Rangeland Wines June 2017 News

New Wine Case Special -- 20% Off Before Club Discount!

For the first time ever, we're offering an additional 20% off any full case (12 bottles) of a single wine that you order--that's in addition to your club discount. It's a perfect time to stock your cellar for the summer parties, graduations, reunions and BBQs on your calendar. The savings are really signficant. For example, if you are an Estate Wine Club member and you purchase a case of our delicious 2013 Cabernet which retails for $480, your price is $288--a nearly $200 savings, or 40% off. To order cases, please email me, since we have to manually combine the discounts to get you this special price. Please note that the 2013 Petite Sirah (now $75) and 2013 GSM (now $65) are both almost gone, so the price on those wines has increased to library levels. The 2016 Flora Rosé is going fast, so re-order now if you want more. For a full list of our current and library wines, go to www.RangelandWines.com/wines.

Beef Club Shipping July 10

We are busy preparing for our annual beef harvest and club offering. This year's heavy rainfall resulted in abundant forage and happy, grass-fat cattle. In the next several weeks we will be harvesting our two year olds, hanging the meat for about two weeks and then cutting the beef, packing the cuts into club boxes, and shipping to our club members.  We will release the beef club for pick up on July 1, with shipping starting July 10. Keep an eye on your inbox for emails regarding the billing and shipment of your club box. We still have some room in the beef club, so if If you'd like to join, sign up here.

The Spring of Springs at the Springs Ranch

Spring has always been a busy time Adelaida Springs Ranch, but this one has been wild! We had over 58 inches of rainfall since the season started last fall. The result has been a glorious green spring and continuous  work getting the vineyard mowed, tilled, weeded, sprayed (for mildew prevention), pruned and thinned. Our new vineyard manager Patrick Hamilton has logged countless hours on the tractor and in the rows with our labor crews, getting the vineyard in shape. Winemaker Paul Hinschberger is in field, troubleshooting the irrigation system and directing the work. Ranch Manager Eddie Burch has been fixing mowers, chainsaws and tractors as fast as we can break 'em, when he is not tending livestock and fixing fences. 

Our vines are showing a lot of health and fruitfulness. The graceful tendrils at the shoot tips are really stretching out, reaching for the sun. If we can get through the current bloom and the fruit sets successfully in June, we expect a return to normal grape yields this fall. That means more delicious wine for all of us. After 5 years of punishing drought, it is a huge relief to see the spring verdure and vigor return to the vineyard, grasslands and woodlands; really the whole landscape. Despite the ceaseless work that the ranch requires, Lisa and I feel the unremitting stress of dryer times falling away.

Tasting Room Update

Since our winery permit was set back in February, we've been working on opening a tasting room in Templeton. We hope we are near to finalizing a deal and will keep you posted as this develops. We expect to have something open this fall. In the interim, winemaker Paul Hinschberger has been conducting tastings in the barrel room at Denner (by appointment with us), where we make our wines. He's been enjoying meeting customers in his "office" and it is a fun experience to be in the barrel room, around the delicious aromas and ambiance of a large winery. Nevertheless, we have missed being able to host you at the ranch and our arms are getting tired throwing Arrow his ball! We continue to work on our long-term goal of having a tasting room and winery on the ranch, possibly using an alternate access road. We so appreciate your ongoing support as we work through these changes.

Jun 20, 2017 at 6:40 PM Permalink

Rangeland Wines March 2017 News

Spring Changes

As some of you know, we have been pursuing an estate winery and tasting room permit for several years. We are still working on that but for now, as a result of increased county scrutiny, we are sad to report that we can no longer host wine tastings, tours or events on the ranch. You can imagine how frustrated we are with this situation. We will particulary miss your visits to our home and all the encouragement and generous support you have provided. What will Arrow and the Kitty (the Adorable Madness) do without your constant attention? 

On a positive note, we are now offering tastings by Rangeland appointment only at Denner Vineyards' beautiful facility, where we make our wines. (Please do not call Denner for a Rangeland appointment.) Winemaker Paul Hinschberger, whose mastery is reflected in our lastest releases, will host these tastings in the barrel room. I know you will find Paul an engaging and informative host. Also, we are working on a Rangeland tasting room off of the ranch. More to come on that later. 

Club News

Our spring wine club will ship and release for pickup on April 25. Here are the wines we are planning to include in this shpment:

• 2016 Flora Rose' (our most crisp, dry and light wine yet)
• 2014 Zinfandel
• 2014 Syrah Mourvedre
• 2013 Watershed 
• 2013 Cabernet (really starting to come out of its shell)
• 2013 Limestone Reserve Cabernet (for aging!)

