Paradoxical Entity

After much disjointed thoughts, internet research and some idle conversation with a coworker, I’ve decided to adopt a barrel of Pinot Noir from the Morris Ranch Vineyard.  Here’s Crushpad’s blurb about them:

Morris Ranch (Sonoma Coast) - Pinot Noir
 
This may be the coolest pinot vineyard we source from. Located near the town of Petaluma, it is a dramatic, 100% hillside vineyard. With traditional Sonoma Coast influences of cold and wind, the vineyard’s west-facing slope ensures that the fruit can fully ripen in this treacherous area. It’s planted five feet between vines to a combination of 115, 667 and 777 pinot noir clones. Although it is only six years old, the samples we tasted from 2003 and 2004 were amazing. The vineyard was actually sold out to two well-known pinot producers (one who was recently given Wine Spectator’s 2nd ever highest rating). But we spent some time talking about Crushpad with the vineyard owner and he liked the idea so much that he decided to give us a shot with a bit of fruit. So let’s make him proud.

In addition, when I asked Dave Gifford to tell me more about Morris Ranch and Wentzel Vineyards, he said:

Morris and Wentzel Pinot Noir: Both wines are on the lighter side by
today’s California Pinot standards. The Morris Ranch offers lovely
floral aromatics while the Wentzel shows a little bit more earth on the
nose. Both wines have rich red fruit flavors and a lively acidity that
makes them food friendly and useful for a diverse range of food
pairings.

Alright, I’ve read up as much as I could of Crushpad after learning about them from the Reuters article.  They look to be legit and have been profiled in several wine industry articles, so I emailed them for more info. Being that this is January and from what I’ve gathered about wine making so far, the current harvest of 2006 grapes are already well in its process to become wine. That being the case, I’ve asked about their “Adopt a Barrel” program, so I wouldn’t have to wait until they start to take orders for the 2007 harvest–whenever that would be.

Dave Grifford from Crushpad got back to me with this list of available 2006 Barrels:

• Alder Springs Chardonnay $6300(bottle fall/winter 2007)
• Sleepy Hollow Chardonnay $4800 (bottle fall 2007)
• Morris Ranch Pinot Noir $6300 (bottle fall 2007)
• Wentzel Pinot Noir $6300 (bottle fall 2007)
• Alder Springs Merlot $6300 (bottle summer/fall 2008)
• Broken Leg Syrah $6000 (bottle spring/summer 2008)
• Eagle Point Ranch Syrah; Petite Sirah $5400 (bottle spring/summer 2008)
• Thompson Syrah $6300 (bottle spring/summer 2008)
• White Hawk Syrah $6300 (bottle spring/summer 2008)
• Levit Family Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet Sauvignon $7800
• Reguschi Cabernet Sauvignon Stags Leap $8600 (bottle fall 2008)
• Stagecoach Cabernet Sauvignon $7800 (bottle fall 2008)
• ToKalon Cabernet Sauvignon $9600 (bottle fall 2008)
• Beatty Ranch Zinfandel $5700 (bottle spring/summer 2008)
• Holden Ranch Zinfandel $5400 (bottle spring/summer 2008)
• Teldeschi Zinfandel $5700 (bottle spring/summer 2008)

They’re a bit pricer than I expected, but it’s still do-able.  Being the impatient person that I am, I had resorted the list to get a better idea of which wines would be finished by this year.  This trims the list to just four wines: 2 Chardonnays and 2 Pinot Noirs.  Their costs are mid-range too. Dave also sent a .pdf file of the vineyard descriptions, so I’ll take some time to look it over. 

Over the years I’ve noticed that my attention span to my hobbies last around 3-5 years.  There’s a distinct pattern:

1. A topic catches my eye and piques my interest.
2. I do a casual feasibility investigation to determine
   • the range and depth of the topic, ie is there enough to it to keep me occupied for a while
   • with what, where and how can I educate myself about it
   • can I afford to participate in it to a decent level
3. I’ll buy up any magazines I can find on the topic and follow up with checking the web sites of particularly interesting companies mentioned.
4. Once I’ve decided to commit to the hobby, I start buying books. I try to read at least half a dozen within the first few months to hear a decent range of “expert” opinions on how-to participate, required equipment, and paths to achieve the hobby’s end products or skill level milestones.
5. At some point, I’ll start to buy stuff whether it be end products to have as references or equipment to start up with. A hobby is no fun unless you can throw money at it.
6. If there are any available, I’ll try to join relevant clubs, associations and forums to be sociable, to hear anecdotes and to generally be immersed in the topic.
7. By the end of the first year, I should have a good grasp of the technical and historic aspects of the hobby along with enough equipment and products to be a fully participating member.
8. The next year or two would involve continuing immersion and perfecting my skills. 
9. At some point at or after the third year or so, most routine hobby activities would have become rather boring. I’ll be pondering the feasibility and costs of moving to the next step which is generally going pro or commercial.
10. If I don’t progress to the next level, then my mind will reopened to considering a new hobby topic.  The current, and soon to be previous hobby, would be either shut down or set to minimum support to maintain if it provides benefits.

Why am I relating all this?  Well, it’s been 4.5 years with my current hobby and this Reuters article just piqued my interest.  I always thought that wine was one of those things that would take a lot of effort to learn properly along with having to retain too much information to be considered versed about it.  Coupled with the fact that I never liked the taste of wine, I never bothered with it. However, a couple of months ago, I had to buy some to give to a wine enthusist friend for his birthday. Being at a loss in selecting a bottle of wine worthy for a good friend was disconcerting to me.  So this article came at a good time.  I was receptive for it.  I’m going to start my initial research to see what this will involve.

Hello all. Well, it’s another new year.  The Paradoxical Entity blog rises from the dead. I’ll try to live a more interesting life and keep it alive.