Wine Blog

  • March 21st, 2022

    By

    Dear Friends,

    Happy Spring.  We are enjoying great weather at Nicholson Ranch with bright sunny days and cool nights.  Warm sunshine is waking up the vines from their winter hibernation.  The buds on the vines swell up and open gradually to reveal a small branch with tiny leaves.  “Bud-break” as it is called, is the start of another vintage. 

    2022 is a significant year in the history of Nicholson Ranch.  I am replanting all our Chardonnay and Merlot vines and about half of the Pinot Noir.  I planted the original vines in 1995 on land that had been a cattle ranch for several decades.  Vineyards usually have a life-span of 30 years.  The last few years with fires, smoke and drought have accelerated the aging of the plants.  

    The good news is that I get to plant new little baby vines, this time with more knowledge and less trepidation than in 1995.  Pinot Noir and Chardonnay have excelled at Nicholson Ranch, so naturally I am planting these varietals, albeit with a different mix of clones.  Clones, as many of you know, are slight variations in the variety that manifest as a different nose or a different texture in the resulting wine.  Think of the difference between the Dry Farmed Pinot and the 777 Pinot.  Each of these are crafted from a different clone of Pinot Noir.  The Dry Farmed shows more aroma while the 777 has more texture on the palate.  For the replant, I have selected clones that have produced our Reserve level of wines.  As these new vines age, I expect to craft even better wines through this decade.

    Second, I am increasing the number of vines of Merlot and Syrah.  At present we have two acres and one acre of these vines.  This will increase to three acres for each variety.  Both Merlot and Syrah are more hardy grapes than Pinot Noir.  They tolerate heat and unseasonal rain without compromising quality.  Both Nicholson Ranch Merlot and Syrah wines are new world in flavor and old world in style, showing great texture and finish while showcasing signature California fruit flavors.

    Work on the replanting has begun, with new vines planted in a nursery where they will be nurtured for a year before planting at Nicholson Ranch.  The new vines are a combination of a rootstock and a graft.  The rootstock is plant material from native American vines that are best suited for our soil.  These will first be planted in little pots to establish roots.  Next year, the varietal graft (Chardonnay or Pinot Noir) will be inserted into the stem of the rootstock to create the new vine.  The graft is the same genetic material as each of the clones that we have at Nicholson Ranch.  The new vines will go into the ground in the Spring of 2023 to continue the lineage of Nicholson Ranch wines.

    I appreciate your continued patronage and I look forward to seeing you in the coming months.  

    C:\Documents and Settings\deepakg\Desktop\Sig-DG.png

    Sincerely,

    Deepak Gulrajani

  • January 13th, 2022

    By

    Dear Friends,

    Happy New Year! We are enjoying a good start at Nicholson Ranch, even with Covid.  After a year of a severe drought, California received abundant rain delivered by a cascade of storms dubbed “atmospheric rivers” for their serpentine appearance on a radar map.  The immense rainfall turned our wine-country hills bright green by Halloween and the Sierra Nevada mountains white by Christmas.  After two years of being a mud-hole, our pond is full to the brim, the surface shining like a silver mirror.  The winter sun, flying low, makes the moisture sparkle on the green hills.  Sunset bathes the landscape in an orange hue.  At the moment, it is perfect.

    Despite the tribulations of Covid, last year was one of the best years for me.  As of the end of 2021, my three older kids are all venturing out into their adult lives.  Zander, my eldest, is literally off the payroll.  After three years of working in our lab and hosting our guests, Zander decided to pursue further and deeper in the lab sciences area.  Taylor, my second son, has his first real job as an engineering consultant in the Bay Area; and, Natalie, my only daughter, was accepted by UCSF, one of the best medical schools anywhere.  I am a proud father and I feel very content having the kids move out into the world.

    The New Year has also got me breaking out to experience life beyond wine country.  Early this month my wife, Nancy, and I were in Houston for a family wedding.  It was good to travel and see friends and family after two years.  It was exhilarating to celebrate with music, color and delicious food. I feel refreshed and rejuvenated.  As 2022 is my 60th year, I plan to celebrate my milestone year by spending time with friends and family, visiting India in the spring and Europe in the summer.   

    I look forward to seeing you, my wine club family and friends in 2022.  Come out and visit Wine Country.

    In the meantime, we have wonderful Nicholson Ranch estate wines for you from the 2018 and 2019 vintages.  The California sun, our volcanic soil, and the craft of my winemaking team allows us to share our little corner of Sonoma with you.  

    Cheers.

    C:\Documents and Settings\deepakg\Desktop\Sig-DG.png

    Deepak Gulrajani

  • October 12th, 2021

    By

    Dear Friends,

    We are in the last week of Harvest 2021.  It has been an extended and relaxed harvest season.  After the heat of late summer, fall brought cooler weather with highs in the 70s and 80s and lows as low as the 40s.  A harvest day starts before dawn as the grapes are cold, refrigerated by nature.  Picking grapes cold preserves the natural flavors and keeps harmful bacteria at bay.  Harvesting our grapes by hand is the gentlest way to pick fruit and protect all the flavors.  Bruised fruit does not make good wine.

    I am in the vineyard each day we harvest, keeping a sharp eye on each bunch picked.  If a bunch is less ripe, or sometimes too ripe, it gets tossed.  There is no time for “to be or not to be”.  If a grape cluster does not look good it gets discarded.  In between the grape-tossing I get to enjoy and delight in the beauty of dawn.  Somedays the moon is full and about to set as the sun slowly glows from the other side.  Somedays, the stars are bright, with Sirius piercing the night-sky.  The air, weighed down by night’s humidity, allows moisture to condense on the grape berries making them glisten under the pickers head-lamps.  There is no better place to be.

