Hello and Welcome,
The known number of people
infected by the Corona virus is increasing at an alarming rate. The good news
is that the rate of contagion is not exponential. The strategy to mitigate the
virus seems to be to avoid any potential encounter with the virus whether from
another person or in a social setting – like foraging at the grocery store. For
now, that is our first, best defense.
We were fortunate to conclude
a winter sales trip and return home to Oregon before this pandemic unfolded. We
both arrived safely back in Oregon on separate flights and it has been over two
weeks of close quarters with no signs of infection. Based on the number of
airplanes we were on, and number of people we came in contact with, we consider
ourselves to be extremely lucky, and blessed. If you, or a loved one is
quarantined or has tested positive, we recognize your path is a different one.
We wish you a complete and uneventful recovery, Godspeed.
In the meantime, you are
sitting there looking at your computer monitor. We are sitting here looking at
our computer monitor. Maybe it is time to take a respite
from the seriousness. Social distancing yes, but not socially distant.
Except for Ernie, who spent most of last week sequestered in a 30 cubic foot
glass enclosure. Not a big space, but that is the size of the cab on his
Italian tractor. And we have Home Tasting Kits now available for direct
shipping!
The first day of spring was
March 19th here in Oregon’s Willamette Valley and as if on cue brought
with it the first hummingbird. That is always a sign of good fortune. There are
7 species of hummingbirds in Oregon, and Anna’s was our first visitor. According
to the Audubon Society, if you are fortunate enough to see a flock of
hummingbirds, you are suggested to describe them as a bouquet, a glittering, a
hover, a shimmer, or a tune of hummingbirds. Ernie prefers the term squadron.
The first day of spring in the
southern hemisphere will be Tuesday, September 1st. Right about now
they should be thinking about getting harvest operations and logistics in
order. While we are all in this together, we each have a different perspective.
And we celebrated national pi
day on March 14th with a freshly baked cherry pie. That was about
the time Ernie ordered in 200 gallons of diesel and began preparing the
vineyard floor for Growing Season 2020. This is Ernie’s time of year to get a
leg up on things, and he rarely misses an opportunity. Note: We are still
classified as “Dry Farmed, Non-Irrigated”.
It was two passes of flail
mowing to chop up last year’s brush and a chisel plow pass to open up the soil
and prepare for the Rotovator. The Rotovator is a German implement that does a
wonderful job of aerating the soil and incorporating last year’s nitrogen
fixing cover crop. But Rotovating alone can form a hardpan in your soil that
acts like a barrier to nutrient recycling. Ah, but Ernie figured this out long
ago and that is why the chisel plow makes its inaugural run before the
Rotovator.
The chisel plow breaks up
monolithic blocks of compacted soil and frees up the colloids to move throughout
the soil profile. If you are a colloid, this is a big day for you. The rest of
the year you just lay there waiting for something to happen. Maybe a gopher
will tunnel by or a seed will germinate, or a bird will leave a dropping on
you. That is “living the dream” in the soil profile.
The wild cherry trees are
starting to bud out. We “bought the farm” in April 1999 when the cherry orchard
was in full bloom. Montmorency cherries have big white flowers and they are
clustered at the end of the branch. Ernie described driving the tractor through
the orchard that first year like he was driving through a Montana blizzard in
freeze frame.
The vines are surely not far
behind. Around April 15th when you are finalizing your National
Mathematics exam for the IRS, we should start to see our Pinot Noir vines bud
out. And if you need a hand with your form 1040, we have about 40 million
school aged young adults on waivers. Tom Brady was on waivers, for about 12
seconds, before signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
If you have any questions
about farming, or wine growing or tractor repair, send Ernie
a note. He would be more than happy to immerse you in the fine details and
vagaries involved with our agrarian endeavor. And then if you have some time on
your hands, you can check out what we will be doing in about 6 months –
And that reminds us that most
new monitors have built in cameras. Not Ernie’s of course because he went to
school learning about computers and all of the data that they can collect (some
involuntarily). He also spent many hours of his formative youth listening to
George Carlin records. (Remember those? Records? The 7 dirty words monologue
became a case that went to the Supreme Court.) George Carlin foretold of a time
when your words would be captured and preserved until such a time that they
could be sold back to you, at a significant profit. Today, we see all manner of
media being captured (some involuntarily) and published on social media sites.
