This is where I try to convince you to be entertained for a few minutes with little bits of fun from Sonoma –
Blind Tasting: 2013 Napa Valley Cabernets and 2020 Sauvignon Blancs from 5 Countries
Many thanks to friend and colleague, Keith Casale, who helped launch this inaugural tasting event at the Hydeout Sonoma. Also, thanks to Lisa Lavagetto for the delicious catering effort.
Sonoma Int’l Film Festival – 25th Anniversary
Opening night of the 25th anniversary of the Sonoma International Film Festival. Here, in Sonoma’s art deco Sebastiani theatre, artistic director Kevin McNeely interviews the “Lost City” film’s directors, brothers Adam and Aaron Nee. This was the film’s premiere, featuring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum (with a hilarious cameo by Brad Pitt) and the audience were roaring in their seats. One of the very best events in wine country, the festival runs over 5 days, 7 venues, dozens of fantastic films, and endless food and wine.
The new leadership of the Sonoma Int’l Film Festival for the 26th year: L to R, Kevin McNeely (Artistic Director), Bob Berg (Chair of the Board) Jon Curry (Immediately. Past Chair of the Board), Ken Wornick (Vice-Chair of the Board)
Sonoma grapevine bud break – 2022
What a cliché – bud break in wine country. And yet it is truly the annual renewal of life after a welcome and much needed cold rainy winter.
Chickens
New arrivals – over 30 new chicks who will grow up to be egg producers of the team of Dysfunctional Family Chickens
Five of us from Sonoma rode in the 75th anniversary of the Desert Caballeros horseback ride in the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. 100 miles in 5 days, sleeping under the stars at night.
Rain! After two atmospheric rivers in late Fall, it seemed the rain would never return. But in early April, a series of storms rolled through Sonoma. Here, the Hydeout weather station was so shocked by it all, it displayed 10.24 inches rain in an hour. Repairs are in order. But still, rain in any amount is welcome.
Exclusively for our blog post readers, in time for the winter holidays, Dysfunctional Family Winery announces the launch of our online presence – providing our blog subscribers with the first opportunity to purchase our wines.
Subscribers are being offered an instant 20% discount on all orders for the holidays. If you are reading this, you are very likely already subscribed!
Ready to shop? Click on this link:
Choose your wines, then enter this code for an instant 20% off: hydeout
The story of the Dysfunctional Family Winery:
It’s a simple premise – “we take our wine seriously, but not ourselves”. For decades we built and farmed vineyards and produced the wines for many noteworthy private clients – from Silicon Valley to Sonoma. From this experience we developed our vision for our winery. And now we invite you to taste our family’s wines, visit our ranch, and feel at home, relaxed, and ready for fun. That’s why we named our winery after all of our wonderful families – happily, humorously, proudly Dysfunctional!
Mock-up created for smartymockups.com
The proposed Dysfunctional Family Winery building:
Hard at work for over three years with engineers and Sonoma County on the permit process, we hope to be under construction soon on our winery building. The plan is to create a modest but state of the art building – where we will produce several wines – our flagship wine an Estate Reserve made primarily from our Umbrian red Sagrantino fruit, blended in with a few percents of estate Syrah, Petite Sirah, and Cabernet, the tasty and affordable Red Blend, the juicy and racy Rosé, and a few specially chosen client wines as well.
Why “Dysfunctional?” In a contrarian twist – it’s not finance. Not strategy. Not Technology. It is teamwork that remains the ultimate competitive advantage both because it is so powerful and so rare.
Before: the winery building as it sits today, an old 50’s-era barn. Not much to it and sadly not much worth preserving. We did our homework and there just isn’t any historical value. But we’ll be saving as much of the interior wood framing and wood siding as possible. The floor is mostly dirt and broken concrete. The two palm trees in front and the big oak in back will remain.
After: This is the winery engineer’s “artist rendering” of the proposed winery building. A crush pad and large rollup door to the east allows for easy transit of fruit and juice into the building. A small south-facing patio offers views of the Sagrantino vineyard. Winery guests will enter through the opposite end of the building on the west side (not shown here).
Remember: click on this link and use the coupon code ‘hydeout’ for instant 20% savings on all orders.
We look forward to answering your questions about all of our wines. Sometime soon we will invite our customers to visit the new winery and hang out at the ranch and join in our curated event schedules. Sincerely – Ken Wornick and the entire Dysfunctional Family Winery staff.
