Meteorological mélange.

In less than 24 hours Vinoland experienced an epic variety of weather; rain, hail, frost, fog and glorious sunshine.  (And an earthquake.  Just a magnitude 3.7, close to Yountville). 
It was not forecast to rain today.  And it didn't.  Instead it hailed, again.  Vinodog 2 and I were treated to a fabulous rainbow, over a neighbouring vineyard, on our rather soggy afternoon perambulation.  An interesting weather day.
I did, however, manage to get all the Orange muscat and Pinot grigio canes tied down whilst the sun was shining.  In fact, I got a little bit warm working my way from vine to vine, but I loved it.

Shake it off.

Today marks the 4th anniversary of the 6.0 earthquake that shook the Napa Valley to its core.  I'm still mourning the loss of the magnum of Havens, 2001 Syrah that I had been saving for a special dinner with friends.  I know Vinoland was lucky to get away with very little damage, just three bottles of wine in total broke, but still I find myself almost shedding a tear over spilt wine.  Sigh.

Birthday brews.

I have been very busy lately with family goings-on.  A lot of driving has been necessary, so, consequently, I haven't really been drinking.
I had one glass of wine last Friday night, which was my and Vinomaker's anniversary, an agreeable 2014 Chenin blanc from Vinum Cellars (Clarksburg AVA).  I had half a glass of beer at the Main Street Reunion car show on Saturday.  And on Sunday, in celebration of Thud's birthday, I had two bottles of beer; a bottle each of the Kona Brewing Company's Castaway IPA and Fire Rock pale ale.  Both beers were very pleasant and paired well with the tasty BBQ fare on my plate.  I'm not complaining, I'm having fun.
This evening, my family and I are planning on throwing an Earthquake Party: it is two years since a rather angry temblor shook the Napa Valley to its roots.  The little ones have suggested that we all eat jelly (Jello), popcorn and Pop Rocks.  Kids!

A fortnight later.

It has been two weeks today since Napa's 6.0 earthquake rattled many of downtown's historic buildings.  And, let's face it, this being California, there were precious few historic buildings to begin with.  This past Thursday was the first time I had ventured into downtown Napa proper, as I had some errands to run, and I was surprised to see that the overall state of the town is definitely as bad as the news media make it look.
Vintner's Collective, on the corner of Main and Clinton, is one such building that sustained considerable damage in the quake.  The collective, which showcases wines from boutique wineries that are perhaps too small to have their own tasting rooms, is housed in a building that hails from around 1875.  Or at least it was.  The building is a total mess, but apparently they are going to be able to rebuild it as the internal structure is intact.  It's an attractive building and I'm really glad it is going to be saved.  Hopefully, engineers will be able to save the Second Street Post Office and The Goodman Library also.

View from a train.

Today, Vinomum and I had lunch on the Napa Valley Wine Train.  We spent a leisurely 3 hours travelling up and down the valley (at about 15 miles per hour), gazing at moving vineyard-vistas, eating a three course meal and quaffing a bottle of Mumm Brut Prestige.  Life could be worse. 
The Wine Train was relatively quiet for what is considered peak season in the Napa Valley - harvest time.  Our waiter informed us that a lot of prospective passengers had cancelled their reservations due to fears related to Sunday's earthquake.  What a shame!  I don't think there are many other pastimes that could possibly be much more soothing to frayed nerves than sipping bubbly whilst being unhurriedly ferried through beautifully calming scenery. 
The wine list needs some help, and the waiter could do with brushing up on his facts a little bit, but other than that Vinomum and I had a wonderful afternoon ride on the Wine Train.

Still shaking!

With new barrels arriving at TWWIAGE, in anticipation of the 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon harvest, wine-life goes on after a rather major earthquake.  Watching news coverage of the damage at certain wineries, (notably two crumpled-like-a-soda-can, 10,000 gallon, stainless steel tanks at the Hess Collection), I realise that TWWIAGE got off very lightly.  My employers only suffered the loss of a few cases of personal wine that were still stacked in cases, not unpacked and placed in the diamond shaped wine bins.  And Napa is still shaking.  Thud and his family got little sleep on Sunday night due to all the aftershocks.  I myself was awakened at 5.32 a.m. this morning by a small temblor, followed by another at 6.44 a.m.  California, man!

Shake, rattle, but no roll.

Vinomaker and I had been saving this magnum of Havens, 2001 Syrah Napa Valley for more than a decade.  Not for any particular, special occasion, maybe just a nice dinner with friends who appreciate Syrah.  But as of 3.20 a.m. this morning, courtesy of a 6.0 earthquake, this 1.5 litre bottle of Syrah no longer exists.  Hate when that happens!  It was a very violent, shaking type of earthquake, and very noisy as everything was rattling.  Add to that the sounds of things falling from the walls, shelves and in the pantry.  When I opened the refrigerator this morning most of the contents fell on me.  It was very different from the rolling motion of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake.  Things could be worse. 
Vinomaker, Vinodog 2 and I are unscathed.  And so are my visiting English family.  However the farmhouse in which they are staying, on the westside of the valley which was hardest hit, has took a real beating.  Thud is not even sure if they can stay there tonight; no power, no water, and a very unsafe chimney stack.  What a way to begin the last week of their holiday.
Vinoland fared much better.  The main water supply pipe to our well ruptured, but Vinomaker was able to turn the water off quickly before the cellar suffered major water damage.  We did not lose electrical service.  In total, just three bottles of wine broke.  Thankfully, all the barrels of our 2013 vintage stayed put on their barrel racks...phew! 
Clean up is complete, now everything is just drying out.  I'm definitely having a glass of wine with dinner tonight, perhaps something I have been saving - before Mother Nature disposes of another valued bottle of wine for me.

Rain and an earthquake.

On my recent mini-vacation with my family, we all laughed when it rained during our stay in Utah.  We chuckled when it sprinkled on us whilst we were swimming in our hotel's pool in Las Vegas.  Two of the hottest places I have ever visited and it rained while I was there, funny.
I'm not laughing now.  It started to rain at 10 p.m. last night and continued to rain over night - and showers are forecast for all of today.  What?  Rain in August is very unusual here.  And then, this morning, at 5.40 a.m. there was an earthquake (don't know how strong yet, but it wasn't much).
Now, I can't really hold my dear brother Thud responsible for the earthquake, as California has earthquakes all the time, but the rain in Utah, Las Vegas and August in Napa?  You bet I'm holding him responsible.  In fact, I'm going to start calling him Rainmaker.