*  ‘Great wine, great shipping’ weather is just a few weeks away.  On October 5th we’ll be releasing all the August Club Casa shipments held by request, for delivery.  Now would be  a good time to order wine for the upcoming holiday season, too.  Remember, they go quickly!

 *  The Red Wine Only Club,the White Wine and Okay One Rosé Club along with the All Mixed Up, Bi-Annual Case Club   will be processed on October 12 and shipped October 19.

October’s “RED WINE ONLY” CLUB shipment includes:
Six Pack Total: $184.80, reflects 20% discount (add applicable taxes and shipping)
One bottle 2007 Petite Sirah, Old Vines, $35
One bottle 2007 Charbono, Old Vines, Napa Valley $29
Two bottles 2007 Cabernet Franc, St. Helena Estate,  Napa Valley $40 ea.
One bottle 2007 Tinto, St. Helena Estate,  Napa Valley $32
One bottle 2007 Cabernet Sauvingon, St. Helena Estate,  Napa Valley $55

October’s “White Wine and Okay, Rosé” CLUB shipment includes:
Six Pack Total: $110.40 reflects 20% discount (add applicable taxes and shipping)
One 2008 Chenin Blanc, Old Vines, St. Helena Estate,  Napa Valley $24
One late Harvest French Colombard, Old Vines,  Napa Valley $20
Two bottles 2008 Riesling, Old Vines, St. Helena Estate,  Napa Valley $24
Two bottles 2008 Rosado, a dry rose,  Mendocino County $23

October’s All Mixed Up, Bi-Annual Case Club – Get it all!
Full case is only $295.20 -  reflects 20% discount (add applicable taxes and shipping)
One bottle 2007 Petite Sirah, Old Vines, $35
One bottle 2007 Charbono, Old Vines, Napa Valley $29
Two bottles 2007 Cabernet Franc, St. Helena Estate,  Napa Valley $40 ea.
One bottle 2007 Tinto, St. Helena Estate,  Napa Valley $32
One bottle 2007 Cabernet Sauvingon, St. Helena Estate,  Napa Valley $55

One 2008 Chenin Blanc, Old Vines, St. Helena Estate,  Napa Valley $24
One late Harvest French Colombard, Old Vines,  Napa Valley $20
Two bottles 2008 Riesling, Old Vines, St. Helena Estate,  Napa Valley $24
Two bottles 2008 Rosado, a dry rose,  Mendocino County $23

We are currently accepting new members!  Join today, as memberships are always limited.
Our wine clubs are free to join & worth every penny!  They are also non-committal as you may cancel at any time.

*  It is harvest-time for Casa Nuestra’s organic vineyards! 

Check out these photos of what we’ve done so far:

Grapes just in:

2009 Merlot and 2009 Cabernet Franc – both grown organically on our St. Helena Estate. 

Picked earlier this month:

2009 Riesling, Old Vines- this is the vineyard planted in 1966 on the east side of the Silverado Trail
2009 Chenin Blanc, Old Vines – this vineyard is located on the southside of our dirveway and was planted in 1961
2009 Rosado, our dry rose’ being made from our Cabernet Franc grapes located on the north side of the driveway and next to the Trail

We expect to pick the field-blend vineyards (Tinto Classico and Tinto St. Helena) next week.  We’ll let you know!

Woo Hoo!

Here are just few of the comments we’ve received – unsolicited – from Club Casa Members:

“I think I hugged the delivery guy!!” Karen M.

“One of the colleagues at my new company just joined the Club. Back in December she and her husband spent a week up your way and were treated to your usual brand of hospitality . They had a wonderful time at the Casa. My heart warmed.” Ron D.

You are all wonderful.” John S.

“Thanks again for your shipments. They have been great gifts and fun for sharing with our friends.” Sandi J.

” Everyone has enjoyed being introduced to the new varietals-Kudos!”
Nichol R .

“I told him that my mom and I enjoyed Casa Nuestra more than any of the other wineries because the people are always so friendly and the atmosphere is nice and laid back and ….WE EMBRACE PEACE!!” Linda M.

If you like our wines, please consider joining one of our wine clubs!

2009 Events and Happenings

September 24 -  We’ll be pouring wine at the Wine Country Inn  – Club Casa Members enjoy a 15% discount on accommodations here!

October 2 – Cheers St, Helena!  We’ve been invited to pour at Lunaria during this fabulous event in downtown St. Helena. Can you join us?

