Bruliam is Expanding in 2009

A couple of weeks ago, we listed some of the growth scenarios we were considering for 2009 and asked for your input (click here for a reminder).  A number of you did respond, both online and offline, which we greatly appreciated.  What did we decide?  First, we commited to a 2009 vintage for both the Annahala Vineyard (of 2008 smoke taint fame) and Doctors Vineyard (of super boysenberry and missing mid-palate fame).  While we're still working through some 2008 issues, we're very confident that both of those wines are going to turn out great.  Hopefully the 2009's will be just as good, if not better.

We've also decided to add a third pinot noir to our line up - this one from Gap's Crown on the Sonoma Coast.  Under agreement through CrushPad, we actually have to label this as Split Rock Vineyard , but rest assured it is Gap's Crown (we'll discuss this interesting nuance in a later post).  Split Rock, like Annahala, is managed by Premier Pacific Vineyards.  The vineyard is located between 320 feet and 820 feet above sea level on the western side of Sonoma Mountain.  It gets a great cooling effect from the ocean breezes coming through the Petaluma Wind Gap.  You can click here to get the rundown on the vineyard from the folks at Premier Pacific.

In picking to go with this vineyard, we did extensive due diligence (i.e., the best part of this gig: business-expensed wine tasting!) on wines from both this region and the Sta. Rita Hills / Santa Barbara region.  We ultimately decided to go with Sonoma Coast because those wines more closely gelled with our personal tastes in pinots - more subtle, refined, and red-fruit oriented.  Over the years we've had a number of wonderful pinots from this area and they've been almost universally delicious.  We also liked that the vineyard is located almost exactly in between our existing vineyard sites in Anderson Valley and the Santa Lucia Highlands.  Geographically, we felt that this gave us a great means of contrast through California's diverse growing regions.

So, we've still got a lot of work yet to do on the inaugural 2008 vintage, but we're already getting excited for the 2009 harvest.  We'll keep you updated on harvest events as we get closer.