been part of WINO since the beginning and were very familiar with our wines. Some of them had even visited Castoro Cellars in the early 80s when I was but a dream and our wine was being stored in a converted chicken coop! It was a lot of fun hearing Niels talk with some of the people who had visited the chicken coop almost 30 years ago. A lot has changed since then but our philosophy is still the same and I got the feeling that many of the folks in attendance really liked that about our winery.

Since they have been having these dinners over 30 years, the event was a walk in the park and they knew exactly what they were doing! It was amazing how punctual and efficient the group was, not a single drop of wine went to waste! After the dinner we enjoyed a nice dessert coupled with our Muscat Canelli and let me tell you, it was delicious. As the WINOs finished up their dessert they made personal orders of the wines they enjoyed and submitted the orders on their way out the door. It’s really a great way to buy wine because not only were they able to try the wines with food, they were able to ask Niels and I questions about the wines, winery, vineyards etc.

All in all it was a lot of fun and I look forward to doing another WINO dinner again in the future. Nothing beats a crowd of people who love learning about and trying new wines . . . or for some, revisiting an old favorite.

Cheers,

Luke

http://www.clubwino.org/

20th Annual Zinfest March 17th-18th

March 5, 2012

It’s officially March, and you know what that means right? That means the 20th annual Paso Robles Zinfandel festival is right around the corner! Those of you who have attended in the past know how much fun this festival is and those of you who may be thinking about coming for the first time (you should definitely come) it’s amazing. Zinfest this year falls on the weekend of March 17th and 18th but the fun starts on Friday night at Castoro with our “All in for Zin” dinner featuring live music by the Brian Black Duo and a fantastic dinner prepared by chef Jeffry Scott. As expected, the dinner will feature food courses paired with varying Castoro Zinfandels. There will also be complimentary barrel tasting of our upcoming Zins for all to enjoy. Tickets are on sale for this dinner now through our tasting room and will sell out, so get them while you can!

If Friday night won’t work for you don’t worry, we will be celebrating this wonderful wine all weekend. Saturday and Sunday will both feature an open house at Castoro with barrel tastings, food vendors and live music by Sweetwater the Trio. To get an inside perspective on what to expect at Zinfest I spoke with our winemaker Tom and asked him what he was excited to share this year. He told me he will be featuring 4 different barrels for tasting, all Zins, and all a bit different. As of now there will be 2010 Primitivo (Italian clone of Zinfandel), 2010 Cobble Creek, 2010 Whale Rock and to freshen things up a bit the 2011 Primitivo. Tom said he likes to bring at least one barrel that is relatively young (2011) to show the difference and contrast between fresh young wine and wine that is approaching the bottle. I personally love to taste the difference because to me it really puts the art of winemaking into perspective. A lot of thought, time and care goes into making our wine what it is and this is one of the best ways to share that with you.

In our tasting room we will be featuring our current vintage Zinfandels as well as select Library Zins. When I asked Tom what to keep an eye out for this year he recommended the 2008 Primitivo as a wine that is really coming into its’ own right now and the 2010 Zinfandel Zinfusion as a wine that would be a great addition to any cellar. The Zinfusion, being fairly fresh in the bottle, will continue to get better and better as the year progresses making it a great wine to give as a gift or hold on to for a special occasion!

All in all we are looking forward to another amazing Zinfest weekend and we hope you are able to share this time with us. There aren’t a whole lot of things in life that are better than friends, family, food, music and amazing wine!

See you soon,

Luke and the Castoro Crew

“Pretty Cool Stuff”

February 8, 2012

If you’re anything like me, you likely often feel overwhelmed with the sheer amount of new technologies being released and incorporated into our daily lives. To be “on top” of the latest trends takes a lot of time, energy and patience, things that aren’t always in excess in our lives. From a business perspective, it is increasingly important to be at the forefront of new technologies and media outlets to provide your patrons with a true 21st century experience. As I have become more involved with Castoro Cellars I have made a big effort to connect with our patrons and build relationships through outlets such as Facebook, twitter and yelp. It has been a lot of fun, a lot of work and a great learning experience for me. It is really an amazing feeling to be able to connect with people all over the world who share an appreciation for the work we do and the wine we make.

In an effort to continue our journey into the 21st century I am proud to announce a couple new endeavors we have undertaken. The first is our brand new Castoro Cellars custom iPad app! For the past few months I have been working with a local company who design custom iPad apps and after many revisions and edits I am proud to announce that the app is available in the itunes app store and it is FREE! This means if you have an iPad (they’re awesome by the way) you can go to the app store type in “Castoro Cellars” and download the app for free. The app is very intuitive and features photos, videos, a tasting menu, event info and connects you directly to our blog. The app will also feature special offers and discounts that will be constantly updated! This is pretty cool stuff and it’s even cooler if it’s used, so if you have an iPad you should probably go download it when you finish reading this sentence (assuming your attention span is as short as mine, haha).