October 5 - We’ll ship the August Club Casa shipments being held due to hot weather

October 9 -  We’ll be pouring wine at the Wine Country Inn

October 15 - All Mixed Up Casa Club along with the Red Wine Only & White Wine Only Club wines get shipped.

October 17 - St Helena Hometown Harvest Festival from 12 noon to 4 pm.

November 5 – Club Casa Shipment

November 26 – Thanksgiving Day, closed

December 25th through January 1, 2010 – Closed for the holidays.  However, if you are a club member planning a visit, please call for a special appointment.  We’ll be glad to meet you here!

* A list of the most current accolades -   but of course you already knew these wines were winners!

2006 Cabernet Franc, Napa Valley Estate- Best of Class & Double Gold!
Jerry Mead’s New World Int’l Wine Competition & Bronze at San Francisco Chronicle’s Int’l Wine Competition

2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Estate  Silver Medal winner!  Pacific Rim International Wine Competition

2006 Meritage, Napa Valley Estate - Three-time Medal winner!
Pacific Rim Int’l Wine Competition, San Francisco Chronicle’s 2009 International Wine Competition and Grand Harvest Awards

2007 Tinto Classico, Old Vines, Oakville Estate Napa Valley  – Two-time Medal winner!  Silver Medal from Pacific Rim International Wine Competition and Bronze from the 2009 San Francisco International Wine Competition

2008 Chenin Blanc, Old Vines Napa Valley, St.Helena Estate – Bronze Medal from 2009 San Francisco International Wine Competition -sorry, this wine is already sold out but White Wine Only Club members will receive one bottle in October’s shipment.

2007 Tinto St. Helena,  Napa Valley,  Gold Medal from the 2009 San Francisco International Wine Competition

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Along with a Double Gold and Best of Class from Jerry D. Mead, our 2006 Cabernet Franc (100%) is being reviewed online, too!  See what Gabe’s View is here.

WineSkinny.com has come up with a wonderful pairing for Spring: Green’s Raw Milk Cheddar, some maple-glazed pecan halves and our 2006 Cabernet Franc! Check it out for yourself!

2006 Tinto Classico – 91 points in Wine Enthusiast! It’s in the March 2009 Issue, pp 42

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon – 90 points in the Appellation Saint Helena Tasting!
Jim Gallagher said it’s “Medium red, light purple; bouquet of raspberry, earth & toast; medium body, superb fruit, good acid-tannin balance; excellent finish: rich, long, lush aftertaste, finesse style, 2-5 years”.  Check it out!

2005 Cabernet Sauvignon in the ASH (Appellation St. Helena) Media Tasting – Nikitas Magel recommends it as having “refreshingly bright cherry and vanilla qualities”, one of the four wines he tasted that he can recommend “in good conscience”!
Check it out!

Casa Nuestra 2007 Riesling Napa Valley
“I absolutely loved this wine, for the value and for its appealing mix of zesty citrus, crisp apple, aromatic spices and touch of wildflower honey — all folding together on a mouthwateringly bright finish. Ready to drink now and over the next three or four years.” – WineSkinny.com

2007 Dry Chenin Blanc – New World Wine said our Chenin is “simply put, a world class product on par with the best Chenin’s of Vouvray”… “Round and dry on the palate with a delightfully bright finish”!  Check it out!

Our Old Vine Tinto Classico was ranked 9.0-9.5 in a recent Oakville tasting!  Check it out!

2006 French Colombard Late Harvest Old Vines, Oakville – InsideWine.com (Luciano Comici) gave us “Outstanding Value” and said “As fresh and delightful a dessert/aperitif wine as you’re likely to find this season is this 2006 Late Harvest Colombard from tiny, but highly-respected Casa Nuestra Winery.  Made from high-grade, old-vine botrytized grapes with low residual sugar, it enchants from first drop to last, coming beautifully alive with fruit aromas and flavors that run the gamut from peaches, apricots and lemons, to pineapples, grapefruit and bananas.  This is not a clingy, syrupy-on-the-palate dessert wine, but an incredibly clean approach that works well alone, or in combination with a variety of cheeses and party snacks.  Easily a crowd favorite anywhere you bring it.  Believe me when I tell you that it is good enough to drink all day and night long if you’re lucky to get enough of it.  This is certainly one to remember for the magic it performs on the palate.  Bottled by hand with only 160 cases produced.”