Please update your billing and shipping information, if necessary, at www.RangelandWines.com. All you need is your email address and you can retrieve your password to login. Also please let us know by email if you'd like to customize your spring shipment.

We are planning to ship and release our spring Lamb Club starting April 3, so club members watch your email for related news. 

The annual Beef Club shipment is scheduled for early July and we have room available in the club. Each club box includes 25 lbs of beef including steaks, roasts, ground beef and other assorted cuts. Sign up here. 

Field Day

Due to county restrictions, this April 29 event has been cancelled.

Apr 7, 2017 at 3:57 PM Permalink

Rangeland Wines February 2017 News

Drought Buster!

As many of you soggy fellow Californians already know, we can call an end to our historic, 5 year drought. This stressful event included what may have been the driest 4 year period (2012-2015) in more than 1,000 years in Central California. We've now had over 50 inches of rain here at Adelaida Springs Ranch this season, including an astounding 40 inches since January 1. With two months left in our rainy season, this winter will likely become a local legend.

Our lake, which we use for vineyard irrigation and livestock water, is filled to the brim. For the first time since 2012, it's spilling into lively Jack Creek that courses through the ranch on its way down the canyon to the Salinas River and Monterey Bay, 100 miles distant. From the back terrace of our home, we can hear the steady, low roar of many creeks and freshets. Our pastures are saturated and once the sun comes out in force this spring, we expect an abundant grass and wildflower year. As history buffs and weather weanies, we're excited to witness these extraordinary events. As farmers, we'd appreciate less drama in our weather.  We are getting tired of rescuing soggy, chilled lambs, clearing fallen oaks and adding to our list of road repairs for the spring. But really, despite Mother Nature's whipsaw from searing drought to flood, we are not complaining about the rain! It bodes very well for the health and fertility of our grapevines and livestock in the years ahead. 

Club Updates

Our Lamb Club members will be getting their next shipment (half a lamb, 20 lbs, $200) at the begining of April; so be on the lookout for email regarding shipping dates. Easter is late this year (April 16) so you will definitely have some delicious lamb for your spring celebrations.

Although our half lamb share supply is tight, we expect to have some extra 10 pound boxes of ground lamb available for all--a really delicious, flavorful ground meat. Order now for April delivery.

Our Spring Wine Club will be available at the end of April--contents as yet undetermined, but it will definitely include our newly bottled Flora Rose', always a summer favorite and a perennial early sell-out. Our next newsletter should have the spring line up, and as always, you can make any adjustments (and additions) to your club order by emailing us then. If you can't wait until April for more Rangeland wine, then order some now. Our Bordeaux Special features three great 2013 Cabernet-based wines that are really coming into their own--all for $110 before your club discount. Order here.

Our annual Beef Club will be available the first week in July. We have just a few 2016 club boxes left if you want to reorder now.  2017 should be a great year for our grass-fed beef herd. Plenty of rain and sunshine results in lots of rich, thick grasses and forbs like wild rye, clover, vetch and filaree. Our cattle have spent the winter at a neighboring pasture (Halter Ranch), and will be heading back to Adelaida Springs Ranch in the next week or so. We have already seen a few early calves and should be in full calving mode by March.

Ground Beef Special: 20 lbs for $100

We have some ground beef left over from 2016--here's a great opportunity to fill your freezer for the spring and summer BBQ season at our best-ever price. We're offering our 20 lb boxes of ground beef for just $100 ($5/lb.) --and that's before your club discount. We can ship to your home or office, or you can save the shipping costs and pick up here at the ranch or at J&R Natural Meats in Paso Robles. Order today while supplies last!

Vintage Paso Zinfandel Weekend, March 17-19

We'll be doing tastings by appointment only during Paso's annual Zinfandel Festival, March 17-19, although no food will be served. You are certainly welcome to bring a picnic. Please make an apppointment.

Field Day April 29

Our annual Field Day is scheduled for Saturday, April 29. It should be another fun, relaxing afternoon with a home cooked lunch featuring grass-fed beef and lamb sliders, plus live music, livestock displays, a ranch tour, and wine! This event sells out quickly, so mark your calendar and keep an eye out for more information in our next newsletter. It should be a beautiful spring this year--we expect lots of grass and wildflowers. We hope you can join us!