While firefighters fought blazes across the west, growers attempted to protect their employees from the virus with masks, thermometers, and testing while also protecting the valuable grape crop from endless exposure to smoke. The compounds from smoke can settle on the grapes and be metabolized into the fruit through the grape skins. In some wines, the effect will be little to none and the smoke is no cause for worry. In other cases, experts and trained consumers will detect the smoke taint in the wine after 6 months or so. Behind the scenes, most winemakers are saying that the frequency of smoke taint is overblown. We’re just not seeing detectable levels as wines complete fermentation. But no one wants to be caught pressing a narrative that could appear to be self-serving. Click here to read a detailed story on smoke taint from noted SF Chronicle wine writer Esther Mobley and this article by noted chemist Clark Smith.
Here are some photos of Hydeout Sonoma’s first few days of the smoky harvest:
Bringing in the fruit:
We managed to bring in great fruit despite the many challenges, and thankfully most of it looks to be free of smoke taint. But we won’t really know for sure until a few months from now when a) the lab test results are back and b) the wine is safely in barrels.
Processing the fruit:
This time-lapse video link below says it all: Click here for the time lapse video of the winery crush pad. Note that each white bin that arrives and departs represents a half-ton of fruit, equal to about 80 gallons or 35 cases of finished wine. I am standing atop the catwalk at the top of the frame ruling over my loyal subjects.
A 1/2 ton bin of Syrah waiting for the de-stemmer
Surprising news about what wine drinkers care about:
Grape growers and winemakers live and breathe farming and fermentation all year long, and many wine marketers wrongly assume that is what consumers want to hear about. But no, it appears that they are not very interested in how the wine is made or for that matter even how it’s grown. The top three important pieces of information consumers are after are 1) wine type, 2) flavor and taste, and 3) where the wine was produced. I suppose then a word to the wise – no more putting people to sleep droning on and on about farming methods, special blocks, blending trials, oak barrels, and so on.
Dysfunctional Family Winery construction news:
After 3 1/2 years of Sonoma County-required studies for a micro-winery Use Permit, we finally ‘turned some dirt’ and started digging test pits to reconfirm the building foundation requirements.
Excavator operator Jim Rong digging the test pit next to the old barn which will become the winery some day.
Don Whyte from PJC Geotechnical climbs into the test pit to study and report on the soil characteristics. We tossed in a Coors Light and a small dog and said “have fun down there”.
Happy winemaker:
Underway with my 21st vintage. My happy face and the bags under my eyes is a regular gift from the long days of every harvest. That hat on my head, my local gym, well, I haven’t seen the place since March.
Were you perhaps wondering who is this brave firefighter featured at the top of this post? His name is Dennis Wornick, and he is our middle child. He is a wildland firefighter with the U.S. Forest Service ‘Texas Canyon Hotshots’ based in LA. I am not certain where or when this picture was taken, but it was likely either on the Red Salmon Complex fire in or on the Dolan fire in Big Sur; and today his crew went into the Bobcat fire.
What would wine be without a label? (We do have a word for naked wine bottles…they’re called “shiners.”) Join me on a quick road trip as I travel to our wine label printer’s factory, MPI Label in Stockton Ca.After the wine team completes the brand identity, trademark, label design, and the required label approval from the federal government, the final artwork is sent to the label printer’s pre-press team. Then it’s time for the wine label press check:
Long before the wine label press check, the decision of which paper to use is critical – every option from bright white felt to creamy eggshell is available to the wine label designers.
Those are huge! After the paper type is selected, the process starts with palleted spools of 1-ton raw paper sitting on the press factory floor.
The press team will run a sample of our client’s label for the client’s rep (me) to approve, thus the term press check. Here, our client’s artwork, the Nunez Vineyards Napa Cabernet, is the approved ‘control’ label given to the press operator who must precisely match this artwork throughout the entire press run.
And this press check proof is for another of our clients, the DeAcetis Family “Sovare,” a field blend of Sonoma Mountain Cabernet, Sangiovese, and Zin wine.
After running through the 1/4 mile long press, the label paper emerges as a continuous roll of almost-finished printed labels.
Whether it’s Safeway, Whole Foods, or Sonoma Market, food labels start with artwork that moves onto large rolls of paper and ends up here, as labels ready to apply to the package, in this case, Columbus Dry Salame.
Here’s another example, in this case, many thousands of labels of a familiar brand of hand soap headed to Costco.
And a close-up of the hand soap label.
