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Latest Archives
January 2006
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The Latest from Karl Lawrence Cellars
We finally got a break from our perpetual sunshine last weekend. It wasn't much of a sprinkle, but legally, it was rain. The mustard's having a hard time coming up and some trees are blossoming. Everyone's a little nervous that the vines will wake up too early.
Cheryl and I are back from the Blues Cruise, otherwise known as the Legendary Rythm and Blues Cruise. So I'm tanned, got a new "chill" on and ready to get back to work for you all. Had a great meeting with a bunch of Karl Lawrence buddies the day before we launched. Ned Valois and Ariel Solorzano used their influence in high places to have flowers and champagne waiting in our room. They also had a bottle of wine sent to us and then treated us to dinner. All in all, we felt like celebrities. Many thanks to them for making us feel special.
Ned & Patty Valois, Moi, Sue Matza, Alberto & Lisa Interian, Barry Matza
Our SoFL friends gather on our balcony for our send off.
Also visiting with us thru other forms for the evening were our good friends:
Gary Morisoli, Herb Lamb, Dr. Crane, and Beckstoffer Tokalon
The lady who purchased the Karl Lawrence 3 L, with the Blues Cruise logo etched and painted on it, at the charity auction, will put it back up on the internet and also donate those funds to the Blues Foundation.
Now...for a change of pace...We're trying something new this year. We're releasing to the warmer areas a month earlier than usual. I call this our Mason-Dixon game plan. During February and early March, all the small shippers are sitting around playing cards and asking for business. Then in late winter and early spring, all the small wineries hit them at once with a deluge of wine. So in just a couple of weeks into the season, they're a week behind on shipments. This will also help us by spreading out the work over a longer period of time instead of hitting us all at once. Also, we'll be able to ship more via ground, saving you all in that area.
We are going to have to do a small incremental increase in price. During our fifteen years of business, the cost of grapes per ton has risen five times what it was when we started. And yet, the cost of our wine has only doubled. As always, we strive to bring you the best premium wine from the Napa Valley at the lowest cost. Thank you all for helping us make this possible.
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Now...for a change of pace...We're trying something new this year. We're releasing to the warmer areas a month earlier than usual. I call this our Mason-Dixon game plan. During February and early March, all the small shippers are sitting around playing cards and asking for business. Then in late winter and early spring, all the small wineries hit them at once with a deluge of wine. So in just a couple of weeks into the season, they're a week behind on shipments. This will also help us by spreading out the work over a longer period of time instead of hitting us all at once. Also, we'll be able to ship more via ground, saving you all in that area.
We are going to have to do a small incremental increase in price. During our fifteen years of business, the cost of grapes per ton has risen five times what it was when we started. And yet, the cost of our wine has only doubled. As always, we strive to bring you the best premium wine from the Napa Valley at the lowest cost. Thank you all for helping us make this possible.
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Many of you emailed to let me know that we were mentioned in an article on January 3 of the Los Angeles Times. The Times stated that "if you can't remember what a good Cabernet tastes like, a bottle of Karl Lawrence Cellars Cab from Napa will remind you." They also stated that we were "kind of an underground success." I asked Michael about it and he said that he had forgot all about it, but that someone called his home office phone during the holidays and asked him a few things about the wine. In any event, thank you all for making us an underground event.
Pam Star flips over her new Crocker & Star vineyard
I took some of my film buddies by Crocker & Star. Pam pointed out the Newton vineyard's on top of the hill and told them how the wash came straight down from there, thru the Dr. Crane vineyard and to hers and Charylie Crocker's vineyard. She said that she got the same advantages that the hill top grapes got, because of the wash, but without having to walk like a goat up there. She said she was so happy about this that she could do a cart-wheel. So I dared her to do one. She actually looks more like a goat to me. In all fairness, she did pull off two perfect cart-wheels.
Meaghan (actress), Michael (auditioning), & Libby (director)
Cheryl and I are off to SoFL tonight on the Jet Blue red-eye. We'll hook up with a bunch of our people and then head out Sunday on the Blues Cruise. Jefferson will be checking in from time to time. He's mostly working on confirming the new people from the wait list and working on the first draft of the allocations for the new release. We'll catch you on the flip side.
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