New Faces

We've had some personnel changes on the ranch--you may have already met some of our new folks. Eddie Burch has worked for us for a couple of years now, doing the bulk of the vineyard tractor work and fixing just about everything. He is now our Ranch Manager, handling all ranch operations, repairs, and overseeing our livestock crew. He hired Alex Karol to take over our lamb program. Alex also helps with our cattle. Alex has been very busy this season with daily rotational grazing and taking care of all our baby lambs and their mothers in very tough winter conditions. Our most recent addition, Patrick Hamilton, joined us in January as Vineyard Manager after previously holding that position at Flowers Winery in Sonoma County. Patrick will manage the farming of the vineyard, working closely with winemaker Paul Hinschberger and our seasonal crews to ensure the health, vigor, and productivity of the vineyard. We're excited to have the extra help, expertise, and energy. Be sure to say hello as everyone will be working at Field Day. To see pictures and read more about our Rangeland crew, go here.

Feb 24, 2017 at 8:35 AM Permalink

Rangeland Wines October 2016 News

Wine Harvest Update

As the smoke cleared from the local Chimney Fire, we began picking grapes before Labor Day. The fire came within 5 miles and charred more that 46,000 acres of rugged coastal mountain terrain and dozens of lakeside homes at Nacimiento. We had no damage on the ranch--except to our nerves. Our heartfelt wishes go out to those who lost much more. Many thanks to the thousands of firefighters, who operated planes, helicopters, dozers, fire engines and shovels to get this monster contained. 

Harvest accelerated as September raced by, peaking this week as we picked most of our cabernet after a hot, hot weekend. We have a slightly larger harvest this year, rebounding from last year's drought shortened crop. Our syrah, merlot, petite sirah and zin are already in the tank. Fruit flavors, sugars, colors and aromas are all promising after a good, intermittently hot growing season. 

Winemaker Paul Hinschberger has as many as 20 fermenters "cooking" 30+ tons of hand picked wine grapes in our space at Denner Winery. He has just pressed off the first wines to barrel. As many of you know, the photosynthetic power of the green grape leaves generates sugars that accumulate in the fruit over the course of the growing season. In the winery, these sugars are converted by native yeast into alcohol, along with the alluring flavors and aromas of fine wine. 

Paul is all over the place: tasting fruit in the vineyard, scheduling picks, overseeing the processing, and taking care of the wines as they ferment. This is the time when a winemaker's experience and artistic vision are really put to the test, setting the course for how the wine will taste in the bottle, many months hence. Vineyard Manager Nathan Stuart is just as busy, keeping up with labor crews, constant tractor movement and trucking fruit. We all help where we can, even as the livestock grazing and wine tastings continue as usual on the ranch. We appreciate the enthusiastic hard work of our folks during this fruitful time. Not to mention the contract labor crews who pick most of the fruit. See more harvest photos on our Facebook/Rangeland Wines page.

Harvest Festival October 14-16

Harvest Festival is right around the corner, and we will be open by appointment Friday, October 14 through Sunday, October 16, from 11 am to 5 pm. We'll be serving grass-fed beef and lamb sliders on Saturday only. All weekend we'll be pouring some new releases and may have some barrel samples on hand as well. To make an appointment for Harvest Festival, click here. Or call and schedule your appointment (805.674.9232). We look forward to seeing you!

Lamb Club and Other Meats: Free Shipping on 20 lbs. Ground Beef

Our fall Lamb Club should be shipped or available for pick up by October 24. Lamb shares are also available to wine and beef  club members, even if you don't want to join the Lamb Club for regular shipments. Order here. 

Lamb Club members receive two shipments a year, in October and March, for $200 per box (20% off). Each 20 pound box (half a lamb) includes:

• Rack of ribs
• Loin chops
• 2 small leg roasts
• Shoulder chops
• Stew meat and/or shanks
• Riblets
• 1-2 pounds ground lamb

Lamb Club members can apply their 20% discount to all Rangeland products, including our estate wines, grass-fed beef, and events. And Lamb Club members taste Rangeland wines and tour the ranch for free. If you've had the opportunity to taste our delicious sliders on festival weekends or at other Rangeland events, you know how succulent and tasty our lamb is. To join the Lamb Club, click here.

We also have 10 lb. boxers of ground lamb, 25 lb. beef boxes and ground beef in 10 and 20 lb. boxes available. We are offering free shipping on 20 lb. boxes of ground beef. Shop here or send me an email with your order. 

