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Events 2008
BYOB Saturday August 2, 2008On Saturday, August 2nd we are going to be doing another of our famous Our prices $54 a case with your own bottles for one case, $48 a case for two cases and $42 a case for three or more cases. Bring a case of clean corkable wine bottles and fill them up with our Claire's Field Red. You can fill and cork your own bottles or we'll do it for you. If you don't have any bottles you can buy them here for $7 a case. Our cost. While you're here enjoy yummy food treats and listen to the wonderful music of pianist Frank Mendiola. When we bought this property in 1997 we thought it should have a name. We decided to call it Claire's Field after St. Claire for whom the valley was named. When all or almost all of the wine going into the blend was grown on our property we call it Claires Field Red. For some time it has been a meritage blend of our Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. We also sell these wines as 100% varietals. And, if it says "Estate Bottled" on the label that means we grew 100% of the grapes and made the wine here. Our other wines will also be available for tasting and purchasing. We invite all of you to come and enjoy this experience. Hope to see you Saturday. Tom Kruse Please email krusewine (at) aol (dot) com (Sorry not hotlink because of SPAM) or call 408-842-7458 if you have any questions. Please drive slowly (30) on Dryden Ave. There are kids, horses, dogs and people taking a walk on our road. Also enjoy our wine responsibly. Thanks, Tom
Claire looking around Claires Field .............................................................................................................. And a look at what happened earlier this year:“Planting the Home Vineyard”Dear Friends Great wine can only come from great grapes. A large winery with unlimited financial resources may have an edge when it comes to producing wine but it is on the same level as any modest but knowledgeable home vineyardist when it comes to growing grapes.
This is a very intense six hour class designed to acquaint you with the terminology and practical considerations of planting a vineyard. Whether you have five vines or five hundred, what you need to know to succeed is the same for either. This class follows an outline I have written and it includes all aspects of viticulture. It begins with the reason you want to plant vines - table grapes, wine grapes or aesthetically pleasing landscaping, and methodically goes through every step or consideration involved. Site selection, tools, layout, staking, planting, grafting, training, trellising, irrigating, harvesting and pruning are all examined in depth. Each participant will get a copy of the outline and other materials including a list of nurseries, vine varieties, rootstocks, planting instructions, other sources of materials and tools and the all important document that itemizes everything and what it costs to plant an acre of vines. Bring your best listening skills. Be prepared to take notes if you want. This is a class I encourage couples to attend. Class Outline - PDF-document. Class Fee $50 per person or $75 a couple. Lunch and handouts are included. Class is at the winery from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm including the lunch break. I hope to see you soon! ............................................................................................................... Cabernet Sauvignon Harvest
We will finish the harvest this year with the last picking of our Cabernet Sauvignon grapes. On October 13th a sizable group of terrific volunteers picked a good portion of the Cabernet - 14 tons! I think that was a record for us or certainly close to the record. Now the remaining grapes have increased slightly in sugar content and the additional two weeks of "hang time" will add to the complexity of the final mix of the '07 Cab. The grapes are absolutely beautiful and there is no question that they are vintage quality. Veterans of the Chardonnay and the Zin will recall some selective picking and leaving grapes that were not that good on the vine. We have 68 rows with 57 vines in each row. We have already picked half of each of the first 48 rows plus a little more. Now we need to finish. It is quite easy to pick with one person on each side of the row. That way you don't have to crawl through the trellis to get to the grapes on the other side of the vine.Two people can pick a half row in about three hours. If you can start at 8:00 in the morning or no later than 9:00
we will finish and then we will have a great lunch. The weather
is supposed to be cool, in the 70's, according to the agricultural weather
news I
subscribe to. While we are picking there will be water and soft drinks available in the vineyard. Our wines will be served with lunch. Everybody who helps all morning will take home six bottles of a delicious red wine we call Tourniquet Red. It is a Meritage blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines grown produced and bottled here. It is one of the best red wines in California, possibly the Western Hemisphere, maybe even the world. Things to bring:
If you finish your row early I may request your help with the lunch preparations. I don't know if this is an incentive or disincentive. On Saturday, October13th there were 102 wonderful people who showed up to pick Cabernet grapes. We finished about 1:00 and had lunch and those who could stay a while simply enjoyed the afternoon and watched they grapes that they picked get crushed. The most crucial thing was to keep the pickers supplied with empty buckets. The transporting and crushing of the grapes could barely keep up with that many volunteers. Karen and I have a wonderful time working with you and making the experience
a fun and educational one for you. Tom |
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| Thomas
Kruse Winery - 3200 Dryden Avenue, Gilroy, CA 95020 - Krusewine
(at) aol (dot) com (no hotlink due to SPAMMers) |