When Will The Grapes Be Ready ?

2011 will clearly be our latest harvest of the 3.5 acre Toucan estate vineyard. We're hoping next week will yield the first grapes, but who knows. The fruit does taste delicious, small berries, concentrated - but just not fully developed and the longer they take - the more likely we'll be impacted by rain. The 2011 Carignane is late too. Again, maybe this coming weekend for the old vine Carignane (our forth Carignane harvest). I have also committed to new events in November, please put one of these on your Southern Cali calendar and join me for a taste.

Winner of the 2011 Where Did You Wear your Toucan Wines Hat Contest...

Congratulations to Alice for being the winner of the 2011 "Where Did You Wear your Toucan Wines Hat" contest. Thanks to all the players for their wonderful submissions, you can see all the entries on the Toucan Wines Facebook page.

As the winner and 2011 champion, Alice will receive a magnum of award winning Toucan Wines estate Zinfandel....

Toucan Wines -- August, 2011 Newsletter

Our latest newsletter was a little late in coming.... I hope you enjoy and always feel free to contact us directly at the winery with questions about our wines.

Toucan Wines Vineyard Shaping Up...

After a season of record rain, late frost, and mild temperatures - our vineyard is looking really good. Gophers were a huge problems early in the season and now we're working to get the squirrel outbreak reduced to a bothersome few. Green growth was excessive in those area of the vineyard that usually have more vigor, but the south facing slope, including the Petite Sirah is very well balanced with good fruit set. Fruit exposure in some areas maybe a bit over-exposed, but overall I'm pleased with where we stand. I expect that we're 2-3 weeks behind normal and with that delay we risk early rains and increased mildew pressure as we approach fall.

Gold and Best of Class Awarded...

I admit it, I'm stoked that Toucan Wines was awarded another Best of Class award, this time for our the 2008 Carignane, and Gold Medals for both our 2008 Estate Zinfandel and our 2008 Carignane.

As a result, we'll be attending the FUN Decanted event on June 25th, at the Los Angeles Fairplex, which showcases the wonderful wines awarded in the competition. Click here for tickets.

Cheers !!

May Newsletter...

I'm busy in the vineyard finishing up the suckering, but I thought to send you a link to our May Newsletter in case you're not on the list. If you want to join the list - click here

To order Toucan Wines - click here

All About the Vines...

Late April and I feel so far behind... growth on the vines seem normal, but the weeds and gophers are crazy. All this season's rain will make this an interesting vintage.

First things first, I need to take a first pass at suckering the vines. I usually sucker the Petite Sirah first and then the Zinfandel. (As a side, I'm working with a friend to document the growth cycle of the head-trained vine with the hope that we produce something educational for others.) After a couple of weeks I'll go back through and clean up loose ends (final suckering). Then, we need to weed, hoe the entire vineyard before the weeds become too strong, but not too early that we see another entirely new batch of weeds grow as soon as we finish the first pass. After that, it's on to tying the canes to the wire. Of course now the wire is higher, in over half the vineyard, and should prove to be easier to perform.

In between the above activities I'll need to spray the vineyard every two weeks. We'll use the hot days (hoping for more than last year) to rack and bottle the 09' vintage. OK, that's my to-do list... better get to work!

Wait a minute, I almost forgot - in our spare time we ship wine too! Call (805-474-8514) or email me (doug@toucanwines.com) with your order... or check out our website.

Fun Times, Hard Work...

I'm on break from working in the vineyard, so I figured I'd write a little update. This weekend is the first of many festivals we've signed up for this spring and summer, I always enjoy the customer response and feedback when pouring our latest releases.

Currently we're raising the one wire that we have in the vineyard to the highest point on each stake (picture). This one wire was installed to carry the drip line, however, its no longer the primary purpose. In fact, we really don't use the watering systems any more, but I do keep it working in the event we have several years of extreme drought. The one wire I referred to - we now use to tie-up the longer vines as the summer growth really kicks in. I know, its a hybrid head-trained style, and forced by the need to drive the rows to spray and mow the vineyard. The vines when tied higher oppose lower, keep the upright shape of the vine as the permanent arms grow.

Ordering wine from Toucan Wines couldn't be easier, I recommend that you simply call us at the winery at 805-474-8514... we can help you with your selection and make sure you're getting the best value! Visit our new Facebook page, and give us your LIKE !!

Spring Events, Tasting, Chores

It has been the wildest winter, but finally spring arrived and the vines have woken up welcoming the new season. The vineyard has never looked better and I'm excited to make grow and produce another vintage here on the central coast. We recently enjoyed a great tasting event in So. Cal. at the Vintage Shoppe in Manhattan Beach, we also enjoyed a wonderful weekend with family, and we've recently accomplished several chores around the farm. A few of those chores included servicing the tractor, mower, sprayer and other equipment, pulled a few weeds, and helped neighbors with fallen trees. Now that April is upon us, I'm getting excited about bottling the 2009 vintage, suckering the vineyard, and getting back to a couple of projects put off by the rains. Lund's shop (and our tasting location) has now closed, so for the time being tasting Toucan Wines will be limited to our special events and the wine festivals we attend. We've begun looking around for a new location to pour and sell our wines... let us know your thoughts! Another good time in April will be the Taste of Pismo, we'll be there pouring our award-winning wines and sharing stories with friends. To see our full list of events, please visit our events page or like our new Facebook page. Use these links to locate Toucan Wines by the bottle at fine restaurants and fine wine shops, and order directly from the winery and receive a 20% discount on any 12 bottles of Toucan Wines.

$1 Shipping in CA Ending Soon!!

Between now and March 31st, order any 12 bottles and get 20% off and $1 shipping in California. Standard shipping rates apply on all orders beginning in April, but the 20% discount offer on any 12 bottles will remain - no matter which state we ship to. Order Toucan Wines directly from the winery, visit our website, email me, or call us at 805-474-8514....

In oher news: I just returned from four very fun consumer events/pourings in Los Angeles, and at every event our wines were highly praised and enjoyed. Everyone was very impressed with the current releases and we sold a lot of wine to new customers. We also just finished raking the vineyard of the dead leafs and other material in the rows under the vines (I'm still sore). Our next project is to raise the wire holding the drip line, a project Terrie's been wanting me to do for a couple of years now. This will better position shoots that we tie to the wire during the summer.

We're sad to say that Lund's is closing after nearly 18 years in business, and I've been pouring Toucan Wines there for over three years. Thank you to all those who have been able to stop to take advantage of their going out of business sale. Many have asked where I'll be pouring our wines, and the answer is "we don't know". I'm sure a door will open and the right opportunity will present itself. Finally, I hope you'll take advantage of the $1 shipping in California this month and as always - let me know if I can help you place an order!