Planning a Trip?  Check out www.71miles.com!  John Vlahides says that “Blends and unusual varietals are the specialty here…best of all you can picnic outside…” and we’d have to agree!

For some hidden gems in Wine Country, check out www.winetravel.com.  One gem we found while perusing the site was “An unapologetically groovy farmhouse along the Silverado Trail”.  Sound Familiar?

Did we miss somebody?  Let us know!  Delina@casanuestra.com

Matt Kramer of Wine Spectator says… “This is the kind of tasting room experience I adore. It’s the thrill of discovery, that unmatched sensation of having been there before the word got out. That seems impossible these days, but clearly it’s not.” Check out the June 30, 2003 issue of Wine Spectator or Click here to read more about Mr. Kramer’s experience at the Casa.

Casa Nuestra donates rare and specialty wines to the world’s largest charity wine auction. The “lot” was a one-of-a-kind wine tasting experience: twelve bottles which auctioned for $3000 from our library cellar, the highlights of 23 years of wine making at Casa Nuestra. All were estate bottled. Production of each vintage ranged from 150 to 400 cases, depending on the year. Each bottle has a unique place in Casa history.

Chenin Blanc, when seriously made, has a cellar life perhaps greater than any other white variety – a fact known in Europe though virtually unknown in this country . Our lot contains four venerable Chenins, ranging in age from 18 to 23 years old. Few have ever tasted white wines of this age from the Napa Valley, or anywhere else in North America. The experience is not available, at any price. We have intentionally left the cellar dust and cobwebs on these bottles, the authentic patina of age. The 1980 is our first commercial vintage. The 1983 was our first entry into a commercial wine competition (San Francisco Wine Competition, double gold). The 1985, a botrytis vintage, was served by President Ronald Reagan at the White House. The 1986 Dorado is our debut late harvest Chenin and a gold and best-of-class selection,

Two debut White Reisling selections are included: a late harvest (1997) and an off-dry example (1989). The Casa history must includes our proprietary red wine, Tinto Classico (2001). Tinto is made from an authentic field mix family vineyard in Oakville which was planted in the early 1950’s – one of the oldest still-standing plantings in the region.

Two examples of Cabernet Franc are included, 1986 and 1987. We were one of the first North American wineries to initiate a Cabernet Franc program, beginning in 1986, another gold and best-of-class wine.

Casa first offered a meritage selection in 1991, under the name “Quixote.” This line is now offered as “Meritage” (1999). In that same year, 1999, we offered our debut Merlot, another gold and best-of-class wine.

Examples of all these wines have been tasted within the past 60 days, and they are known to be sound and rewarding. Please enjoy them together with the warm personal regards of Casa Nuestra.

Eugene R. Kirkham, co-owner

Casa Nuestra Winery, of St. Helena, Napa Valley will represent North America in the first international conference on Chenin Blanc to be held in the Loire Valley, France, July 2 through July 5. Casa Nuestra Winery is one of the foremost producers of ultra premium Chenin Blanc, having specialized in the variety for 23 years.

In Europe and other wine growing regions around the world, Chenin Blanc holds a place among the most noble premium white wine varieties. In contrast, in North America, the white wine market is dominated by Chardonnay, and there are very few premium wine producers still making Chenin Blanc.

The international conference, called the Rendezvous De Chenin, will occur in the ancestral homeland of the variety, the famous Loire Valley. Famed for its storybook chateaux, the Loire was historically the region where the French aristocracy built their summer residences. The white wine of the region, made from Chenin Blanc, has been justly renowned for centuries, and is especially known for this long cellar life.

The conference invited Casa Nuestra Winery to participate, together with representatives from France, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa. Casa is the only North American Chenin Blanc producer to be represented at the conference. The delegation from Casa Nuestra, will include co-owner and founder, Gene Kirkham, and winemaker Allen Price, who will participate in three days of tasting panels, evaluating Chenin Blanc wines from around the world.

Chenin Blanc is an extremely versatile variety, and wines in many styles are made from this grape. At the conference, the full spectrum of Chenin Blanc will be represented: dry wines, off dry wines, dessert style wines, and sparkling wines. Casa Nuestra’s trademark style is a dry Chenin Blanc, though when conditions have permitted, Casa has made a late harvest dessert Chenin. For further details on the conference see www.oenologuesdefrance.fr