Category Archives: Paul’s Blog Posts

For those who wish to preserve the idea that the wine industry is gloriously romantic, you may just want to click to another part of our website. However, for those interested in finding out how we actually do things in the winery, the parts of the industry that make my blood boil, my foolish and well-founded concerns about the grapes, and what it really feels like to have all aspects of a wine come together perfectly under my watch (whether I’m responsible or not), this just might be a blog worth reading.

My aim is to educate and give you a sense of why I love this farming life so much. And with Maggie posting from time to time (her posts will be obvious because they’re upbeat and joyful), hopefully you too can experience a bit of the winery life at Madroña.

One Foothill Farmers Perspective on the 2019 Harvest

Posted on January 17, 2020 by

Part 1, 2 and 3 With the 2019 harvest and crush now in the books, it’s time to start prognosticating as to the overall quality, or at least that’s a common request in the tasting room. But before we start … Continue reading →

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A Definitive 2019 Vintage Update and Recap

Posted on November 30, 2019 by

Part 1 With the 2019 harvest and crush now in the books, it’s time to start prognosticating as to the overall quality, or at least that’s a common request in the tasting room. But before we start down that interesting … Continue reading →

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A More Technical Grape Growing Report for 2019

Posted on October 2, 2019 by

I recently was contacted by a journalist regarding the more difficult growing conditions for grape farmers in the foothills this year. Her question was about mildew on the grapes and the potential need for wineries to throw out a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Paul's Blog Posts, Vineyard News | 6 Comments

What Happens When Your Distributor Goes Out of Business?

Posted on August 21, 2019 by

Over the last four decades, we’ve seen a lot of changes in the wine industry. Sure, we’ve seen restaurants come and go, wine shops come and go, and even other wineries come and go. But the real change has been … Continue reading →

Posted in Events, News, Paul's Blog Posts | 3 Comments

Annual Open Houses—Madroña 39, Rucksack 1

Posted on May 16, 2019 by

No, it’s not a one-sided baseball score between the Madroña Bushmen and the Rucksack Hikers. And no, it’s not a count of the tasters in the tasting room. Instead, it’s the number of Open Houses we’ll be celebrating this year … Continue reading →

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Bordeaux—An Amazing Experience—Part 1

Posted on March 13, 2019 by

Really, I don’t know where to start on our Bordeaux experience last November. It’s not like we haven’t had amazing experiences traveling before, but this was our first river cruise ever. And it was a river cruise through one of … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Paul's Blog Posts, Uncategorized | 3 Comments

Quintet Tasting—Who Wants to be a Better Wine Drinker?

Posted on March 7, 2019 by

Having just finished the Portopia experience (of food and wine pairings) last weekend in the cellar, it’s time to talk about Madroña’s second tasting in our educational series—our 19th annual Quintet tasting (March 16th and 17th). (Already know you want … Continue reading →

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A Little Bit of Age Brings Out Maturity

Posted on January 30, 2019 by

OK, so as I get a little older, I like to point out (especially to our kids) that my age has brought on a maturity that needs to be ‘respected’! OK, so that’s probably pushing it a bit, probably since … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Paul's Blog Posts, Wine News | 3 Comments

A Bit of the Joy, Making it Easy with Holiday Wine Specials!

Posted on November 30, 2018 by

I’m one of those people that believes holiday music on the radio shouldn’t start until at least the day after Thanksgiving. In fact, this expansion of the Christmas season into October (and September) purely for marketing reasons is really starting … Continue reading →

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A Bordeaux Opportunity

Posted on July 27, 2018 by

Even if you don’t happen to be going on the cruise to Bordeaux with us this November, I hope you don’t mind hearing a bit more about it all. The fact is, I get quite a few questions about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Events, Food & Wine, Paul's Blog Posts, Wine News | 3 Comments