Newsletters & Notes

Four Kings Vertical Tasting

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Last month we shared a special treat with our tasting room visitors – a four year vertical tasting of our legendary Four Kings Bordeaux-style blend. We pulled the 2005, 2006 and 2008 vintages out of the vault and poured them alongside our current vintage 2009. We had many happy tasters – and some visitors who came prepared with their own chocolate! Our tasting notes below. If you’ve been doing some Four Kings tasting, please share your notes to Kelly at kelly@meekerwine.com and we’ll update this post!

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2005 Four Kings

The 2005 has been a show-stopper since the day we released it – and after considering our notes carefully, we think this might still be getting better. The first thing that comes to mind is dark chocolate covered cherries – deep, chewy tannins, big fruit and cocoa flavors and just the right touch of vanilla. The muscular smoky tannins have softened and rounded out with time – but this monster wine probably still has 2-3 years of steady improvement on the horizon, and likely another decade of drinking very well, if not longer.

2006 Four Kings

The 2006 has a very Cabernet-Sauvignon-like flavor profile, with leather and nutmeg on the nose and big tannins on the palate. This wine shows off its lingering acidity and laughs in the face of flabby, sweet table wines. This wine has 3-5 years of improvement to go – getting richer and rounder every year, and will drink very well for years after that.

2008 Four Kings

This wine, like the 2006, features a very Cabernet Sauvignon flavor profile – with leather, soil and spice on the nose and palate, and a bright acidity that keeps the wine tasting fresh. There’s a hint of smoky oak and a lingering fruitiness that catches your interest and keeps you coming back for more.

2009 Four Kings

The 2009 is the most complex of the four we tasted, and it is still very, very young. It’s bright, fruit forward and tannic – with brambles in its soul and  flavors of sage, rosemary and the rich earth they grown in. This is a muscular wine – and one with miles to go before it sleeps.

1984 Meeker Zin lands in the hands of a local wine collector

Lucas was recently contacted by wine collector, Phillip Pasqualino in Oakland, about a unique find. After responding to an ad on Craigslist about 50 bottles of “old wine” someone had been storing, Phillip drove to San Ramon to pick up the load. The Craigslist poster ended up just giving him the bottles for the trouble of driving out to his home.

Here is one of the bottles he found:

1984 Zin

We cannot wait to hear how the wine faired after all this time. This happens to be the year I was born, so in my mind, it was a good year. According to the Decanter Vintage Guide, 1984 was rated 4 out of 5 stars, and wines from this vintage should be opened now. What good timing for Phillip!

Harvest Wrap-Up from Charlie

The rain forecast mentioned in my previous harvest report (Saturday, Oct. 20 – “A Tsunami of Great Grapes”) arrived as predicted on Monday, Oct. 22, and stayed around, off and on, for about three days.  Fortunately temperatures also remained cool, which discouraged any rapid growth of botrytis mold and the like.  Then later in the week the weather turned dry and much warmer, which has allowed the harvest to move quickly toward completion.

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Since my earlier report, we have received and crushed 18 tons of excellent quality Dry Creek Zinfandel (compared with 10 tons from the same vineyard last year), three tons of Dry Creek Grenache.  Lucas also received and crushed two plus tons of Dry Creek grapes for his Lucas J. Cellars Archaic blend (approximately equal quantities of Zinfandel, Petite Sirah, Grenache and Carignane), which will be co-fermented together.  At this point (October 29th) we’re preetty much finished with taking in and crushing more grapes this year, with the possible exception of some Knight’s Valley Petit Verdot.  But that’s not the end of harvest work!

Every fermentation tank in the winery is filled with grapes or juice, as are also virtually all of our smaller open-top fermentation “T-bins”.  We like to cold soak our reds for a while before starting fermentation, so not all of the tanks are fermenting yet.  For us the whole process of cold soaking, fermentation at cool termperatures, post-fermentation masceration, pressing, and barreling down the new wine will keep us quite busy until early next year.

All of us at the winery (Brian, Tyler, Ricardo, Chippie, Sara, Lucas, Molly and me) are excited with what we’ve seen, smelled and tasted so far.  We’re very optimistic that this will be an excellent vintage.

