Wine & Woofs: An Update on the Cuvée Dray

One of our favorite winery projects is our partnership with Valley Humane Society. Inspired by our love of all four-legged friends, especially our winery dog Draymond, we donate $10 for every bottle of our Cuvée Dray sold. Dray is a happy dog, and the wine that bears his name spreads joy in the tasting room and beyond. We are delighted to report that since the initial release of this scrumptious Bordeaux-style blend in August of 2021, we have donated $46,730 to VHS, supporting local pets and the people who care for them. 

If you want to join us in supporting Valley Humane Society, there are a lot of ways to lend a paw!

First, you can give generously of your time. VHS is always on the lookout for good people with a heart for animals. Through consistent effort, this is a direct and impactful way to help out. Volunteering might even mean joining the foster program to give a little extra love to a pet waiting for their forever home! Click here to learn more about how you can help by volunteering.

You can always donate money or goods when you have the desire and ability to do so. VHS relies on community support to fulfill their mission to “create a world in which every animal is loved and every person knows the love of an animal.” Your help can save the lives of local cats and dogs and enrich the community through the various programs of VHS including humane education, pet therapy visits, pet guardian resources and more. VHS also has a list of items on their website that are helpful to their projects, just click here! 

Of course, our favorite way to show support is to adopt! You can provide the home and care that these precious pets need, and you’ll receive the unconditional love of a furry friend. See adoptable pets and learn more about adoption by clicking here. You can also support VHS and other shelters by spreading the word and sharing the adoptions stories of your own pets!

Every dollar counts, because even a small change can make a big difference in the lives of animals in need. For every bottle of Cuvée Dray you purchase and enjoy, you’re helping precious pets. The donations from this project help to provide them with food, shelter, medical care, and other essential needs. You can feel good knowing that your purchase helps support a worthy cause, ensuring that VHS can continue to do their important work.

Thank you to all who have fallen in love with the Cuvée Dray
for your help in getting us to $46,730 donated!

What to Know When Barrel Tasting

Barrel tastings come in all shapes and sizes. You may have had the fun of tasting a wine straight from a barrel at an event or a tour behind the scenes of a winery, but not all barrel tastings are created equal. Some wines tasted from the barrel have been in the barrel for a short time. Usually, they are a single varietal, unfinished, unbalanced, and sometimes even a little astringent. This is normal for the early stages of barrel aging. Oak provides smoothness, roundness, and balance to a wine, but it takes time. Fortunately, it's worth the wait!

Some wines, usually red wines, spend nearly two years in oak barrels before they are bottled, and some take even longer. At our sister winery Rubino Estates, for example, you can enjoy a Barbera that spends 40 months in oak before it is bottled. Other barrel tastings take place much later in the process of the wine’s aging, when a finished wine has been balanced and blended with other oak and varietals to perfect the wine. These tastings actually offer a glimpse of what the wine will be like when it finds its way into the bottle. 

One special wine world tradition, known as en primeur, allows some critics, collectors, journalists, and major importers to taste the barrels after they have been blended into their final forms and have a chance to pre-order the wines they like. Traditionally, these events are held in the springtime and the wines are delivered once they are bottled later in the year. In tasting these en primeur also known as “futures” from the barrel, a wine lover has the chance to taste what they like, gain guaranteed access to limited release wines, and take the chance to secure a bargain price.

Wine futures are an exciting investment and offer intimate knowledge of the lifespan of your favorite wines, from our club exclusive wines to our Reserve and Jewel Collections. At Back to the Futures, our wine futures event, you have the chance to taste our upcoming releases straight from the barrel. This is an opportunity line no other: you can try your favorite wines before they’re bottled and get behind-the-scenes insight into our winemaking process! We're also offering a special pre-order discount on our barrel tasting futures. Save 35-40% off the retail price of these phenomenal wines and get first access once they’ve been bottled. The value of your ticket will be credited toward each 6-bottle pre-order.

Back to the Futures, our exclusive barrel tasting event, will be hosted at our sister winery Rubino Estates next Saturday, April 22nd, at 6:30 click here to get your tickets now. So, what are you waiting for? Come join us for Futures Night and experience the magic of winemaking firsthand!