Another endeavor that goes hand in hand with the iPad app is the “Central Coast Wine App” for iPhones, and soon Android phones, that connects users with wineries on the Central Coast. This app, which is also FREE, connects users directly with Central Coast wineries, keeping them up to date on events, new releases and special offers. At the bare minimum users can take advantage of special discounts and offers at no charge or if they choose they can join wine clubs, read twitter feeds and share stories about their experiences. Once again, this is pretty cool stuff, so if you have an iPhone go download it now!

Till Next Time,

Cheers

Luke

Sunshine Brings in the New Year!?!

January 11, 2012

Happy New Year everybody! It’s actually 2012, and I can hardly believe it. I guess time flies when you’re making Dam Fine Wine, right? As we all know, each New Year brings new opportunities, new problems and new solutions. 2012 has already proven to be an eventful year, starting out with what may be one of the driest winters on record. If you’re anything like me you too have had mixed feelings on the unusually warm and dry weather we have been experiencing. One side of me wants to throw on some shorts, go for a hike and soak up the cosmic rays, while the other side longs for snow in the mountains and water in our streams.

Due to the dry weather we have been forced to water our grapes, something that is usually a rarity this time of year. Without water, vines can dry out and young vines can even die (something we don’t want to happen). To offset the energy needed to water the grapes we have undertaken a new solar energy project out at our Dos Viñas vineyard on the East side of Paso Robles. The solar panels being installed will power the well used to water the vineyards along with the home located on the vineyard property. This effort is part of our continued commitment to sustainability in our vineyards and community.

Another project many of you may have noticed is the replanting of our Cobble Creek Vineyard surrounding the Tasting Room. Having grown up just down the street from the Tasting Room I am very familiar with the property and have never seen it without grapes, as the vines were over 30 years old. The current view definitely takes some getting used to but in the long run replanting the vineyard was something that simply needed to be done. The main reason for replanting, aside from the age of the vines, is a disease referred to as dead-arm or grape canker. Dead-arm is a disease of grapes caused by a deep-seated wood rot of the arms or trunk of the grapevine. As the disease progresses over several years, one or more arms may die, hence the name “deadarm”. Eventually the whole vine will die and we definitely don’t want that to happen! The new vines will continue to be organically farmed and will be Zinfandel just as they were before. Unfortunately, the new vines can’t be planted until all frost has ceased, so when you gaze upon the vacant vineyard take comfort knowing good things are on the horizon!

As farmers we constantly have to make due with the cards Mother Nature deals us. When the weather is dry we take advantage of the opportunity and prepare for our spring planting. There is never a dull moment in agriculture! With a little luck we’ll get some rain soon and I’ll be writing the next blog from the lodge in between ski runs!

Until next time,

Cheers,

Luke

Happy Holidays!

December 21, 2011

This past Friday we had our annual Holiday party, and let me tell you, it was a blast! Castoro rented out the ballroom at the Paso Robles Inn and our wonderful event manager Teresa made sure the party was organized and entertaining. First off, the party had a 1920s theme, which was awesome, especially since a majority of those in attendance were dressed appropriately. There were also poker tables and a live band!

After a wonderful meal, Niels (owner/founder) took some time to thank all of the employees for their hard work and gave an extra special thanks to those who, as of this year, have worked for Castoro ten years and twenty years (Joe Mertens). He went on to tell the story of how Joe turned up for a job interview 20 years ago via bicycle from Cambria to San Miguel, after discovering the winery was not in Templeton! “I saw this guy ride up on a bicycle, and thought wow, this guy is hired,” Niels recalled.

All in all I can truly say it’s wonderful to work with such solid group of people who enjoy being around each other. We’ve all been to the dreaded Holiday party where everyone feels awkward wants out, well the poor employees at the Paso Inn practically had to push us out the door!

As we approach Christmas, Hanukah, new years etc, on behalf of Castoro Cellars, I would like to wish you all the best in whatever you are doing and wherever you are! This a time to be in good spirits with family, friends and loved ones . . . and maybe even a bottle or two of Dam Fine Wine : )

2012 is going to be an exciting year for us, as we will continue to release old favorites and exciting new blends and varietals. We continue to learn and grow each year and we look forward to sharing a new round with you all.

Happy Holidays from the Castoro Crew,

Cheers,

Luke

P.S. How cool are our new shirts! “Peace, Love, Castoro”