Conway Family Wines

Music and Wine-Harmony or Catastrophe?

Music and Wine-Harmony or Catastrophe?

Earlier today, someone responded to my post on Open Wine Consortium titled "Consumer Events? Waste of Time and Resources? Or a great way to reach new customers?"

Their response was more of a question, and that was (I'll take the liberty of summing it up) "Would a winery ever want to pair their wines with live music, and then give away a CD of that music when a consumer purchased the wine?" He went on to say that the music would be everlasting, whereas the wine is gone when the bottle is empty (I hate that truth don't you)? The idea then, is that when the consumer put the CD on,maybe some days or weeks later, they would recall the wine they had with it, and they would involuntarily salivate, run desperately, wild-eyed and eager, to their computer or local wine shop and purchase the exact bottle they had enjoyed when the heard the music the first time.

Ah, were it that simple...I could have brainwashed half of America by now...

It is an interesting perspective, though, and I believe it's somewhat valid. I had not really thought about music having a direct effect on whether or not I am enjoying the wine I am drinking, nor had I considered that hearing a song might allow me to recall a particular wine.

Music, like wine, is incredibly subjective, so I imagine it would be quite difficult to find something that suits all tastes (and ears). A great ambiance can help make a decent wine taste fabulous, but can a fabulous wine help to overcome bad music?
Even with music that is undoubtedly well-written, well played and widely enjoyed by you and your friends, it would be hard to know if others (your customers) will enjoy it. It seems to me that pairing wine and music is much like pairing wine with food. It should be done with much care, by those who are well versed, trained and practiced. We all know the result of a bad pairing!

As a music lover though, I would never turn down a free CD, especially if I loved the pairing! It's tough to imagine what consumers will latch on to, or what will be a distraction from the real reason you're all there-the wine. Recently I went to a tasting room in Los Olivos called Coquelicot (http://www.rvtwine.com/) The wines were awesome, and there was a singer-songwriter type earnestly strumming and gently singing into a quiet mic. It made the whole experience feel dream-like and I bought wine...lots of it...

So maybe it does work to pair music and wine in a public environment. If you can find the proper styles of music to blend harmoniously with your wines, you may just strike a chord with your consumer... (sorry I had to...)

Quick suggestion? 2008 Deep Sea Red and prosciutto, garlic and mozzarella pizza from Upper Crust. I had it last night when I was in Boston. Truly, that pairing is a symphony of flavor :)

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Earlier today, someone responded to my post on Open Wine Consortium titled "Consumer Events? Waste of Time and Resources? Or a great way to reach new customers?"

Their response was more of a question, and that was (I'll take the liberty of summing it up) "Would a winery ever want to pair their wines with live music, and then give away a CD of that music when a consumer purchased the wine?" He went on to say that the music would be everlasting, whereas the wine is gone when the bottle is empty (I hate that truth don't you)? The idea then, is that when the consumer put the CD on,maybe some days or weeks later, they would recall the wine they had with it, and they would involuntarily salivate, run desperately, wild-eyed and eager, to their computer or local wine shop and purchase the exact bottle they had enjoyed when the heard the music the first time.

Ah, were it that simple...I could have brainwashed half of America by now...

It is an interesting perspective, though, and I believe it's somewhat valid. I had not really thought about music having a direct effect on whether or not I am enjoying the wine I am drinking, nor had I considered that hearing a song might allow me to recall a particular wine.

Music, like wine, is incredibly subjective, so I imagine it would be quite difficult to find something that suits all tastes (and ears). A great ambiance can help make a decent wine taste fabulous, but can a fabulous wine help to overcome bad music?
Even with music that is undoubtedly well-written, well played and widely enjoyed by you and your friends, it would be hard to know if others (your customers) will enjoy it. It seems to me that pairing wine and music is much like pairing wine with food. It should be done with much care, by those who are well versed, trained and practiced. We all know the result of a bad pairing!

As a music lover though, I would never turn down a free CD, especially if I loved the pairing! It's tough to imagine what consumers will latch on to, or what will be a distraction from the real reason you're all there-the wine. Recently I went to a tasting room in Los Olivos called Coquelicot (http://www.rvtwine.com/) The wines were awesome, and there was a singer-songwriter type earnestly strumming and gently singing into a quiet mic. It made the whole experience feel dream-like and I bought wine...lots of it...

So maybe it does work to pair music and wine in a public environment. If you can find the proper styles of music to blend harmoniously with your wines, you may just strike a chord with your consumer... (sorry I had to...)

