Feliz Navidad Coates Lovers!

Winter Wonder Vineland

A rare wintery scene from last January, but appropriate for the beginning of this new year. The vines are resting, pruning has begun, and the holiday season is upon us. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

Hand Picked and Hand Shoveled

These are some of the methods we use to make high quality wine from organically grown grapes without the use of sulfites. We selectively hand harvest the grapes and then shovel them into the destemmer and get the fermentation started immediately in clean stainless steel closed fermentation tanks. With the addition of yeasts the fermentation begins developing a layer of CO2 gas over the must and protecting the juice from oxidation and harmful bacteria. The resulting wine is then handled very carefully through all its stages of storage and oak barrel aging until it is ready to drink and bottle.

There is an end in sight, thank you 2006!!!

Petite Sirah Reigns

The new undisputed champion, Petite Sirah, stands tall and ready for harvest on the last day of October. This grape has it all. We are very happy that all the grapes are harvested and in safe keeping, the 2006 crush is completed. Let the rains begin!!!

The Majestic Cabernet Sauvignon

It's still standing when all the others have bowed out. The Cab can even out last most of the leaves. 

The Cabernet Sauvignon brings on the smiles

Either our vineyard helpers are happy that it is such a nice day to start the Cab harvest or that the entire effort to nuture the vineyards for 10 months and then to be finishing the last week of harvest is apparant. The Cabernet Sauvignon is a labor of love nevertheless.

Sangiovese Rose is Flowing

After a 48 hour cold soak, a gorgeous rose appears from the pressing ready for a barrel fermentation.  

Que Syrah, Syrah

Though being Friday the 13th of October, there is nothing unlucky about this harvest of Syrah heading for the destemmer. 

Baccus is Smiling

The many faces of Baccus are smiling from this pool of Merlot forming under the Diemme membrane press. Harvest is a time of Joy.

Happy Harvest Moon

Fall is in the air and after a considerable amount of hangtime, the Zin, Merlot, and Syrah are in the tanks and fermenting.  

The Grape Crush Begins

The 2006 Grape Harvest and Crush has begun with 2 days of Zinfandel and a Saturday pick of Merlot. The sweet smells of yeasts and grape sugars fill the air. Life is like a tank full of grape juice turning into wine! 

The Luscious Trebbiano Grape

Though we do not make this white wine to market, the Trebbiano grape is a nice addition to our Sangiovese wine, complimenting its wide range of fruit flavors.

September Bottling before the Crush begins

As we have a couple of weeks to wait for the grapes to ripen before the crush begins, it's a great time for bottling. Also, before the winery turns into an array of yeast strains populating and digesting grape sugars, it is a safe time to gently bottle some well barrel aged wine that is ready to enjoy. This machine is nitogen sparging, filling, leveling and vacuum corking 25 bottles per minute. 

Exquisitely Persian Mulberries

Our passion for Persian Mulberries is rivaled only by peaches and, of course, wine grapes.
While waiting for the grapes to ripen there have been dreams of fermenting these mulberries and making a devine dessert wine. We are still looking for avid mulberry pickers, they ripen one at a time. Meanwhile, it's always a colorful event picking enough for a batch of delicious mulberry ice cream.


Coates Vineyards Persian Mulberry Ice Cream
3 cups fresh picked mulberries
4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups organic whole milk
2 3/4 cups organic heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons pure organic vanilla extract

In a small bowl, maserate berries by hand... touch nothing! Add lemon juice and half cup of the sugar. Stir gently and let sit for as long as you have. Reserve 1 cup of mulberry mixture to add later.
Leave the rest of the mulberries in a medium mixing bowl, and using a hand mixer on low speed combine the milk and remaining granulated sugar until the sugar is dissolved, about 1-2 minutes. Stir in the heavy cream and vanilla. Turn on the machine and pour into freezer bowl and let mix until thickened. Five minutes before mixing is completed, add the reserved mulberry mixture and let mix completely. In my machine 25-35 minutes. Makes about 14 1/2 cup servings. Yeah, r-i-g-h-t! The color of this icecream will blow your mind and stain everything in a five foot radius. But it is absolutely worth it!

Buen Provecho!

Bottles on their way to fulfillment

The bottles are on the move. 

Vineyard reflection on the bottling line

The vineyard enjoys the view of its wine bottling in session. 

Nothing like Natural Cork

Here is the cork hopper above the vacuum corker with the highest quality corks that are available. It only makes sense to use the best cork. 

Bottling the 2003 Syrah

After almost three years of patience, the next generation of COATES wine is going into the bottle. Bottling day is always exhilarating and exhausting trying to keep up with 25 bottles per minute. 

2003 Vintage Release

Look for our new Syrah and Sangiovese.

The Merlot grapes are showing

All the grape varietals are beginning to color and ripen. After nine months of vineyard work, we are hoping for good weather to prevail for September and October and then finish what may be our biggest and best harvest yet. And while we are watching and waiting, the 2003 Syrah and Sangiovese will be bottled and released. They are the first of our Certified Organic Wines. We are very excited about these new wines and all the wines that are coming soon.

Our little Home on the Prairie

Saturday Afternoon, back from a fruit and veggie delivery, the fire is moving down further into Perch Creek. Keeping our fingers crossed for everyone.

Fire on the Mountain

The volcano in Orleans Mountain has erupted again!!! Not really, the lightning on last Monday afternoon hit a few places around Orleans and this one was left to burn until Friday, July 29 when it had grown into a serious threat. By Saturday afternoon it was twice the size. Coates Vineyards are a mile in back from where this photo was taken and not in danger at the moment. Friends live directly below the fire and are getting ready for evacuation. All we can do is hope that the fire can be stopped before it gets any closer.