Every St. Patrick’s Day morning, the bars in downtown SLO open their doors at 6am to welcome crowds of green garmented guests eager to begin the festivities with an Irish Coffee or Irish Car Bomb.  Soon rounds of Jamison shots will be passed around with bag pipes blowing in the background.  Oh what fun!  On the other hand, if you are seeking a more subtle celebration, come visit us at Tolosa Winery!  We will be pouring our “green” wines, not in color, but environmentally friendly, from our sustainable and solar estate vineyards.  

St. Patrick’s Day Offer:

We want to put some “green” back in your pocket by offering $5 gift cards on Saturday, March 17th, 2012  for purchases of 6 or more bottles!

Guests can also enjoy wine and cheese pairings with John Shakley, who is guaranteed to be dressed in green and orange from his socks to a vintage Ralph Lauren shirt or sweater (see last year’s photo).  In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, John themed one of the four pairings; 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon with Cahill’s Irish Porter cheese. Here’s a little clip from John’s description: Cow’s milk from County Limerick, Ireland; pasteurized to protect us from the occasional intoxicated milking cow! Send John an email at jshakley@tolosawinery.com if you would like to make reservations for this weekend’s pairings.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Cheers,

 Kathleen Colleen Noonan – Tolosa resident Irish Girl

P.S. Stay away from the green beer and drink GREEN Wine!

We’ve got you covered for tomorrow! Start off Valentine’s Day by stopping by the tasting room where we’ll be offering Wine and Truffle pairings for just $15 and we’ll also be giving  away a long stem red rose to your sweetie! Available all day, 11-5pm, no reservations necessary. It’s also a great chance to pick-up a bottle of wine for dinner, and our staff can suggest a few local restaurants that will waive corkage with a bottle of Tolosa. Cheers-

There are many forms of training and pruning. The main two types that are used in our vineyards are bilateral cordon also known as spur, and cane pruning from a crown or head. Both types are mostly trained to single vertically shoot positioned canopies. We use mostly cane pruning for two reasons. The first reason has to do with bud fertility. In general the lower buds on a cane or spur are less fertile. Cool foggy climates lead to low fertility as well. Spur pruning leaves only the lower 2-3 buds so on average your cluster counts based on bud fertility are lower. Thus spur pruning has in cold climates lower average crops and greater variation year to year. It is why it is a bad idea in Pinot Noir and Chardonnay where cluster size is small. On larger clustered varieties such as Syrah and Grenache there is less risk as you can get a decent crop from relatively lower cluster counts per vine. The second reason that cane pruning is desirable is that the permanent part of the vine above the ground is smaller than in a cordon pruned vine. More of the vines storage in a cane pruned vine is thus below ground in the roots which makes for a stronger vine. There’s also some rational from a disease prevention point of view to use cane pruning.   

 -Larry Brooks, Winemaker

For more shots from our Staff Pruning visit our Facebook page and Like us!  

Stories from the Road- by Danielle Huber

Five months ago, long-time supporters of Tolosa and owners of Sheila’s Wine Bar and Restaurant in Camarillo, Pablo and Bertha Medina, visited Tolosa Winery.  Pablo and Bertha made quite an impression on me.

Now, I am not materialistic by any means, but what struck me was the generosity within the hearts of these warm and beautiful people.  Bertha, Pablo’s wife, was wearing the most attractive pave set ring with a lime green stone.  And I told her so! 

Before they left Tolosa’s tasting room, Bertha took the ring off her hand and put it on mine.  “If it fits,” she said, “you have to keep it.”  It did fit, and uneasily I kept it.  Who today pulls a ring off of their finger and hands it to you?!  “It will bring you luck!” both she and her exuberant husband told me. “Really??” I thought.  Still in disbelief, I could hardly imagine.

Well luck it brought…

Two weeks later, I was offered a position to sell full time with Tolosa Winery’s outside sales team in the South Central Coast. In my five year history at Tolosa, I couldn’t have dreamed up this role.  I was the tasting room girl and tour-guide on busy Saturdays.  I was the front door girl at the pickup parties…the one who carefully remembers our wine club members.  But outside sales for Tolosa?  Really?  Me? 