    This year’s moderate heat was the perfect harvest weather.  It allows grapes to take longer to ripen and spend more days hanging on the vine.  The longer “hang-time” gives the grapes more time in the sunshine.  And, sunshine is the magic ingredient to develop flavor and texture.  Flavors of pear, apple and peach in Chardonnay; tea, roses and berries in Pinot Noir develop with extra time basking outdoors.  Tannins that create body, texture and mouthfeel also benefit from added sunshine.  Besides making the wine taste good the chemical compounds, called phenols, that make up flavor and tannins are also good for you.  Grape phenols are antioxidants and anti-inflammatory and have other health improving properties.  So, take it from Dr. Deepak and enjoy a glass or two of Nicholson Ranch every day.  Cheers to your health.

    Thank you all for your good wishes and support in 2021.  I am blessed and I am grateful.

    C:\Documents and Settings\deepakg\Desktop\Sig-DG.png

    Happy Thanksgiving

    Deepak Gulrajani

  • August 11th, 2021

    By

    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.

    C:\Documents and Settings\deepakg\Desktop\Sig-DG.png

    Cheers!

    Deepak Gulrajani

  • March 24th 2021

    By

    Dear Friends,

    Happy Spring!  It is an early Spring in Wine Country with many sunny and warm days in the low-70s.  The mustard is blooming, adding to the color palette of all the wildflowers on our hills.  We are open again for outdoor tastings.  The green hills and the colorful flowers provide a beautiful vista for our guests as they sip Nicholson Ranch wine in our courtyard.

    In the vineyard, the vines are waking up from a dormant winter with tiny buds emerging from last year’s branches.  From each bud will grow a shoot that will extend in length every week.  By mid-May these shoots are six-feet tall.  Each shoot has a leaf every three inches, each leaf alternating in direction positioning them for maximum sunlight.  The first two leaves that emerge are accompanied by grape-flower buds.  These buds will flower in mid-May, the flowers will pollinate and form tiny berries by early June. The sunshine and the warmth in the three months of Summer will make the fruit bigger and then sweeter and then more flavorful, each an important step to producing the most delicious grapes you have ever had.  As every winemaker knows, good grapes make good wine.  My job as a winemaker is to nurture the vines, harvest the grapes carefully and provide an ideal environment for the grapes to ferment and the wine to age.  Other than that my job is to get out of the way and let Nature take its perennial course. 

    Spring and Easter is a time to experience and reflect on renewal.  The past twelve months have posed extraordinary challenges, but the new buds in the vineyard, however tiny they may be, are Spring’s reminder that it is a new year with sunny days ahead for all of us.

    Plan your trips and visits to Nicholson Ranch and experience the seasons in the vineyard.

    Cheers!

    C:\Documents and Settings\deepakg\Desktop\Sig-DG.png

    Deepak Gulrajani

  • January 13, 2021

    By

    Dear Friends,

    Happy New Year!  We all look forward to a happy and healthy 2021 along with the hope we return to life as we knew it.

    Winter is a slow time of the year at the winery, as it is with all farmers.  I usually travel to India, Europe or sometimes seek out new wine countries in the winter.  Like so many of you, my travels were curtailed.  This year, food and wine were the vehicles to transport me to the land of fond memories of journeys past.  Our trips to India and Puerto Rico, my wife’s heritage, are reprised through the cuisines of our respective homelands.  Our journeys to wine countries are replayed by popping open a bottle of wine acquired on these trips.  A Brunello from Italy recreated our visit to Montalcino with its steep walking paths and even steeper city walls.  A Burgundy from Cote d’Or took us down the Route des Grand Crus that runs through some of the most famous Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vineyards.  Last year’s trip was to a new wine region, Valle de Guadalupe in Mexico.  Opening a bottle of Nebbiolo recreated the live fire cuisine of the pioneer chefs of Guadalupe.  “Stay-at-Home” this winter gave us the opportunity to revisit many places through food and wine.

    Winter is also the time that young wines go through a second fermentation called malolactic fermentation.  As you all know, grapes that we harvest in September and October go through their first fermentation as wine yeasts eat the abundant sugar in grape juice to make alcohol and a bouquet of enticing aromas (floral, spice, tropical).  The young wine is often tart and light on the palate.  Many of you know that a second fermentation, called malolactic fermentation, takes the wine to the next level.  Malolactic (often shortened to ML), as the name suggests is a transformation (by bacteria) of tart, malic acid to softer lactic acid.  Malic acid is abundant in apples, and lactic acid helps create the flavor and texture of cheese.  This second winter fermentation transforms the tart light wine to a silky and creamy full bodied luscious liquid.  

    Following ML fermentation, several months of aging in barrels integrates the flavors and enhances the texture before the wine is bottled.  We usually bottle our wines after 18 to 22 months of aging in the barrel.  Spring is our normal season for bottling.  Covid upended so many things, including our bottling schedule.  We pushed back our Spring bottling well into the Fall, after harvest.  This means that all our 2018 wine are more full-bodied than usual, having spent an additional six months in barrels.

    This February wine club release includes the 2018 La Colina Chardonnay, the 2017 “777” Pinot Noir and the 2018 Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir.  Open any of our wines to revisit your trips and “travel in spirit” to Nicholson Ranch and Wine Country.

    I hope to see you soon in person.

    C:\Documents and Settings\deepakg\Desktop\Sig-DG.png

    Deepak Gulrajani