Wine Club

Here is the selection for our November 2016 wine club shipment:

• 2012 Limestone Reserve
• 2012 The Watershed (Bordeaux blend)
• 2013 GSM
• 2013 Petite Sirah
• 2014 Mistletoe (Cab/Syrah, new release)
• 2014 Zinfandel (new release)

If you'd like to customize your wine club selection, send me an email with your preference. Clubs will be available for pick up in November, and will be shipped starting November 9. Please update your address and credit card information at www.RangelandWines.com, if necesary. You can use your email address as your user name and retrieve your password that way too. You can also call me (805-674-9232) or email me with your account information changes. 

If you are running short of Rangeland Wines and want to restock before the November shipment, you can order here or send me an email. 

Pick-Up Party Saturday November 12, Drop-in between 12 - 4 pm

Our favorite party of the year! We love to pour wines and share good local food and visit with our loyal customers. All wine, beef and lamb club members are welcome to attend (with one guest). As usual we will feature our grass-fed beef chili, sausage from J&R Natural Meats, a delicious lamb dish (TBD), and assorted other goodies. You can pick-up your wine or meat club and we'll have some barrel samples from the 2016 harvest for you to taste. We'll also have Beef Club boxes, lamb shares and ground beef/lamb boxes available for purchase. RSVP soon, attendence is limited.

Oct 7, 2016 at 9:15 AM Permalink

Rangeland Wines July 2016 News

It's summertime on the ranch and the livin' is--busy. Winemaker Paul was married in June and is back from his Italian honeymoon. Wish him congratulations, because now he is busy with crop estimates in the hot vineyard, final arrangement of the leaf canopy for veraison (ripening, which has just begun), topping wines in the barrel and otherwise preparing for harvest. Honeymoon over! Ranch Manager Nathan is busy in the vineyard too and just herded the sheep back from Halter Ranch to finish the summer on our home pastures. He is preparing to brand our calves next week, an all-hands ritual that also involves sorting and treating all of our 150+ head of cattle. Lisa is wrapping-up beef boxing and shipping, once again having achieved that existential goal: she touched all your meat! We all hope to have a quiet week or two in August before our wine harvest begins around Labor Day. We are encouraged by the leafy green vines this year and the healthy, fertile livestock, enjoying the shade of our heritage oaks. We so appreciate your support in making this scenic little miracle possible. 

Summer Specials: Dry Wines, Sweet Deals

We are guessing that your wine shelf is getting a little bare, so we are offering a pair of specials that will allow you to enjoy Rangeland wines for the rest of the summer, whether you are sipping Rosé on a warm evening or enjoying a rich Cabernet with your grilled steak. Order online or respond to this email and we'll ship your order with ice packs to keep it fresh. And as always, your wine or meat club discount applies to any purchases, sweetening these killer deals.

2015 Flora Rosé, 3 bottles for $60—Save 10%

Our dry 2015 Flora Rosé is drinking beautifully now. Its crisp acidity and expressive fruit offer a perfect accompaniment to light summer fare—fish, chicken, pasta and salads. We also love it at Thanksgiving—it pairs perfectly with roast turkey. Our Rose’ often sells out in August. So order today.

2012 Bordeaux Special, 3 bottles for $110—Save $20

This 3-bottle special includes our 2012 Watershed (Bordeaux blend), 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, and our 2012 Limestone Reserve Cab. All three are stellar wines, highly rated and will continue to age beautifully in bottle over the next 10 years. Get a head start on holiday shopping and order today!

The Wine Whisperer: Learning to Love Paso Robles

Until I moved to Paso Robles 3 years ago, I did not have the best opinion of this region.  I know this sounds bad, but hear me out.  The reality is that within the broader wine industry, professionals (many of whom have not actually visited Paso) have a preconceived notion that Paso wine is over-ripe, over-alcoholic, unbalanced and therefore, not worth their time. Not so for consumers, however--typical wine consumers just drink what they like and are less likely to be bogged down by current trends and/or winemaking dogma.  Paso wine is delicious and equitably priced for the most part.

I am both a wine consumer and winemaker, so my opinion was formed by my experiences in the industry.  Before I moved here, I had worked in Sonoma County, the Willamette Valley in Oregon, in Woodinville and Walla Walla, Washington, and I felt like I had a pretty good grasp on American wine culture.  In my mind, Paso Robles was that region too hot and too far south to make great wine, and most of the wines I had from the early 2000’s confirmed my theory.

Oh, how wrong I was. Read more.

