It is with no small excitement that I am able to announce a new trip to vino heaven, once again this year.
Navarra, Spain is both an autonomous region (Navarre) as well as an ancient wine region, whose wine roots date back up to 1,200 years. It was once a
great and proud kingdom and sits between what is now the Spanish wine appellation of
Rioja and the French wine appellation of
Bordeaux. Consequently, it has grows an
awesome mix of grape varieties from both regions that have been approved by the Navarra Denominación de Origen (DO):
Garnacha Tinta,
Tempranillo,
Graciano,
Mazuelo,
Cabernet Sauvignon,
Merlot,
Pinot Noir,
Shiraz,
Garnacha Blanca,
Malvasia,
Moscatel,
Viura,
Chardonnay, and
Sauvignon Blanc. It also has a long history as an
approved DO (the Spanish equivalent of a wine AVA or appellation that has strict, government-regulated quality control and approved grape growing and winemaking methods), celebrating its
75th anniversary in 2008. And it is to
Navarra that I have the great fortune to fly, this coming Saturday!
I'm delirious to announce a new project that I've stumbled into, courtesy of my fantastic sabbatical, rather sabbradical, from my work at Genentech: I am working the 2011 wine harvest (#Harvest2001) at Chimney Rock Winery (Twitter, Facebook, WineLog) in the Stags Leap District (WineLog) of Napa Valley, CA. I will be the harvest intern and cellar worker of which I've always dreamed...and basically working my ass off helping to produce fine Cabernet, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, rosé, (Fiano), and Meritage wines.
My participation in the controlled chaos of crush at the Rock comes courtesy of Terlato Wine Group (WineLog), my best friend Jeff van de Pol, Assistant Winemaker; and Elizabeth Vianna (Twitter), Winemaker and General Manager. 
