Hello Friends of Mesa Del Sol,

Cheers!

Gary & Stacey

It Never Rains in California…Until the Winter of 2023!

When it pours, man it pours! At least that is what the winter of 2023 brought to the Central Coast of California, along with the coldest days we’ve seen in 30 years. Yes, we had snow too!

There’s nothing like being in the eye of the storm with atmospheric rivers breaking precipitation records all over our area. Monterey County got pounded causing significant damage to the local Ag business. Salinas Valley, the agricultural capital of the world, experienced 24 inches of rain, with Carmel Valley topping off at a whopping 55 inches. Apparently, our rainy season has another month to go!

Fortunately, Mesa Del Sol weathered the storm beautifully. With our prime location on a mesa high above the Arroyo Seco River, our vineyards were protected. The waters of the so-called “dry river” of Arroyo Seco, which feed our vineyard, swelled to abundance and came within a foot of breaching the river banks and threatening our well house. Thanks to the quick action of our foreman Eduardo and his crew in reinforcing the banks and levy, our precious well water was protected.

Despite the ominous rains and resulting storm damage to our area, there is a silver lining to be found. California’s drought concerns have hopefully subsided as the rains replenished its depleting aquifer, the source of all agricultural water for the Salinas Valley.

From the Vineyard: Happy Vines, Happy Wines!

As Stacey routinely reminds Gary, “Happy wife, happy life.” The same could also be said for wine: Happy vines make for happy wines! At least that’s our story and we’re sticking to it.

In truth, our vines are quite happy and beginning to awaken from their winter dormancy with healthy little budding to welcome the coming Spring. Our Sangiovese, always the forerunner, is leading the way.

Vines don’t stay happy without a little attention. The soil of Arroyo Seco is characterized by gravelly, sandy loam which is, (with the exception of our deluge of rain this year), continuously dry from May to October, and moist thereafter. Our winter vineyard prep work is already paying off with extensive ground cover providing natural fertilizer as we continue our organic farming practice. Pruning is complete and the vines are secured to their trellis as we wait for nature to take its course. We look forward to another exceptional grape yield this coming harvest.

Mesa Del Sol 2021 Vintage is Rocking a Bottle!

We just bottled our Mesa Del Sol 2021 vintage, our first since owning the vineyard. We must say this vintage is wearing its bottle well and already tastes so good!

In keeping with Mesa Del Sol’s philosophy of quality over quantity, we produced 350 cases in 2021. This includes 4 red varietals and our Prima Rosso blend, of which we are particularly proud.

We wanted to come up with a little different spin on our blend that would provide a unique style to prior years. With the guidance of our winemaker, we arrived at a blend that is Zinfandel dominant at 35% with 25% Syrah; 25% Sangiovese; and 15% Grenache. We think we nailed it!

We expect to release this vintage in the next 6 months but it’s already tasting exceptional. The wine will only benefit from a little more time in the bottle to mature and bring out its full potential.

Stay tuned for our release date.

Did You Say Mesa Del Sol Wine Club is Coming Soon?

We will be launching our Mesa Del Sol Wine Club in the next few months. As a member, you will enjoy the benefits of receiving free shipping and a 20% discount on 2 shipments of 6 bottles per year.

We will be combining our new wines with some of our more mature library wines in each shipment. We also plan to offer vertical selections, such as a Syrah 2017, 2018, 2019, etc so wine club members can compare and contrast each vintage.

More information on how to join our Mesa Del Sol Wine Club will be coming soon!

Mesa Del Sol continues to be a place where you can step back in time and throw your cares to the wind. It survived the storms of 2023 and is waiting for you. Why not plan a visit?

The best is yet to come!

Gary & Stacey 

Mesa Del Sol Vineyards