Bottling: after printing and processing, the labels make their way to the bottling line…
At the bottling line, new empty wine bottles are cleaned, ‘sparged’ with an inert food-grade gas which remove all oxygen, and then filled with wine.
After wine, cork, and capsule, the cut and spooled labels are applied to the wine bottles.
Palletized and stretch-wrapped pallets of wine head to the chilled fulfillment warehouse, and eventually to your home! In 20 short months, from harvest to finished product, your deep dark inky red wine is ready for delivery.
In other news around Sonoma – chickens, frittata, tacos, fresh produce, recipes, sourdough, art, walnut trees, and more:
Neighborhood kids visit Hydeout Sonoma and the Dysfunctional Family chicken coop during a home-schooling exercise.
On top of an alfalfa bale, Buff wins bronze, Orpington wins silver, and Henny Penny wins gold.
My personal favorite place to buy fresh-made corn “Azteca style” tortillas. Use navigation to find it!
Enjoying our homemade farm fresh tacos – brings a brief pause to the endless fires and virus isolation – here’s a good taco recipe
More mid-August produce from Hydeout Sonoma – this year’s various Zebra tomatoes are the clear winners – the green zebra is one this year’s favorites – learn more about heirloom green zebras
Hydeout Sonoma grew all the food in this photo…except one item. Can you guess? Where’s Waldo? (Yeh, it’s the watermelon). My favorite squash is the Pattypan. Small, sweet, few seeds, entirely edible with little waste – try growing some of your own Pattypans.
The Sonoma Valley Museum of Art launched a terrific new show, “california rocks’ just as the virus shut down Sonoma. This is a fantastic collection of photographs from many of the best rock shows in the Bay Area during the 70’s, from the Cow Palace, Winterland, Day-on-the-Green, and many more – see it online here:Sonoma Valley Museum of Art – ‘California Rocks”
Fires, again!
Oh no, here we go again. Last time it was the wind and downed power lines, this time it was ferocious lighting strikes, a rarity in NorCal. This was the start of it, as viewed from Hydeout looking east over Arrowhead Mountain toward Napa Valley over the hill.
And a few days later…this is a view of the Hennessey / Soda Canyon LNU complex fire in Napa, as viewed around noon from the Hydeout in Sonoma.
80-year old Walnut trees harvested for fine furniture:
A friend and neighbor down the street prepares to take down two huge and dying 80-year old Walnut trees…
In a few short hours, the crew has the bulk of the tree on the ground. This piece was estimated to weigh in excess of 3 tons.
Large pieces of exotic Walnut will easily make in excess of $100,000 of furniture. These particular raw chunks will be slabbed on a huge band saw and dried for 3-5 years at my friend Evan Shively’s mill in Marshall – go to this website and watch this incredible drone video –Evan Shively’s famous wood mill in Marshall, called “Arborica”
This very heavy 20-disc hydraulic-ram implement is for sale. Reply with best offer, let’s make a deal!
Some weird naked cowboy in a wine barrel snuck into this blog post. Thank you artist, renaissance man, and good friend Jock McDonald – see his website here –https://www.jockmcdonald.com
Hydeout Sonoma was selected by one of the arms of the historic Sebastiani wine family to return two iconic vineyards to their former glory. But it almost takes a secret Sonoma decoder ring to explain the vaunted family history, players, vineyards, and wines. More on that later. Let’s start with the work in process…
“Los Liones” vineyard block: Hydeout Sonoma was tasked with the complete renovation of this famous vineyard. Here is an abbreviated one-year pictorial essay following the reborn “Los Liones” vineyard, from raw land to completed vineyard:
“Stone Fruit Square” block: We then cast our eyes on the equally iconic “Stone Fruit Square” vineyard just east of downtown Sonoma at the intersection of Lovall Valley Road and Gehricke Road. This 25-year old quadrilateral-trained Cabernet vineyard was once a part of the renowned ‘Cherryblock’ vineyard. Now, a piece of the famed ‘block’ has been segregated away and re-named “Stone Fruit Square” (this is August’s terrific play on words!). This fruit is also destined for the “Gehricke” ‘Upper Eastside’ label.
Now, the rest of the story…
Don and Nancy Sebastiani are the 3rd generation owners of the “Los Liones” vineyard. Their children,Donny, August, and Mia all have their hands in interesting wine country ventures. Fruit from the “Los Liones” vineyard once went into a small production red wine called Subterra. Mia’s husband, Kendrick Coakley, along with his local friends, made a beautiful red wine from the “Los Liones” block. When 3Badge CFO Keith Casale handed me a bottle of Subterra, I opened it with some noteworthy Silicon Valley execs who have impeccable wine cred. They joined me in becoming immediate customers of Subterra.