Beef Boxes and Ground Beef Available

We’ve finished our annual beef harvest, packed several hundred Beef Club boxes and shipped most of these to customers all over California. After winter rainfall and rich spring pastures, we’re pleased with the "grass-fat" quality of our meat. We have sampled a few cuts with great satisfaction.

We have extra 25 lb. club boxes available this year, as well as extra ground beef in 10 or 20 lb. boxes. Each beef club box contains 25 pounds of meat: 6 pounds of steaks, 6 pounds of roasts, 8 pounds of ground, and 5 pounds of extras, like stew meat, kabobs, shanks or short ribs. You don’t have to join the club to buy beef; club membership will, however, award you a 20% discount. Our beef sells out every year, so if you’ve been on the fence about purchasing, now’s your chance. Order here. 

About Our Annual Beef Harvest

We harvested several dozen steers in late May/early June, when our animals were at the peak of “grass fatness."  We use a mobile harvest unit that allows us to keep the cattle on the ranch for their whole lives--the highest standard of humane handling. The carcasses were delivered to J&R Natural Meats in Paso Robles where they were dry aged for 10 to 20 days, and then cut and vacuum packed during a couple of weeks in June. Then it was our turn to box up all the club shares and the extra ground for our customers.

We box the meat one beef at a time, carefully sorting the steaks and roasts in order to make the club boxes as even as possible. We typically get between 9 -14 club boxes per steer, plus several boxes of ground meat, depending on the size of the animal. As each box reaches the 25 pound mark, we add a soup bone or package of marrow bones as a little bonus. Broth made from grass-fed beef bones is beneficial for your joints, skin, intestinal health, and has a detoxifying effect on your entire system.

We often get questions about the various cuts of beef and how to cook them, so here are some tips from our experience and other sources. Read more.

Jul 20, 2016 at 1:38 PM Permalink

Rangeland Wines May 2016 News

Wine Festival May 20-22

Paso Robles Wine Festival is coming up fast. We will be open by appointment only, Friday-Sunday, May 20-22 from 11 am to 5 pm. We are serving our mouthwatering lamb and beef sliders on Saturday only. You might want to make an afternoon of it! We'll be pouring our new Rosé along with a great line-up of reds, including some newly released 2013 wines. We look forward to seeing you! If you have a wine club to pick up, let us know and we'll have it ready for you. To make an appointment, click here.

Flora Rosé Case Special

Our 2015 Flora Rosé, the finest yet, is the first wine crafted entirely by our new winemaker Paul Hinschberger. It is available now and will sell out quickly. Last year's was gone before the end of summer. This crisp, dry, elegant Rose’ includes Zinfandel, Mourvedre and Cabernet, and is perfect for a warm summer evening. We are offering a special by the case: $225, or $180 with a 20% club discount. Killer deal. Order now while supply lasts; only 85 cases made! 

The Great El No-no

El Niño finshed with a whimper and did not deliver the epic deluge we had hoped for. The 2015-2016 season totaled about 25 inches (80% of average) of rainfall so far. The pastures are now starting to turn "golden", but our lake is full and we have a good cover of rich grasses all around the ranch. Our animals benefited from the abundant spring fodder, so it should be a great "vintage" for our lamb and beef.

We started irrigating the vineyard this week. The vines look more healthy and vigorous than they have in several years. We did notice, however, fewer flowers (therefore less potential fruit) than in pre-drought years, indicating a hangover effect from last year's very stressed environment. Despite all the richness and inspirational beauty Mother Nature provides us, she's a hard one to live with. Since we are stuck with her, we'll just have to work it out. :-)

Spring Lamb Available

We are finishing up our spring lamb harvest. Lamb Club members who did not receive a shipment in March should receive it the week of May 23—emails will be going out to individual club members soon. A Lamb Club box contains 20 pounds of lamb, which includes a rack, loin chops, shoulder and sirloin chops, 2 leg roasts, shanks, riblets, stew meat, and a pound or two of ground lamb. If you’re not a member of the Lamb Club, this is a great time to join, or you can purchase a lamb share on one-time basis and your wine or beef club discount will apply. We also have 10 lb. boxes of ground lamb available. We can ship our meats anywhere in California or you can pickup in Paso Robles and save the shipping cost. 

Beef Club Coming!

