Pilot Knob Vineyard turns “4”… months that is!!

Being a new winery is no job for the faint of heart.  Don’t get me wrong, slinging wine is a blast, working the vines (other than when it is 105 degrees….in other words during the Texas Summer) can be a very relaxing and connective, and the people you meet are just amazing.  So, even though we have been working the vineyard the last few years, planning, planning and planning, for the opening of the tasting room it’s always amazing how many things you learn along the way.  The ideas that you thought were “no brainers” sometimes turn out to be “no gooders”, or at least “no where near what you that they would be….ers”.   Good news is, generally something else you thought would be a good idea, turns out to be a great idea (the Austin Steam Train comes to mind here!), and takes up the slack. 

One thing that we feel we are very fortunate to have invested a lot of time in developing is a wine club.  Our wine club members have been amazing supporters of our business and the biggest advocacy group you could ever ask for.  Each month we are adding many new members to both of our wine clubs, and it just makes for such a special time as we continue to find ways to create a little fun, mixed with a heaping helping of vino.  We are doing our best to keep the calendar full, that way we can meet more great folks, have more wonderful times, and continue to spread the word of Pilot Knob Vineyard.

So, four months old, and we are very excited about what Pilot Knob Vineyard has become, and the fun and enjoyment we have provided to so many already.  The truth is, if you have good wine, and a comfortable place to enjoy it, so many other parts fall into place.  So far so good, and we only plan to make it so much better. 

Come by and see all the new things happening at Pilot Knob Vineyard.

Cheers!

Craig

The sweet smell of lumber!!

What a sight to see the parade of semi trucks coming in carrying the materials that will be used to construct our tasting room.  Along this long process of starting a vineyard and developing a winery, there are moments that you just feel are unique and special….this was definitely one of them. 

Materials rolling in!

It is amazing to see the structure start to form, and to finally visualize the true scale of the building.  While the building is pretty big, when you just have a slab of cement to gauge its size with, it’s amazing how small it seems when sitting in the middle of 112 acres of open land. 

Who knew cement could be pretty?

Now Morton Buildings is doing their handy work and will have the building structure developed in about 2 to 3 weeks!  It is amazing how efficiently the process flows when the wheels start turning.  While the Morton team is finishing their work we will be able to bring in some other sub contractors to start their process, so we can have two teams working simultaneously.  The crews are ready to work long hours (and I am going to let them) to see this tasting room open very soon!

Side Wall

Putting in Porch Framing

Back Patio - Looking West

The Dormers are forming!

Stay tuned for pictures, pictures and more pictures.  Progress is a good thing!  Can't wait to tell you more real soon.

Craig

The “New” Wine Country Tour

Last week Ross and I were treated to a very fun opportunity to visit four wineries very near our Pilot Knob Vineyard location.  Of course, it is always a fun day when a little wine is introduced to the equation, but this time we had the pleasure of being on a bus with about 50 different event planners, caterers, transportation specialists, and a variety of other folks involved in the event development business in and around Austin.  We were hosted by Damon Holditch, President and Founder of Marquee Event Group (http://www.marqueeeventgroup.com/).  In addition to being a successful business owner, Damon is a wine lover, and a big advocate for the Texas wine industry.  We were delighted to be invited on such an enjoyable adventure.

On the ride from Marquee headquarters (it was cold at 9am!), we met a great group of folks that have a very vested interest in the development of our 6,400sq ft+ tasting room.  We had interesting discussions about what sets event venues apart, and what makes for a memorable event for all invloved.  Damon even invited us to get up and share a bit about starting a vineyard and a tasting room.  We didn’t go into all the details (only had an hour bus ride!), but it was fun seeing the reactions of folks as we talked about vineyard development, financing, marketing, and licensing all in about 5 minutes.  I think I left out a couple items (tons), but I think it made sense. 

We started our tour in Lampasas at Texas Legato and Pillar Bluff wineries.  The wineries are just down the road from each other and are owned by identical twin brothers, though both claim to be the pretty one.  Pillar Bluff was the first to open in 2002, and now produces up to 1,400 cases of wine each year.  Texas Legato opened up a few years later, and produces about 800 cases of wine each year.  They are both part of the Way Out Winery Trail (http://wayoutwineries.org/).