My new role for Tolosa is to leave my friends and seemingly “family” in the tasting room and be an ambassador on the streets.  Taking Tolosa to restaurants and stores NEAR YOU that may or may not know how amazing these wines are.  There is work to be done!  I couldn’t have had a better training ground…and I certainly couldn’t muster more enthusiasm for this unique brand!  Thank you to all who have known me along the way!

FULL CIRCLE:

Two days ago I visited Pablo and Bertha at Sheila’s Wine Bar in Camarillo…my newest restaurant account!  What a truly meaningful experience.

The moral of the story is that ordinary people can motivate one’s life in absolutely extraordinary ways.  The story of generosity doesn’t really end with Bertha Medina of Sheila’s Wine Bar.  I promise to write more from the road, so stay tuned.  But remember this…

Wine is the medium that bridges many hearts.  Be open to what it tells you.  And remember to pay it forward!

Updates from “The Road” soon…!

Best,
Danielle Huber

Danielle Huber

Central Coast Sales

Tolosa Winery

What we(I) need is “CHANGE” ! – by John

A few weeks ago, I realized that in spite of having a potential inventory of 150 cheeses from Vivant, that I was beginning to get a “bit’ bored with my offerings.  If the concept of being bored with a menu reaches me, than sooner or later, I was afraid it just might reach my loyal “repeat” customers.

That’s right, I do have a group of customers that not only come routinely, but are quick to point out what is new to them and what is not.  These are my most important customers because they are my best critics.

As a result, three weeks ago, my first step was to contact Patty Menna, a local choclatier and owner of the Truffle Garden, with a plan to list her chocolate truffles weekly, next to the cheese.  The result was immediate.  We sold out that weekend.

Today, three weeks later, I thought as long as we were at it, we should offer charcuterie as well.  This way, not only could we offer a third choice, but a couple could enjoy one plate of each with a knife for sharing. 

Most important, I won’t become a “one trick pony”-something us seniors fear most!  But not to fear, I won’t be offering panini’s or mac and cheese as of yet!

Most importantly here are the 3 Menus for this weekend January 28^th :

Charcuterie and Wine Pairing Menu:

·         2009 No Oak Chardonnay

Prosciutto with apricot/Busseto

·         2009 Chardonnay

Duck Pate/Fabrique Delices

·         2009 Pinot Noir

Sinocchiona-locally produced  pork with fennel and Chianti.

·         2008 Syrah

Chorizo from Spain

Truffle and Wine Pairing Menu:
Local handmade truffles from the Truffle Garden.

·         2009 No Oak Chardonnay

Lemon Hazelnut Truffle

·         2009 Chardonnay

Orange Truffle

·         2009 Pinot Noir

Lavender Truffle

·         2008 Syrah

Mexican Chocolate Truffle

And last but not least our Wine and Cheese Menu for this weekend:

·         2009 No Oak Chardonnay

Mango Ginger White Stilton

·         2009 Chardonnay

Vella Jack

·         2009 Pinot Noir

Mont d’Or

·         2008 Syrah  

Sartori Sar Vecchio

All are the same price at $20pp or $15 pp club members each. If you would like to make reservations email me, jshakley@tolosawinery.com  or give us a call at (805)782-0500!

JOHN SHAKLEY

CONCIERGE, TOLOSA WINERY

Have you ever wondered, or more like dreamed, of what it was like to be a winemaker? Well this is one event where you can step into the shoes of a winemaker and experience what it is like to create a wine.

In our 6^th Annual Blending Seminar, guests will have the chance to create a white wine blend which will be bottled under the Mission V white wine label.  During the event guests will work alongside our winemaker and cellar crew to learn the ins and outs of winemaking. Teams of 6-8 guests will be asked to come up with a final blend to submit for a blind tasting that will take place after each team has created their winning blend. The blends will be blind tasted and voted on by all participants and the winning blend will be announced and then bottled for the Jan 2013 release of the Mission V wine club exclusive blend.