Our annual beef harvest will occur at the end of May into June. Our 2-year-old steers are grass fat and kick-up their heels healthy. We have nearly 300 Beef Club members now and will be ready to ship after July 1. Our beef hangs (dry aged) for about two weeks at J&R Meats in Paso Robles  and is then cut and vacuum packaged. Lisa sorts and packs each Beef Club box in an effort to make each box “equal.” So she truly has touched all your meat!  Whoa. She tops each box with a  bonus soup bone. You can join the beef club here. Or you can purchase the 25 lb box on a one-time basis. And we almost always have 10 lb and 20 lb boxes of ground beef available. 

May 18, 2016 at 9:26 AM Permalink

Rangeland Field Day (April 23, 2016) Reminder

Our annual Field Day is coming up fast: April 23, from 12 to 3pm. We’ll start with a BBQ lunch of J&R sausages, grass-fed beef and lamb sliders, side dishes and desserts. We’re excited about our band this year—the Central Coast’s own Bear Market Riot, a power folk duo that blends folk, blues and pop. They will get your toes tapping! Of course we'll be serving Rangeland Wines (as well as non-alcoholic beverages). Livestock, including calves and lambs, will be on display and we'll have an end of day ranch tour. Event and tour space is limited, so purchase tickets ($50 each before club discount) now if you want to attend. Kids under 12 are free. The ticket sales deadline is April 20. 

Apr 4, 2016 at 12:18 PM Permalink

Rangeland Wines March 2016 News

Vintage Paso: Zinfandel+, March 18-20

We are open by appointment only during the Zin Fest this Friday-Sunday, March 18-20,  from 11-5. On Saturday only (March 19), we’ll be serving our famous grass-fed beef and lamb sliders while they last. Please make an appointment, and let us know when you plan to visit. We’ll be pouring several wines, including our delicious 2013 Zinfandel, and are offering a couple of excellent specials.

Vertical Selection Wine Specials

Just introduced for the festival weekend, we are offering a Zinfandel vertical 3-pack (2011, 2012, & 2013) for $99, a $26 savings over the list price for these wines. Club member discounts apply—a really amazing deal for these rare wines. We’ve only got a few cases of 2011 and 2012 Zinfandel left in our cellar. Grab them while you can! Order here.

We’re also offering a first ever Cabernet vertical selection, 3 bottles for $199—2007, 2008 and 2009 Rangeland Cabernet Sauvignon. These are some of the ageworthy wines that we tasted at our library tasting event in February. They are still showing good fruitiness and developing a nicely resolved suavity after years in the bottle. Your wine club discount applies and again, we are down to just a few cases each of these early Rangeland Wines, so order now.  

Field Day April 23

Our annual Field Day is coming up fast: April 23, from 12 to 3pm. We’ll start with a BBQ lunch of J&R sausages, grass-fed beef and lamb sliders, side dishes and desserts. We’re excited about our band this year—the Central Coast’s own Bear Market Riot, a power folk duo that blends folk, blues and pop. They will get your toes tapping! Of course we'll be serving Rangeland Wines (as well as non-alcoholic beverages). Livestock, including calves and lambs will be on display and we'll have an end of day ranch tour. Event and tour space is limited, so purchase tickets ($50 each before club discount) now if you want to attend. 

Mother Nature's Whipsaw

January was quite wet here, with more than 9 inces of rain. It seemd like El Nino was kicking into gear, then a very warm and dry February caused our drought-sensitivity meter to light up. Now March is shaping up to be a rainy month, with 7 inches of rain in the last two weeks.  Our current total for the year is almost 25 inches, approaching our normal 30 inches (fifteen year average). It's not an El Nino kind of total (50+ inches historically) but the rains are suffcient and well timed for a good year, agriculturally. 

The rain has done wonders for the countryside (all green!) and for our spirits,  which were admitedly ground down by four years of drought pressure. Our lake, which we use to irrigate the vineyard, is nearly full. The streams and springs, many of which have been dry for years, are flowing throughout the ranch. We’ve had over 100 baby lambs since January and expect 60+ calves through April, a nice bounceback after the drought-suppressed fertility we've experienced. Our cattle and sheep are clearly enjoying the rich green grasses and cool spring weather. 

The Wine Whisperer: In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb

Spring is a magical time of year here on the ranch: green grass is in abundance, all the vines are pruned and looking dapper, baby lambs are frolicking around like kids in a Chuck E. Cheese, and of course, budbreak is just starting in the vineyard.