On the way back in, we stopped at The Vineyards at Florence and Inwood Estates (which are right next to each other).  They both offered beautiful ambiance, tasty wine, and are conveniently located about 8 miles from our vineyard.  It is exciting to have such good wineries all within a short distance of Pilot Knob Vineyard.  We look forward to being a part of this burgeoning wine trail.

I sure hope we don’t have to get off the bus just because we will be a hosting winery on their next excursion our way; it was a lot of fun.  Thank you Damon and Marquee Event Group!!!

Craig

Viognier anyone?

The very first, of many bottles to come, rolled through the bottling process yesterday.  Many pictures were taken to commemorate the excitement of the first Pilot Knob Vineyard wine being bottled - our 2010 Viognier.  We would like to share a couple, and let you see what fun stuff we have been working on. 

Our first wine is born - 2010 Viognier

This Viognier is magnificent, and will be part of a special shipment to wine club members in April.  You are not going to want to miss getting a taste of this wine!  My mouth is watering right now.

Bottling Process

Getting Labeled

Running the Line

Cased & Ready to Ship

The votes are in!

It’s official.  After last week’s votes from many of our already devoted Pilot Knob Vineyard fans, we have the new name for our upcoming red wine Tempranillo / Merlot blend.  Receiving 58% of the votes - drum roll please...  

Franco-Rojo is the winner!

Thanks to everyone who took time to vote!  Stay tuned here, on our website, and Facebook page for more fun opportunities to lend a hand as we continue to progress towards our GRAND OPENING in the spring!

Barrel Bonanza!

One of the biggest thrills as a new winery is the ordering of the barrels and seeing your logo on the end of a barrel when it is delivered.  I know it’s just a small thing, but you just feel a bit more like you have really started making wine.  Our barrels are filled with Merlot and Tempranillo, and for this first year we tried a couple of different barrel types to see which we liked the most for their flavor profile with our wines.  We are looking to create smooth, beautifully layered wine, and we want the oak to add to its sophistication, not be a dominant part of its flavoring.

Wine barrels could be a book of information all by themselves, and it probably is somewhere, but in general you deal with two origin points, the United States and Europe (mostly France).  Then you deal with toasting (for flavor profiles), and time air dried - where generally the longer time the better.  Ok, since you don’t get a “do over” in wine making, and we have some fantastic fruit and a fantastic winemaker, we didn’t want to miss our mark on barrel selection.  So we worked with Barrel Builders, a barrel broker who places barrels for one of the finest cooperages (that’s the place they make barrels) in France, Marchive. 

Each barrel holds about 25 cases of wine, and generally is considered neutral after the 2^nd or 3^rd year of use, meaning it has become more of a container for the wine, rather than having much ability to change the flavoring of the wine.  That kind of stings since you can pay $900 to $1000 for French oaks barrels!?  Perils of perfection I guess.  As we continue to see wines evolve in the barrels, I look forward to talking more about the experiences we are having with American Oak, French Oak, and even Hungarian Oak.

Cheers !



Craig Pinkley

General Manager

Want to help name a Wine? VOTE – VOTE – VOTE!!

Naming the wine is one of the most fun things about running a winery.  As you can tell when you go to the grocery store, there is a lot of creativity when it comes to what to name a wine.  

In our first release of wines, we have a beautiful red blend that pairs the traditional Spanish grape Tempranillo and the classic Bordeaux (France) blending grape, Merlot.  We wanted a name that had fun with the pairing we have put together, recognizing both heritages.  So after much deliberation we came up with the name Rojo-Franco, as a fun way to identify the pairing of these two classic varietals.  

Well it's getting close to label printing time and frankly......we need your help.  As we have continued to think about the name, we ran into the old "first name", "middle name" dilemma that almost every prospective parent encounters - you know - does “Jim Bob” sound better or does “Bob Jim” (ok, bad example, clearly every Texan would know that Jim Bob sounds better).  You just want to make sure you pick the name order that sounds best and rolls off the tongue.  This is where we need you, our friends of Pilot Knob!

We're stuck between Rojo-Franco and Franco-Rojo, we just can't decide which one sounds best.  Since we are producing 5,040 of the little guys, we want to get it right.  So we need your vote here on our blog (see our Poll above to VOTE!) or, go to our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/pilotknobvineyard)  and comment/vote there.

What’s it going to be?  Franco Rojo or Rojo Franco - We need your help! 

Your vote really does count.  We know we can count on you!!

Craig