Quick suggestion? 2008 Deep Sea Red and prosciutto, garlic and mozzarella pizza from Upper Crust. I had it last night when I was in Boston. Truly, that pairing is a symphony of flavor :)

Harvest 2009 Perspective: Enologist, Adrienne St. John

The increase in overall production this year made this harvest busier than last year.  With the weather being so variable this year I spent a lot more time monitoring field samples for Brix, pH and TA so that the winemakers would know what to expect when the fruit arrived. 

With the increase in production we also increased our number of small lots that we dealt with this year.  That really kept me busy making sure that all the fermentations were proceeding as we hoped and constantly monitoring to make sure that we were staying out of any danger in the fermentations. 

Now that we have reached the end I am looking at how those fermentations are turning out.  A lot of good numbers in the cellar- I’ll continue to monitor them as we approach ageing so that we can start working on blends later on.

Adrienne St. John - Conway Family Wines, Enologist

Harvest 2009 Perspective: Winemaker, Jonathan Medard

Another harvest has come and gone. As with each and every harvest you tell yourself, “I promise, next year it will be easier on us.” Well, this year was no exception and certainly had its challenges! The capricious weather—between rain and frost—played a bit with our nerves. Oh, that’s not to mention the forest fires… That being said, it was ultimately a fairly smooth harvest and we anticipate great results.

 

The 2009 vintage propagated solid teamwork—the efforts in the Rancho Arroyo Grande vineyards allowed us to begin crafting outstanding wines, which are just at the beginning of their life. Denise Georgi, our Director of Grower Relations, introduced us to exciting and unique vineyards from throughout California; looking for the maritime climates we desired (for our Deep Sea wines), she brought in some wonderful fruit. We can’t wait until the day when we release the 2009 vintage, but we’ll have to be patient!

Jonathan Medard, Winemaker - Conway Family Wines

Harvest 2009 Perspective: Winemaker, Andrew Adam

It was a harvest of extremes. At times fruit was ripening at a rather casual pace and naturally as soon as we thought there is a pattern; Mother Nature humbled us by throwing a record heat wave, a mid-October freeze, and almost record setting rain in mid October as well. All part of a routine harvest! Those of us who chase the grape are frequently referred to as masochistic. This harvest proved that point of view; with our crew working un-godly hours, days off that could be counted on ½ of a hand and of course a round of respiratory virus and flu, but we came through happy and satisfied with what will be our final outcome! The multiple trips to Napa with Denise Georgi (our Grower Relations manager) paid off with some beautiful Napa cabernet fruit. 

At our estate vineyard, our vineyard Manager-Todd Ruffoni showed his trademark “calm under fire” by handling all of the winemaker’s fastidious requests in stride and delivered some dynamic estate fruit. The Syrah from the hillside blocks came in with nice flavors as well as our Estate Chardonnay blocks. This was the first year we had fruit from our estate Rancho Arroyo Grande Sauvignon Blanc block and our Viognier block. Both are developing as wonderful additions to the portfolio.         

Even though this is a bit of a stretch, each vintage makes us “parents” of those grapes. If we provide the right upbringing, proper nutrition and a safe home they should turn out just right!

Andrew Adam, Winemaker - Conway Family Wines

Harvest 2009 Perspective: Rancho Arroyo Grande Estate Vineyards

Todd Ruffoni, the Ranch Manager at Rancho Arroyo Grande, stated “Harvest started slow and finished fast.”  This was his initial statement when asked about the 2009 Harvest.  The cool weather caused a slow ripening with the Viognier and Syrah grapes and finished fast when the weather warmed.  The threat of rain hastened the harvest of some of the Chardonnay and Zinfandel in order to get as much of the ripe fruit in before the rain.  “…. even though the rain was much needed in California, it was too soon for the grape growers…” 

The vineyards at Rancho Arroyo Grande that produce our estate wines and our Deep Sea Wines, went through a major facelift the prior year and as expected, the tonnage was up from the previous year. Todd also thinks this year was overall, a great growing year.  The quality of the Chardonnay, Syrah and Zinfandel grapes is very promising for 2009.  All our estate fruit is harvested at night to obtain a fresher, fruitier, and crisper grape.

Todd Ruffoni, Rancho Arroyo Grande Ranch Manager for Conway Family Wines, oversees all 3,400 acres of ranch operations, including the management of 230 acres of vineyards, 30 acres of olive groves, numerous hayfields, cattle and horse operations.