During the (not so) long, (not so) cold winter in Paso Robles, the grape vines go into dormancy where they can store up their energy, uptake water and get ready for another year of producing delicious grapes.  The vines aren’t “asleep” exactly, but taking a kind of “staycation” between the grueling previous harvest and the upcoming growing season.  This dormant state is not unlike a troubled poet who holes up in a secluded cabin, waiting for inspiration to snap her out of her writer’s block blues.   Budbreak­—when leaves first sprout on the vines—is the humble beginnings of what eventually will be, to stay with the previous metaphor, bottled poetry. (Click here to continue reading Paul's blog.)

Lamb, Wine and Beef Clubs

We are starting to ship our spring Lamb Club now.  You can join the Lamb Club now and receive your first box in May. The Lamb Club is a twice yearly shipment (spring and fall) of 20 pounds of lamb including: a rack, loin chops, shoulder & sirloin chops, 2 leg roasts, shanks, riblets, stew meat, and a couple pounds of ground lamb. If you haven’t tried our tender, flavorful lamb, you’re missing out. Join the club today!

Our spring wine club will ship April 26 and will be available for pickup starting at Field Day, April 23. Here are the wines we are planning to include in this release:

• 2015 Rose' (new vintage)
• 2012 GSM (almost all gone)
• 2012 Watershed
• 2012 Cabernet
• 2012 Limestone Reserve Cabernet
• 2013 Cabernet (new release)

Please update your billing and shipping information, if necessary, at www.RangelandWines.com. All you need is your email address and you can update your password to login. Also please let us know by email if you'd like to customize your spring shipment.

The Beef Club shipment is still scheduled for July and we have room avaialble in the club. Sign up here. We still have ground beef avaible in 10 lb and 20 lb boxes. Order here.

Mar 15, 2016 at 9:57 AM Permalink

Rangeland Wines January 2016 News

Rangeland Library Vertical Tasting and Luncheon February 13

We've been impressed with some older Rangeland Wines lately, so we are excited to announce our first ever vertical tasting and special sale of Rangeland library wines on Saturday, February 13. We will start at 11 am with a sit down seminar at the ranch headquarters. Winemaker Paul Hinschberger and owner Laird Foshay will guide you through samples of our estate-grown Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines from 2007 to 2011. We'll also taste a couple of other varieties from our cellar and you'll get a glass of library wine to enjoy with your meal. Our lunch buffet will follow, featuring estate grown, grass-fed beef and lamb Bourguignonne pie (you can have both!), with veggies, cheeses and some baked goodies. 

The wines are very rare (just a few cases each), so seating and sales quantities will be limited. Library wines will be priced at $75 each, with a 3 bottle special price of $200. Club discounts will apply.  The wines will be available at the event and also on our website afterwards, for those of you who can’t attend. Tickets for the event are $50 (includes tasting, lunch and a glass of one our library wines), before club discount. We look forward to seeing you on the 13th! 
Purchase tickets now to reserve your place. 

Ground Beef Shipping Special: Free for 20lb Ground Beef Orders

We are offering free shipping on any 20 pound box of ground beef ordered through March 1, and only $10 shipping for 10 pound boxes of ground beef, while supplies last. For those of you who regularly buy our beef and have it shipped, it’s a great opportunity to stock up. It should help stave off your cravings until the beef club becomes available in June. 
Order meats here. 

Beef and Lamb Clubs Open for New Members

Although we are sold out of last year's Beef and Lamb Club boxes, we are accepting signups for 2016. Our first Lamb Club shipment this year will be in March, in time for Easter. Our Beef Club will ship in July, as usual. 
Sign up for clubs here. 

Lamb Whisperer?
(Inaugural blog entry by winemaker Paul Hinschberger)

One of the many reasons I love my job is that I rarely have to do the same thing two days in a row.  Whether I’m in the cellar, filing government paperwork, or herding sheep--most days I don't know what excitement awaits me.  My official title at Rangeland is Winemaker. For some, this might conjure up an image of me swirling a glass of cabernet all day and mumbling pompous comments about the wine’s nuances of purple petunias and tiger sweat.  Others might think that I just sit in my office and write work-orders for my inferiors to complete. In reality, because we are a small winery, I am also the assistant winemaker, cellar worker, and intern/peon.  I wash the barrels, clean the drains and I even harvest my own tiger sweat. On top of my cellar duties, I also help out on the ranch with cows, sheep, vineyard projects and basically whatever Laird or Nathan tell me to do.  So although my task list may not seem as glamorous as most people’s expectations, I prefer to have some grit in my job description--even if that means shoveling sheep excrement. Read more. 