This year we’ve enjoyed giving a number of our Tribe members harvest-time tours of the winery, so if you’re in the area, don’t hesitate to give us a call at the winery (707-573-9463) and we’ll make a date to show you around as well.

Fall Tribe Newsletter: Nature Report, Tasting Notes & Letter from Charlie

Click here for the full newsletter!

Nature Report: Domination

imageIn the past, The Nature Report has concerned itself with different kinds of dog and cat, dog and dog, and cat and cat interaction. The “marking” behaviors of dogs have been discussed as well as feline tolerance perimeters and their fungible properties. With the addition of Austin to the family, all of the Meekers, and especially Molly, have had opportunities to observe domination rituals among dogs at a new, intense, and hilarious level.

For those of the Tribe who have yet to meet Austin, Vivie, Moose, and Ennis, here are the particulars: Moose is a 13- year-old Lab mix tremendously devoted to Molly. Ennis is a two-year-old Goldendoodle owned by Lucas and his fiancée, Erika; Vivie is a Bichon Frisee owned by Molly and Charlie; and Austin is a one-year-old Goldendoodle – the half brother of Ennis – owned by Charlie and Molly. Ennis, Austin, and Vivie regularly spend working hours together in the winery offices, where most of these observations were made. Moose wisely spends his days at home on his memory foam bed(s), chewing jumbones, and has developed his own domination rituals to counter Austin which will be dealt with later.

So, every morning, Molly and Charlie load Austin and Vivie into the pick up and drive to the winery. Except it never happens that way. This is how it really goes: Charlie goes out the front door, followed by the dogs, Molly brings up the rear,carrying hand bag, brief case or tote bag, and sometimes yesterday’s mail. Charlie is watering the plants on the front patio, Austin and Vivie take off down the hill toward who-knows-what. Molly drops her bags in the truck, opens the back cab door and starts yelling “Load up – Austin and Vivie – come! Load up!” Charlie starts yelling, too, finishes watering, and gets behind the wheel. He starts the engine as Molly keeps yelling.

Eventually, Austin comes and jumps in the back of the cab. Vivie approaches the cab, wagging her tail and looking particularly cute as she turns tail and runs back down the hill. Death is threatened. Vivie is called names unprintable here. Eventually, she, too, approaches the truck and is snatched up and deposited in the back seat of the cab. From there, Austin and Vivie vie for pride of place in Molly’s lap. Vivie wins, though they both used to ride there when Austin was a puppy. Austin reclines on the center console, his rear end and legs still in the back, with his nose under the AC vents. Occasionally, he leans into Charlie for affection, pinning Charlie’s right arm to his side and endangering the lives of everyone in the truck and on the highway.

Charlie and Molly arrive at work exhausted. Austin and Vivie are just warming up. As they enter the office (after negotiating the barrel room and lab, where everyone has to be greeted and pats distributed), Ennis greets Austin and Vivie at the door, and they all follow Charlie to his desk for the morning “treats” ritual. It is during the trip from the door to the desk that the domination trials begin. Ennis and Austin, in a blur of burnt-orange fur, jockey to be first to the desk, while Vivie runs underfoot, beginning the low-pitched, frustrated growl that will underly most of the rest of the day. Equal numbers of treats to each dog are distributed – Charlie is meticulous – and the games escalate.

Vivie follows Molly into her office, Austin or Ennis picks up a squeaky toy, and Ennis or Austin grabs the other end, and they play tuggies, following Vivie into Molly’s office. When one of the boys tires of the game, the other waves the toy enticingly in front of his face, usually with a fetching little shake of his booty, and the game starts again. Sometimes the toy is abandoned early and the real domination trials begin. Canine Greco-Roman wrestling takes up the center of the room, with Vivie prancing around the edges, cheerleading. One or the other of the boys gets tired, assumes the “you the man” position: flat on his back with the other guy’s paw on his neck, and everybody takes a nap. One hour later it all begins again. Once, Austin managed to remove Ennis’s collar. Once, Ennis fell asleep on top of Austin. Austin has also been known to drag Vivie around by her neck or tail, whichever is handiest. She is sufficiently annoying to everyone else the rest of the time that no one rushes really fast to rescue her.

Lucas has forbidden Molly to buy squeaky toys for the office in the future.

