It's Never as Easy as it Looks

Every winery has their secrets to making great wine. Whether it is the varieties of the grapes used in a blend, or some forest in France that the barrels are sourced from. Some wineries keep these secrets locked up in their winemaker’s head or in the few selective powers that be.

Last Saturday night at our winery in Templeton, Donati Family Vineyard offered the chance of a lifetime to some very special wine club members. As a tribute to our Paesano members we decided to let them make a special red blend consisting of our most precious Bordeaux lots in our cellar. Not only did these members go through the difficult task of blending their wine, they had to pick a label and bottle shape too. With little help from the winemaking team several participating Paesanos made a blend that is very comparable to our top tiered blends.

In addition to making a custom Bordeaux blend, Chef Charlie Paladin Wayne prepared a four course meal that paired beautifully with our wines. Of course the special blend built by the participating Paesanos was spotlighted with the meal.

The 2007 Paesano will be released at 2008 Paesano Blending party on January 16th, 2009. Don't miss the once in a lifetime learning experience and become a your own winemaker. It will be fun to brag to all your friends back home.