Dear Customers,
The growing season in 2010 was one of the coldest in history. For the Pinot grape,
this was ideal. Unfortunately, the growers had to pull a lot of leaves to combat
the associated mold and mildew. It left the cluster stems vulnerable when the
heat wave came in early August, destroying about half the crop. Fortunately, the
season ended with a good combination of heat and cool that led to a perfect ripening
of the fruit. The wine reflects this in many ways, dark in color, rich and full
bodied with concentrated dark fruit flavors, that are very similar to the spectacular
2009 vintage. The reduced crop would have been devastating for me. Because of
the generosity of Tom Rochioli, I was able to make 300 cases instead of 175, for
which I thank him. The wine is excellent and with fewer cases to sell, the demand
will be greater, so I encourage you to respond quickly.
My wines age well and should start to be consumed around 4 to 5 years. This vintage
in particular will reward you for waiting as long as you can. If you must try
it sooner, make sure to open the wine at least one hour before drinking. For the
first two years, if you don’t finish the bottle, drink the rest of it the
next day and you will find it is still as good or better than the first day.
The shipping rules for almost every State has changed. ** If you are shipping
outside California, you must call Fitch Mtn. Pkg. (707 433-1247) or another service
to arrange the delivery of the wine and confirm actual shipping costs and other
details. Please read the shipping rules to see if you are in a reciprocal State.
Otherwise you must pay California sales tax. I want you to be aware how much less
expensive it is to ship to a business address! The shipping costs are very expensive
to start with so please use a business address to ship to if you can.
I am now able to take a credit card as payment for the wine. Master Card, Visa
and Discovery are the three cards I can take at this time. I hope this will be
more convenient for everyone. This means that I can fill orders over the phone,
so please call me if you don’t have an order form or don’t want to
write your credit card # on the order form. Please visit castaliawines.com
where you can order the wine or send me e-mail with questions or problems.
Thank you all for your support. Enjoy the wine and remember to tell a friend.
Terry Bering