Oh, and Moose? He dominates Austin by snarling and bending his lip at him whenever Austin gets within six feet of his memory foam doggie bed. Austin intuitively grasps authenticity.

All of the Meekers: the dogs, the cats and the humans (at home and in the winery), are thinking of all the humans, dogs and cats who have weathered Sandy and are now trying to recoup their lives. It is unimaginable and we hold them in our hearts.

Harvest Report: A Tsunami of Great Grapes

ttWe are enjoying an excellent harvest at the Meeker winery.  It’s too early right now for a final evaluation, but indications so far are that this year will be an outstanding Sonoma County vintage.

The weather in Sonoma County this year has been almost perfect for producing high quality wine grapes – a nice spring with no significant problems; a moderate summer with warm days, cool nights, no high temperature heat spikes, and no rain; and to date, a continuation of summer weather into the fall.

There are, however, several days of rain forecast for this coming week, so right now everybody is trying to get their not-yet-harvested grapes picked and crushed as quickly as possible.  The result is a veritable tsunami of grapes for wineries throughout Sonoma County.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that the Sonoma County vineyards are generally producing unusually large crops this year, with the result that there is pressure on most wineries to crush and ferment many more grapes than normal.  The fermentation tanks at some wineries are already full, such that those wineries are unable to accept any addition grape deliveries until their current fermentations are completed.

In theory large per-acre crops do not yield wine that is as good as wines from small per-acre crops.  Each vine’s root system is going to produce only so many flavor elements over a fixed per of time, and a small per-acre crop is therefore going to have a greater concentration of flavor elements per grape as compared with a large per-acre crop.  But that’s not the case this year – we’re getting larger than normal per-acre grape yields, while at the same time the grapes are very high quality.  The reason for this excellent exception to the normal rule is, I believe, due to the fact that this year’s moderate summer weather has resulted in a later-than-normal harvest season, and as a result the grapes have had longer “hang time” on the vine, which can be an important quality enhancer.

For us this harvest started on September 17 when we crushed 17.3 tons of Merlot, followed the next day by a field blend of 1.4 tons of Syrah, Grenache and Viognier.  Both of these came from steep hillside vineyards in Dry Creek Valley and Alexander Valley that warm up in the spring earlier than valley floor vineyards and are therefore relatively early in the harvest cycle.

Don’t Forget the Pinot

Then it was Lucas’ turn to receive grapes for his Lucas J. Cellars label.  On September 27th we received one-third of a ton of Viognier from a young vineyard in Dry Creek Valley, followed on October 2nd by 4 tons of Pinot Noir from the Pisoni-managed Soberanes Ranch Vineyard in the Santa Lucia Highlands, and on October 3rd by 12.4 tons of Pinot Noir from four separate blocks of the Sangiacomo Vineyards in the Carneros and Sonoma Coast appellations.

On October 8th we crushed 13 tons of Merlot from Alexander Valley.  After that, during the period of October 9th to October 18th, we received, all from Dry Creek Valley, 6.25 tons of Cabernet Franc, 1.4 tons of Petite Sirah, 8 tons of Syrah, 5.4 tons of Zinfandel, 4.6 tons of Merlot, two deliveries totaling 22 tons of Chardonnay, and 13 tons of Cabernet Sauvignon.

The last-mentioned Cabernet Sauvignon delivery illustrates the larger-than-normal-crop aspect of this vintage.  This Cabernet comes from a vineyard where we previously purchased all the Cabernet in 2011.  Last year the vineyard produced 6 tons of Cabernet, compared with 13 tons this year. And our two Chardonnay deliveries during mid October illustrate the longer-than-normal “hang time” for this vintage.  Molly and I grew Chardonnay at the first vineyard we purchased in Dry Creek Valley in 1977, and we normally harvested that Chardonnay in late August or early September.  Once we even picked the Chardonnay on August 12th – quite a difference as compared with mid October!

As I write this, we have just received, and are preparing to crush, 11 tons of Malbec from Knight’s Valley.  Tomorrow, before the forecasted rains, we expect to crush more Dry Creek Zinfandel and some Dry Creek Grenache.  With the exception of some Knight’s Valley Petit Verdot that is not yet fully ripe, that will pretty well finish us for this harvest season – which is a good thing because all of our fermentation tanks are about to be full too.

