May Day

May 2010

The rains have continued and the result is the most verdant spring in recent memory. Frost season is about over and the 2010 vintage year is off to a very good start. We’ll keep you posted.

In the winery, bottling is the main activity – primarily for our custom crush clients. Evelyn is putting together the final blend of our 2009 Russian River Valley Chardonnay – another winner in the works.

Our sales and marketing team (everyone at the winery) has been an active bunch. We poured our wine and the local Fishermen’s Festival (Bodega Bay) and Apple Blossom Festival (Sebastopol); I visited the Denver/Fort Collins while market; Laurie covered SoCal, the Bay Area and Sacramento. This month is more of the same, with visits to Massachusetts and Wisconsin.

The big news at the Tasting Room is our annual President’s Club party, this year to be held on Saturday, May 15th, from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. Wines will be distributed, music will be provided, tri tips will be barbequed, many corks will be pulled, and a grand time will be had by all. If you haven’t been to one of our club celebrations, you’ve missed a darned good time.

Keep an eye on all the latest goings on at Taft Street by checking our Web, Facebook and Twitter sites.

On a final note, I happily report our General Manager Mike Martini has successfully completed a “procedure” correcting a heart perforation. He is back and is as irascible as ever.

Enough for now. Enjoy spring.

Cheers,

Mike Tierney
President, Taft Street Winery

Recipe

Pesto Popovers

Tired of the same old cheese and crackers to go with your evening glass of wine? Here’s an easy alternative.

Ingredients

• Butter
• 1 cup flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon pesto
• 1/3 cup smoked cheddar, grated

1. Grease a muffin tin with butter and heat for 10 minutes in a 425° oven.
2. Blend all other ingredients except cheese. Fill the individual tins one-third full with batter. Top with teaspoon of cheese. Cover with batter until two-thirds full.
3. Bake for twenty minutes at 425°. Serve.

Makes a dozen. Great with any Taft Street wine, especially Chardonnay and Pinot Noir.