But old age took down the original 1960’s era “Los Liones” vineyard and a replanting plan was set in motion last year (as you read about above). In parallel, we shifted the farming of the “Stone Fruit Square” vineyard from commercial mechanized farming to hand-cultivated farming. We intend to deliver deeper darker fruit as a result. August is the founder of 3Badge Beverage Corp. which is located in the former ‘firehouse’at the corner of Broadway and Patten and the company “3Badge” is named in honor of family members who once held positions in the police and fire departments. Fruit from the “Los Liones” and “Stone Fruit Square” vineyard blocks will be combined under the Gehricke label as a ‘vineyard designate’ called “Upper East Side” (as both vineyards are located in the swanky upper eastside neighborhood of Sonoma town).
Hydeout Sonoma will continue to develop and farm these iconic vineyard blocks. And we’ll do our best to bring forth fruit that will assure that the “Gehricke” ‘Upper East Side’ vineyard designates continue their iconic reputation.
Additional vineyard notes (for those who just can’t get enough technical info):
“Los Liones” vineyard:
Plant type – Ubervine from Novavine
Variety – Cabernet Sauvignon
Clone: VCR 198.1 (proprietary selection from Vivai Cooperativo Raucedo via Foundation Plant Material Services at UC Davis)
Rootstock: 110R (berlandieri x rupestris, medium vigor, loves hillside gravelly soils)
Vine architecture: bi-lateral cordon (moving toward cane-and-spur in year +/- 5)
Farming: 100% organic, irrigated during youth, moving toward deficit irrigation
“Stone Fruit Square” vineyard:
Planting – old school 1960’s plant canopy and spacing
Variety – Cabernet Sauvignon
Clones: Various
Rootstock: St George (‘terra rosa’ volcanic soil)
Vine architecture: quadrilateral cordon
Farming: 100% organic, deficit irrigated and/or dry farmed depending on the year
A final thought: We are in a time of terrible upset in our great country. It seems as if everything is politicized and polarized. We at Hydeout Sonoma takes very seriously the issues we are all confronting. But our blog post is not the forum for otherwise welcome debate. Still, we hope for health, peace, and liberty for all.
What can a winemaker do to ease the shelter in place burden? Hand deliver wine, of course. Members of our growing ‘Dysfunctional Family’ wine community receive their bottles of wine, sometimes in a direct handoff, sometimes over the fence. This was in early April 2020 before masks and gloves! And it’s also a photo travelogue of sorts from around Sonoma. Enjoy:
In other ranch and grape news around Sonoma Valley…
Renowned beekeeper and Hydeout Sonoma neighbor Chere Pafford finds a large drone honey bee napping on our driveway. A drone is a male bee that is the product of an unfertilized egg. Drones have bigger eyes and lack stingers. They cannot help defend the hive and they do not have the body parts to collect pollen or nectar, so they cannot contribute to feeding the community. The drone’s only job is to mate with the queen. Link: Sonoma Honey Bees
From the first clutch of wild turkey babies this season, we saw this one (and its 8 siblings) hiding in the brush under an olive tree waiting for its mother to return to collect them all. It’s not safe for them to wander around in the open while the Red Tail hawks are around. Link: all about wild turkeys
Bud break at the Dysfunctional Family estate vineyard, just after mowing the yellow mustard which had gone to seed. We’ll be launching our ubiquitous Dysfunctional Family wines – a Sagrantino-based ‘Estate Reserve’ and the Sonoma Valley ‘Red Blend’ – just as soon as the County lets us convert the old white barn into a functional winery. That story will be told in it’s entirety some day…
Client and friend Steve R. brings out the big gun (his old but very well maintained Kubota with the rear excavator attachment) to help us locate an irrigation supply line in his vineyard. He’s growing Cab Franc and Merlot here on Sonoma Mountain. Steve’s “Octagon” Morning Mountainside label is only available directly from the estate.
Famed photographer and Sonoma friend Jock McDonald makes an appearance dressed as if there was end-of-the-virus party. But no, we were just social distancing. Thankfully, it didn’t end up like the pre-virus visit with Jock naked in the pool and the rest of us trying not to look! Hah. https://www.jockmcdonald.com