More Meeker-Style Chardonnay

There is one more fun thing to mention about this harvest.  For a number of years after we opened our first winery in Dry Creek Valley in 1984, we made a traditional Burgundy-style Chardonnay under the Meeker label – overnight skin contact before crushing, barrel fermentation in mostly new French oak barrels, full malolactic secondary fermentation, barrel aging sur lie, etc.  Back then we submitted our wines to the Wine Spectator, and our 1986 got a 91 — and that was a time when the Spectator was quite tight fisted with 90+ scores!.   Thereafter, however, in the early 1990’s we decided to stop making Chardonnay in order to concentrate on our “big reds”.  Later, in 1999, at the urging of our Florida distributor, we began making tank-fermented, “no oak” Chardonnay under our “Lobster Cove” 2nd label, which has been a success.  We will continue making Lobster Cove Chardonnay, but this year, at Lucas’ urging, we are also going to return to making a more sophisticated Meeker-labeled, Dry Creek appellation Chardonnay in the same style as what we did in the 1980’s, with the one difference being that we will not use new oak barrels in order to avoid making a Chardonnay that — as Molly puts it – tastes like you’re chewing a toothpick.

That’s my 2012 harvest report as of Saturday, October 20th.  More later!  Charlie

June Tribe Newsletter & Winery Update

photo (1)For the full Tribe Newsletter & tasting notes, click here. In the meantime, enjoy the nature report:

This nature report is a bedtime story – not to worry, it will still be rated PG-13 – about the current sleeping arrangements in Molly and Charlie’s bedroom. Since Austin has joined the DCVS&NP, things are getting very cozy.  On any given night, Molly and Charlie, Austin (70 pounds), Vivie (the bichon fries and 15 pounds), as well as at least one cat, if not two, are present in the king size bed.  Charlie has recently determined that he is allergic to Vivie, so when she tries to cuddle up next to him (a rare occurrence – she usually sleeps on Molly’s pillow, wrapped around her head), he protests. Therefore, a Maginot Line, the Mason-Dixon Line, an invisible Great Wall of China, if you will, has been created down the center of the bed. When Charlie feels something with paw pads press up against his back in the middle of the night, a variation on the following conversation occurs:

Charlie: Whozzat?

Molly: ….Whuh?

Charlie: ZZat?

Molly: Mmmpf…

(The above exchanges may be repeated several times.)

Charlie:  ZZat Vivvvuh?

Molly: Nnn…no; (fully awake now) dammit, Austin, move!

Austin then rolls over and flattens Molly into the mattress. He may also curl up on her legs, which creates a narrow horizontal slot for Molly to sleep in, with Vivie at the top and Austin at the bottom.

The other night, Molly had to debate for a good five minutes whether the relief of going to the bathroom truly would outweigh the hassle of losing her place in the bed while she was gone. The bathroom won by the tiniest of margins.

Austin has his own nemesis, however.  Ani DiFranco, the smallest of the 3 Meeker cats, sleeps on the foot end of the bed.  Two nights ago, Austin tried to jump on the bed over her.  Ani decided he was not welcome. She hissed, spat, and swiped her claws at Austin’s nose 3 or 4 times.  No matter which angle he tried to use to get around her, she fended him off – slashing his nose more than once.  Austin slept on the floor that night.  Charlie swears he saw Ani chase Austin out of the bedroom all together yesterday, and Austin was squealing!  Which just goes to prove it’s not the size of the cat in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog!

Announcement: Lucas J Cellars Wine Club

webAs many of you know, with my parents’ blessings, I started my own wine label, Lucas J. Cellars a few years ago, making mostly Pinot Noir.  This is in addition to continuing my work at Meeker.  Since I started in 2007, I’ve slowly expanded production and have begun to make wine from several new vineyards.  Today I am excited to announce the start of my own wine club, and since I have had such great support from so many Tribe members, I wanted to offer you the first opportunity to join my club, with an extra discount! Here are the details:

  • Two shipments per year, normally in May and October.  This first shipment will be made now, and we will adjust each shipment to avoid hot weather.
  •  Two levels of membership: four bottles per shipment with a 20% discount on all the wine, or twelve bottles per shipment with a 25% discount on all wine purchases (plus in each instance your extra discount – see below!).
  • As with the Tribe, shipping and tax are additional.
  • The shipments will reflect my focus on Pinot Noir, which will generally make up at least 75% of the wines shipped.
  • You can cancel at any time.

