brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.... gonna be a 2009 harvest?

It's cold in the Puget Sound (we had a low of 16 the other day - it's "warming" up to 32 today). It's colder in WA Wine Country. Walla Walla is expecting low temps around 3 this evening. With temps plunging and staying well below freezing this week, and probably staying there into next week, will there even be grapes for a 2009 vintage in WA?????

Probably, but it depends on more than just low temps. Vines do harden against the cold. Weeks of gradually dropping temps followed by a couple days in the teens won't be nearly as disasterous as the winter of 2004 when temps dropped 30-35 degrees in a couple hours (nearly wiping out the Walla Walla crop)

The Wine Press Northwest has some interesting perspective. In any case, there probably will be less wine from the 2009 vintage. http://www.winepressnw.com/wineknows/story/2364.html

Gifting from the Cellar

I was reading a posting from one of the Wine Spectator blogs the other day - about gifting from your cellar. The general idea was if you have a cellar, maybe this season it's a great time to share. Heck, if you have some interesting wine you've collected, maybe it's a smart holiday gift.

Many of us bought some great wines over the past few years, and chances are you're slowing down those buys (I know I am). The great thing about having a cellar is you've already choosen the wine... and it's waiting for you to choose when and with whom you share it.

Every bottle of wine you've bought has a story. Sure, some are a bit more mundane than others, but still there's a story. The'98 bottle of Napa Cab you picked up on a tasting tour six years ago would be an awesome present for someone... it's not like they could easily pick it up on their own.

Hey, if bottle of 2000 Bordeaux with a little note about how this was picked up in Paris back in 2004 before we couldn't travel with wine in carry-ons made it under the tree for me, I'd consider myself more than lucky (no, I'm not hinting... well, unless you really want to).

Me, I'm looking through the cellar and thinking of how some people might match to some stories.

I'm pretty sure I know what my dad's getting...