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Welcome! In this issue you will find some harvest highlights, specials you don’t want to miss, and an invitation to join us for a unique tour and tasting experience at Piocho Ranch!

Specials and New Releases

Thanksgiving Special:  Use promo code “HCVTHANKS” to get a 10% discount on all Barrack Family wines.   Polo wine club members receive a total of 25% off!  Click here to order your Barrack Family Wines.
Barrack Ten~Goal Vertical: For a limited time we are offering a complete Barrack Ten-Goal vertical which includes the 06, 07, and 08 vintage.  We have very limited quantity so be sure to get yours today before it all runs out.  Click here to check out the Barrack Ten-Goal Vertical.

A Letter from the General Manager

Dear Happy Canyon Vineyards Friends and Family:

My first harvest managing Happy Canyon Vineyards is a time I will cherish in my heart forever.  It was a deeply rewarding experience that resulted in an invaluable learning opportunity.  There were a few special moments that gave me a deeper appreciation for what we do as farmers, family, and producers of wine, and I’d like to share them with you.

Memory 1: It was a brisk cold morning in early September when our harvest began. We started with Sauvignon Blanc.  This block is right next to our house, so I couldn’t resist getting up at 2am to see the lights in the vineyard.  At 6am, I went down to the vineyard to see the harvest workers “doing their thing”, literally, dancing and singing while picking the grapes.  I shook their hands, I joined them in their singing (despite my poor Spanish and lack of singing ability), and for the next hour I picked grapes with them.  It was surreal, it was beautiful, it was fun, I was thankful to be there!

Memory 2: The next moment that stands out was “testing the grapes” with my daughter’s kindergarten class.  Honestly, going to see a group of five year olds to talk about harvesting grapes had me shaking in my boots – what was I going to say, would they even acknowledge I was there, is there anything really interesting to them about grapes (other then eating them of course)?  It turned out to be a grand success – just like us winegrowers and winemakers do, we chewed the grapes, we tasted them, we spit them out.  Pure fun!

Memory 3: Fast and furious and the most compressed harvest to date, the grape picking ended exactly one month to the day that it started.  The last pick of the season was our Cabernet Sauvignon from Jodi’s Block.  As the fruit made its way from vine to fermenter, it was clear that the Cabernet from this vintage was the finest we had ever seen, perfect in every way.  It was deeply dark, rich and powerful fruit, nearly black.  Although we have to wait almost 4 years before the 2013 Barrack Ten-Goal is ready to drink, it is sure to be the best bottle of wine we have ever produced!

In closing, the Barrack Family and I would like to provide a special thank you to Ben Merz and our harvest team from Coastal Vineyard Care as well as Doug Margerum and his winemaking team for all the hardwork and the stellar job they did this harvest! 

Best Regards,
Sean D. Pitts, General Manager, Happy Canyon Vineyards

Upcoming Events

We now offer a unique and special tasting experience at Piocho ranch.  Visit us, take a tour of our vineyard and taste through our entire line-up of current releases!  Appointment is required and typically requires 2 week advance notice.  Contact us today: info@happycanyonvineyard.com, 805-203-0749.

Fun Facts!

A polo player’s skills are expressed in goals, ten-goal is considered "perfect", and is the highest rating a player can attain.