Guests will wrap up the afternoon with a catered lunch in our Heritage Room overlooking the Edna Valley. Guests of the event will also be given the opportunity to purchase a pre-release of the wine before any other club members at a discounted price!

Here’s a quote from a wine club member that attended last year’s event: “ The Tolosa blending seminar is an amazing and fun learning experience.   Where else can you taste wine, be creative, and blend a new Tolosa Mission V wine?   All of this and enjoy a wonderful luncheon while voting for your favorite blend, it’s definitely an adventure to remember.”

This event is limited to club members and does sell out quickly. Give us a call to make your reservations at (805)782-0500 or register online by clicking here >> $45pp all inclusive.  Saturday February 25^th, 11am-2pm.

Katie Noonan

Marketing & Event Director

(805)782-0300 ext. 20

katie@tolosawinery.com

www.tolosawinery.com

Join us:  

Tolosa’s Annual Holiday Open House last night was a great event to really get us in the Holiday spirits with only 8 more days until Christmas.  Our staff had a great time being wine elves and we hope all our guests had as good of time as we did! We’re still talking about how great the Mulled Wine tasted, and not to mention the delicious soup made by our fabulous staff member, Lori Morse.

Here is a note from Lori along with her soup recipe that is perfect for this winter season!  

For those of you who attended our Holiday Open House last night, here is the soup recipe I devised for the party.

This chowder is not as thick and rich as some, If you want a thicker chowder, you could use a “slurry” of flour (or cornstarch) and water (like thickening a gravy) to thicken the soup right before you add the cream.  Remember, you need to have the soup boil gently as the flour &water’s thickening power will be at its highest as it boils.

However, you don’t want the soup to separate, so stay with it & keep stirring!  Turn down the heat as soon as it thickens to the desired consistency.

All you need is a nice green salad & crusty bread alongside, a cozy fire, and some friends to enjoy it with!

I wish you and yours a wonderful Holiday Season!

Cheers,

Lori Morse, Tasting Room Attendant & Avid Home Chef

Tolosa Winter White Roasted Corn Chowder

1 onion, 3 stalks celery, 5 small carrots, diced

1 clove garlic, grated

2 Tbs. Butter /2Tbs Olive oil

2 Tbs. Flour

1 ½ c. Tolosa Estate (Oaked) Chardonnay (approx. half a bottle)

2 pks. Roasted Corn (frozen)

3 white potatoes, peeled & diced

1 Box Vegetable Stock (or chicken if preferred)

1 gallon full fat milk

½ each red, orange & yellow bell pepper, skinned & diced

2-3 stalks Fresh Thyme, leaves picked/Fresh Rosemary, chopped, to taste

1 8oz. carton heavy cream (or more to taste)

Salt &white pepper to taste.

Micro greens and/or croutons for garnish

Sauté the diced vegetables & garlic with the butter and oil in a large stock pot until soft. Salt & pepper lightly.

Sprinkle the flour over the veggies and let it cook, stirring constantly for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the wine & stock, cook until slightly thickened about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the corn & milk. Bring it to a soft boil, stirring constantly. When it begins to thicken, turn down the heat, add the diced potatoes, peppers & thyme.

Cook gently on very low heat for 30 minutes (or more), stirring frequently until potatoes and peppers are tender, soup is thickened and flavors are mingled. Adjust the seasoning as needed. Add the cream at the last minute, stirring well. Warm through, and adjust seasonings for a final time.

Ladle in to bowls and top with micro greens and/or croutons & Enjoy!

Happy Halloween!!! Come by the Tolosa tasting room to trick or treat for frightening discounts up to 50% off! Every customer that visits the tasting room will have a chance to draw from the witches pot of discounts ranging from 5% to 50% off your purchase for the Holiday! Knock on our door and see what fate has in store for your wine drinking future this Halloween.

Open 11-5pm Daily.