Hey Aretha, Who’s Zoomin Who?
Amalie Robert Estate Home Tasting Kits are Now Available!
Free ground shipping with any
12 bottle order! Don’t delay, get yours today! Pinot in Pink Rosé Lip Sanitizer available
for a limited time!
In these uncertain times, we
can help provide a little clarity in your vinous journey. The Amalie Robert Estate
Home Tasting Kit will help you determine if your wine tests POSITIVE or NEGATIVE.
Each Home Tasting Kit includes all of the sundry items you will need including:
2 Amalie Robert logo Riedel burgundy glasses, a polish cloth (2 pack), a
corkscrew for those deeply seated cork issues we all sometimes face, a necker
drip ring, red and gold logo synthetic wine stoppers, and a set of Amalie
Robert Estate evaluation sheets specific to each wine in your 12 bottle order.
Wines shown are an
optional purchase
We recommend replicated
tasting trials of each wine where possible. This exercise can be performed by a
single evaluator or in situ with a small group according to the laws in your local
community. Note: It is hard to perform this rigorous evaluation in jail, not
that the authorities will throw you in jail for defying their community
ordinances, more likely just a large fine. This means you will have less money
to spend on wine. Check with the Spring Break crowd for further guidance on
civil disobedience enforcement in your area. They post on social media,
excessively.
The following 5 points of
criteria should be evaluated independently. A binary result of POSITIVE or
NEGATIVE will be the only outcome from each criterion. You may add additional
sensory evaluation in the white space provided. After each criterion have been
evaluated, or the wine is fully consumed, you may draw a conclusion as to
whether the wine in question tested POSITIVE or NEGATIVE. Partial specimen
bottles may be stoppered with an Amalie Robert logo synthetic wine stopper.
Note: This is referred to as a
“Destructive Testing Procedure”. Whereby the sample wine is NOT to be returned
to the specimen bottle after evaluation. This is an important distinction in a
replicated tasting scenario. The procedure has been well thought out and is to
be strictly implemented.
Aroma: _____
Positive _____ Negative
_____________________________________________________________
Flavor: _____
Positive _____ Negative
_____________________________________________________________
Texture: _____
Positive _____ Negative
_____________________________________________________________
Finish: _____
Positive _____ Negative
_____________________________________________________________
Perceived Length: _____
Positive _____ Negative
_____________________________________________________________
You may audio or video capture
(or both) your evaluation session and post to social media. Please note the
section above regarding the unintended consequences of such behavior. If you
have any doubts as to how to proceed, just ask yourself what George Carlin
would do. That ought to clear things up pretty quickly, and (if you are like
Mr. Carlin) will earn you a file at the FBI.
Please follow this link to
place your order for the Amalie
Robert Estate Home Tasting Kit. Your $59.00 kit ships free with any 12
bottle order (discount will be applied manually with order confirmation). Note
that all 12 bottle orders have shipping included if you are on the A-List.
Amalie
Robert Estate Home Tasting Kits can be purchased separately for $69.00 and
shipped direct to your home in all states with no signature required.
We recommend a perfunctory Lip Sanitizer such as Pinot in Pink Rosé
before you begin your evaluation. A six pack of Pinot in Pink Lip Sanitizer
delivered with ground shipping included is a sweet $100, but just $80 for A-Listers.
If you would like assistance
with your evaluation wines, we would be happy to provide a recommendation based
on our personal preferences.
You can reach Dena by email at
dena@amalierobert.com and by phone
at 503-88-CUVEE (503-882-8833).
Kindest Regards,
Dena & Ernie
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