Vintage Paso (Zinfandel and more) March 18-20

We’ll be open, by appointment only, during Vintage Paso (formerly the Zinfandel Festival). We’ll have some Zinfandel on special, and hope to see you during the weekend. Make an appointment any time Friday March 18 – Sunday March 20, from 11 am-5 pm. We’ll be serving our famous grass-fed beef and lamb sliders on Saturday only. We look forward to seeing you then!

Rangeland Field Day Saturday April 23

Save the date and keep an eye out for the official announcement about our favorite spring party. Also, you can see all of our 2016 event calendar  here.

Jan 20, 2016 at 9:37 AM Permalink

Rangeland Wines October 2015 News

NOVEMBER 14 PICK-UP PARTY

We are hosting our annual pick-up party on Saturday, November 14, from 12-4 pm. Come pick-up your fall wine club, or your lamb or beef order, and enjoy the party. All club members--wine, beef, and lamb--are welcome to attend and bring 2 guests (max party of 4 per club member/couple). Even if you don't have anything to pick-up, you are welcome to come enjoy the ranch.

We will be serving grass-fed beef chili, grilled tomahawk lamb chops and lemony lamb kabobs, all estate-grown. We'll also have grilled J&R sausages, as well as assorted cheeses, roasted veggies, fruit and, of course, Lisa's cookies. We may even have some barrel samples of new wines. It's a perfect time to do a little wine shopping before the holidays. We look forward to seeing you! Please RSVP.

FALL WINE CLUB

Our wine club shipment is available to pick-up now. It will of course be available at the November 14 party. Shipping orders will go out the week of November 16. Here are the wines included in the fall shipment:

• 2013 Mistletoe (new)
• 2013 Zinfandel (new)
• 2012 Watershed
• 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2012 Limestone
• 2012 Petite Sirah

If you’d prefer to customize your order, just send us an email or call with instructions. As always, you’re free to add more wines (while they last) to your wine club order. Also please let us know if you have any address changes, billing information updates or special instructions for pick-up or shipping, by phone (805-674-9232) or email.

WINE SPECIALS

Bordeaux 3 Pack.  We are extending the killer deal on our beautiful Bordeaux wines—​two 2012 Cabernet Sauvignons and ​a 2012 Watershed for $100, and that’s before you apply your club discount! These ageworthy wines are completely drinkable now and, if you plan to cellar ​them, they will develop beautifully for years to come. A worthy gift for very good friends. Click here to order.

Mistletoe 2 Pack. One 2012 and one 2013 Mistletoe (new release) for $50. The Mistletoe is a Cabernet/Syrah blend that offers the best of Paso Robles: Opulent fruit with good natural acidity and structure. Club discounts apply to this affordable, festive holiday gift. Click here to order.

GROUND BEEF

We still have some ground beef available--10 pound boxes for $90, and 20 pound boxes for $160 (before your club discount). We can ship anywhere in California. This would make a great holiday gift for your grass-fed beef loving friends and family members! To order, click here.

LAMB CLUB

We have a few more places left in the Lamb Club--all charter members get an additional 5 pounds of ground lamb with their first order. Lamb Club members will receive two shipments a year, in October (available now) and March, for $200 (20% off). The 25 pound box (half a lamb) includes:

• Rack of ribs
• Loin chops
• 2 small leg roasts​
• Shoulder chops
• Riblets
• Stew meat and/or shanks
• 1-2 lbs ground lamb + 5 lbs charter bonus 

To sign up for the Lamb Club, click here.
 

HARVEST REPORT

We picked our last fruit on October 12. Vintage 2015 was a relatively smooth and short season, less than six weeks total. As expected, we had much lower yields due to the drought--a story we heard repeated all across the Central Coast. The quality of fruit was good, however, with extremely small "berries" and intense flavors.  

We're looking forward to tasting the first wines made by our new winemaker Paul Hinschberger. Paul was admittedly "excited" about his first season as chief winemaker--he was previously the assistant winemaker at Denner Vineyards--but he handled everything with aplomb and good humor. Paul introduced more whole (uncrushed) berry and some whole cluster (stems included) fermentations into our winemaking. These techniques may add more aromatic expression and complexity to the vintage. 

As fall progresses, we are preparing our vineyard for the next season. We've already spread some lime on the sandstone  portions of the vineyard to boost the structure and water-holding capacity of these powdery soils. We have a small mountain (70 tons) of compost which we'll spread throughout the vineyard and till into the soil after the first fall rains. We are looking forward to a rainy winter and a more fruitful harvest in 2016.

Nov 10, 2015 at 3:34 PM Permalink