Full details on the Lucas J Cellars website.

Most importantly, as a thank you to the Tribe members who have helped me in the early stages of this project, I’m offering Tribe members the ability to join the Lucas J. Cellars Wine Club with a permanent 5% discount bonus if you join on or before July 31.  In other words, a four bottle membership will be 25% off, and a twelve bottle membership will be 30% off, both for as long as you remain a member!

The first shipment is four bottles of excellent Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast and Russian River Valley, and is ready to leave the winery as soon as you sign up. One of the main goals with these wines is to deliver top-notch Pinot Noir at a very reasonable price: The wines in this shipment are all $29 a bottle before discount. The first shipment includes (twelve bottle members receive triple quantities):

– One bottle of 2009 Swan Clone Pinot Noir, Sangiacomo Vineyards, Roberts Road, Sonoma Coast

– One bottle of 2009 Clone 777 Pinot Noir, Sangiacomo Vineyards, Roberts Road, Sonoma Coast

– Two bottles of 2008 Pinot Noir, Jasper Family Vineyard, Russian River Valley

I continue to be proud and excited about the wines that we make at Meeker, but I am also thrilled to have another project with which I can pursue different varietals and blends with the same passion for quality and value.If you are interested, call or email Julia at the tasting room: (707) 431-2148 or julia@meekerwine.com.  I hope you’ll join me on my new adventure!

Thank you again for your support,

Lucas Meeker

April Update: New Wines

Spring has arrived, and we are very excited to announce new wines! For you Tribe members,  in your April Tribe shipment. We are also thrilled to share more info on upcoming Tribe-Only events at the winery.

April Tribe Shipment

NV Combination – $29.50 before your Tribe discount. This is a new blend created for and available exclusively to the Tribe. This big red, named for the bank vault in our Geyserville tasting room, features a blend of Four Kings and Handprint Merlot which will unlock a rich mouthfeel with great return.

2008 Four Kings, Alexander Valley – $60.00 before the Tribal discount. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot come together in a royal Bordeaux-style blend. This wine will drink beautifully for years to come.

Billing will occur on April 9th and shipping date will be shortly thereafter. We are waiting to hear from our label printer and will let you know the ship date as soon as possible via email. Most likely shipping will occur on April 17th or 24th. Will call will be available: TBD, we will notify you via email as soon as possible. Most likely April 21st or 28th.
Upcoming Meeker Tribe Events

Final Friday Pizza Parties – We have had our first pizza party and it was a smashing success. Starting in May through the end of October, we are planning a “Final Friday Pizza Party” on the last calendar Friday of each month from 5:30pm – 7:30pm.

These events are free and limited to 35 Tribal persons to create an intimate, casual event. Our hope is to give you the chance to ask the Meekers questions and get to know all of us at Meeker over a slice of pizza and a glass (or more) of wine. Each event will feature homemade pizza, salad, lots of wine, and some special Tribal magic.

Please RSVP as soon as possible to Julia by email or phone (707-431-2148)  to secure your spot.

Annual Tribe Harvest Party – Mark your calendars! The annual Tribal extravaganza at the winery will be October 6th. Food, wine, music and an amazing time are always on the menu. More details to come.

February Tribe Newsletter

We’re proud to share the February 2012 Tribe wines with great newsletter stories from Molly & Charlie. Enjoy the tasting notes, nature report and winemaker’s update by clicking here. To get you started, here’s a great story from Charlie.

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Tribe:

Several national television news shows recently reported that the boxer Muhammad Ali was celebrating his 70th birthday. This reminded me of the time I met Ali. The story has nothing to do with wine or wineries, but it’s a fun story, and I thought I would share it with you.

