Dear Friends,
Welcome to the much-awaited Summer of 2021. We have turned the page on Covid, and there are almost no restrictions on our guests or us. It is good to see friends and family after the long Covid isolation. We are so excited and grateful to host club members, many of you, making your first trip to Nicholson Ranch in two years. It is lovely, once again, to engage with you without heightened concern on social distancing. Bring on the hugs and the handshakes. We have missed you.
This Summer brings its unique character. We see the effects of the extreme heat and drought in the West. The few of us, close to the California Coast, have the fog to shield us from the intense heat domes that have settled for days in the West. The coastal fog and the ocean breeze have been singularly consistent, rolling in every evening and lowering our nighttime temperatures to 55 degrees. The nighttime cooling may be the essential factor in allowing us to grow fabulous Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The cooling slows down the ripening of the grapes and allows the grapes to retain their acidity. A slow growth gives the grapes more time to spend basking in the sunshine, adding layers of flavor with each extra day. The right amount of acidity in the Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes showcases the flavor to maximum effect.
The 2018 Cactus Hill Pinot Noir and the 2018 Sonoma Valley Chardonnay are delicate wines magically crafted by the sun and fog to display their complex aromas and flavors. The third wine in the release is the 2015 Nicholson Ranch Napa Valley Cabernet. This wine, blended from barrels I have acquired in my long quest to find a Napa vineyard, does not disappoint the nose or the palate.
Last November, I found the perfect vineyard in Yountville with seven acres of Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese planted on the western hillsides of Napa. Now, nine months later, I am launching the Gulrajani Family Estate. The Gulrajani vineyard features three wines – a Cabernet Sauvignon, a Super-Tuscan blend of Cabernet and Sangiovese named Narasimha, and a Sangiovese-focused wine called Sanjaya. The initial release is less than 100 cases of each wine. We hope to increase the production to 300 cases each. All wines will be sold exclusively to the wine club. We encourage you to learn more about the new estate and these fabulous wines by going to the website www.gulrajaniestate.com. While you are there, I invite you to join the Gulrajani wine club.
Thank you for being Nicholson Ranch club members. I look forward to your visit, in the meantime, e-hugs, and e-handshakes.
Cheers!
Deepak Gulrajani