During August in the late 1980’s, Molly and I and our friend Mark Rappoport were entertaining my mother, Doris, for dinner at a wonderful West Hollywood restaurant, The Palm. Mom was born in Black Jack Grove, Texas on August 13th (it was a Friday the 13th), and we were celebrating her 70th birthday. As one might expect in a celebrity area like Hollywood, the three front booths at The Palm were the most important tables. We weren’t in one of those booths that night, but were seated at a very nice six-person booth to the left of the entrance from the bar area into the restaurant. It’s also relevant to the story to mention that the path from the front three booths to the restrooms went past our booth. Mark and I were seated on the side of our booth facing the back of the restaurant, with Mark by the aisle. Molly and my mom were facing us, looking toward the front of the room, with Mom by the aisle.

We had just finished ordering our meals when Mom suddenly exclaimed: “It’s Cassius Clay!” Ali had, of course, legally changed his name to Muhammad Ali about 24 years earlier; nevertheless, he stopped in the aisle beside our booth and smiled at Mom. We all looked up at perhaps the most handsome man I’ve ever met. Ali had retired from boxing a few years earlier, but he was still in magnificent shape, and that evening he was dressed in a black velvet blazer. I said, “It’s Muhammad Ali, Mom.”

Mom couldn’t have cared less about my correction. She smiled back at Ali and said: “You’re beautiful!”

Meanwhile, Mark, who is a big man, had risen from his seat to stand in the aisle beside Ali. Mark stuck out his hand and said, “How you doin’, champ?”

Ali turned toward Mark and replied: “Who you callin’ tramp?”

Ali then raised his hands and feinted a punch toward Mark.

An old Ali joke, no doubt, but Mark stepped back, terrified: “I said ‘champ’!”

Ali turned back to my mom, bent down and kissed her on the cheek, smiled again at all of us, and continued on his way back to the men’s restroom. Wow.

Without question, Ali was a champion in the ring, and he has a champion’s personality as well. Incidentally, and more on topic, these wines are real champs too.

Enjoy!

– Charlie

November Tribe Newsletter & Letter from Charlie

You’re here to find the November Tribe Newsletter and note from Charlie, right? You’re in the right place!

Tribe:

I first want to apologize for my very brief comments in the last Tribe newsletter. The past several months have kept me unusually busy – both with the motion picture project I mentioned in the last newsletter and with our inclement fall weather.

I’ve been actively involved with growing grapes and/or making wine in Sonoma County since 1977, and 2011 has without question been the most difficult grape growing and harvesting year in all that period of time. It started cold and remained unusually cool throughout the spring and summer. As a result, bud break was very late and grape maturation quite slow. A factual example will make the point. Verasion – the period when green grapes turn red for the red varietals – normally starts around June and is finished in late June or early July. This year, however, verasion generally didn’t begin until late July, or August, or worse — we were contracted to purchase grapes from a Sonoma County vineyard that didn’t even begin verasion until September. So grape maturity was at least a month behind, and significantly more than that in most cases.

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Then we got four days of rain during the first week of October, which led to the rapid development of botrytis and other forms of rot and mold in many, many vineyards. I haven’t yet seen the harvest figures for the entire county, but in the case of our winery – which I believe is very typical — we and our growers were only able to harvest about 35% of the grapes we expected to receive. I think this was pretty typical, although a number of wineries did better than that by harvesting not-yet-fully-ripe grapes in the days before the October rains.

Even in this difficult harvest, however, there were a few bright spots. So long as the grapes are able to fully mature, there is one advantage to a cool growing season. Cool weather and the absence of very hot-weather days frequently result in better-than-normal grape flavors. During the last week of September, we harvested about 20 tons of Merlot grapes from a steep hillside vineyard in Dry Creek Valley. Hillside vineyards tend to warm up more quickly in the spring, leading to early maturities, and these Merlot grapes came in a 25.4º Brix and were fully mature. These grapes were without doubt one of the best tasting Merlot crops we have even had the pleasure to make into wine. So despite 2011’s weather problems, our 2011 Winemakers’ Handprint Merlot may be one of the very best Merlots we’ve ever made.

On that happy note, we will look forward to sharing this and many beautiful wines with you over the next few years! On behalf of the entire Meeker Vineyard family, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Festive Solstice, Joyous Kwanzaa and a jolly whatever-else-you-celebrate! We hope the holiday season brings you and your families many happy occasions to raise a glass. From the entire Meeker Vineyard family to yours, may you have a wonderful holiday season and a spectacular 2012.

Charlie

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