March News From Regale Winery

 

APRIL EVENTS AT REGALE:

Spring Open House 

Saturday, April 04, 2015 – Open to the Public, Tastings are $10 for non-Club Members

• Do you have some friends who wish they could visit Regale as our members do? Our Open House day is the perfect event for them. No appointment necessary, open to non-members, and to top it off The Pizza Gypsy will be serving their amazing pizzas. Tell your friends, bring your family; it’s a perfect way to start the spring season.

(Above Photo Courtesy JJ Chen Photography)

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Tax Relief Weekend

April 18 & 19, 2015

Complimentary for Club Members

• We offer a relief from the pain of handing your hard-earned money over to the IRS, or an excuse to spend a hearty refund!  We pay the tax on any wine purchases, with additional wine specials and treats.

(Photo at Left Courtesy Dave Lepori)

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Music by the Glass Sundays

As the warm weather has arrived, we have begun hosting some talented musicians on most Sundays and will continue for the spring/summer season.

To be notified as to who is entertaining for a specific weekend, please follow us on Facebook.

 (Photo at Right: Hood Chatham and his Jazz Guitar)

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PRIVATE EVENTS: 

Corporate Event Debut

Along with our other varied and unique corporate event add-ons, we will now be offering Champagne Sabering!  Learn a new party trick from Regale’s seasoned wine professionals – how to extravagantly open a bottle of sparkling wine using a Champagne Saber.

Sabrage is a technique for opening a Champagne bottle with a saber, in our case a blunt designer version specially crafted for popping corks in style. The saber is slid along the body of the bottle to break the entire neck away from the bottle, leaving only the base of the bottle open and ready to enjoy.  Your guests can watch and learn, or join in on the fun as they don safety goggles, gloves, and a brave face!

Learn more about the imaginative Private Event options we offer on our website at www.regalewine.com  

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IMPORTANT REMINDERS:

• Updated Hours and Non-Member Tasting 

Our hours have changed! We are now open to members Saturdays 11-4 and Sundays 11-5. Non-members can enjoy tastings by appointment only, make appointments online at vinovisit.com or by calling us at (408) 353-2500.

• Picking Up Wine for Others

If you are a club member and would like someone else to pick up your wine shipment, we need advance notice (by 3pm Friday) through the office. To notify us, you can call (408) 353-2500 or email wineclub@regalewine.com.

• Children and Pets at Regale

Regale is an adult-only property and no children are allowed during tasting room hours. Dogs are allowed at Regale, but please be courteous to others and keep your dog leashed.

(Photo at Right: Image Courtesy of Kelsea Holder Photography )

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A Feast Fit for a Wedding

During private events at the winery, we often get questions from our clients about the gorgeous Italian inspired mural in the upstairs executive dining room. The painting clearly depicts a feast, appropriately in line with the Regale definition ‘to entertain lavishly with food and wine’ and, of course, featured front and center is a distinguished gentlemen tasting wine. While it definitely sets the mood of the space, many people are not aware of the full story- that this painting is actually a truncated version of the famed Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Veronese.

The original painting which inspired our fresco is nearly 500 years old, and the original feast that was depicted, as well as the painting itself, are of note. The Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Veronese is a depiction of the dinner in Cana, Galilee in which Christ preforms his first (and our favorite) of seven miracles, turning water into wine.  As the story goes, towards the end of the banquet the wine was running low so Christ asked the servants to fill the stone jars with water and offer them to the master of the house, who found that the water had been turned to wine.  Veronese depicts over 130 attendees in his painting of the feast including Jesus and his disciples, not to mention a number of musicians and animals that round out the lively nature of the painting.

The Benedictine monks of the San Giorgio Maggiore monastery in Venice commissioned the Wedding Feast at Cana from Paolo Veronese in 1562 to decorate their new refectory, with the requirement that Veronese work with the most precious (and costly) pigments and that the work of art be immense (to the tune of 750 sq ft) in order to fill the end wall of the refectory.  The painting hung in the refectory for over two centuries, until 1797 when Napoleon plundered the painting and shipped it back to Paris, not letting the massive size stop him- true to his reputation.  Veronese’s painting currently hangs in the Louvre where its massive size is dwarfed by a lovely lady named Lisa who hangs directly across the room.  While all eyes are on her, she is taking in the beauty of Veronese’s masterpiece.

While our version isn’t a 16^th century masterpiece, it is impressive in its depth and brings an appropriate air of historical ambiance to the room.  A gentleman by the name of Willy Baet painted this beauty freehand over the span of more than 20 months, while only referencing an 8 ½ x 11” image he had created.  This truncated version brings together either end of Veronese’s painting, becoming a beautifully lively representation of 16^th century regaling. It also seems rather apropos that the painting depicts a lavish wedding as, in addition to using the upstairs of the villa as our executive dining room for holiday parties, corporate functions and social events, it is also our bride’s room for weddings hosted at the winery.  If you are looking for a little art with your wine, a unique meeting space with friends or colleagues or a great private event space for your next social event come take a peek at Regale’s nod to Veronese.

Mural in Executive Dining Room at Regale Winery and Vineyards

Wedding Feast at Cana by Paolo Veronese

 

 

Back to our Rootstock: February

Pruning for our Estate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay vines began in late January, and finished by mid-February. While late pruning is better for disease resistance and can delay bud break, with the warm weather we have had thus far, vines are coming out of dormancy early so it was important to finish pruning expediently. This year properly timed pruning ended up being especially important as vineyards across California are experiencing very early bud break.

As many of you may know from your own backyard fruit trees, pruning is necessary to ensure the best quality of the fruit for the coming harvest. Each year grapevines produce new “canes” which will develop shoots to bear the fruit.  As only one-year-old canes can bear fruit, each year we must remove older canes which no longer serve a purpose to the vine.  By making the selections about where and how we prune the vine, we will be affecting everything about how the year’s crop will develop- no pressure there! Pruning is one of the great arts of grape growing that can never be mechanized due to the precision and careful selection of each cut.

Luckily at Regale, we were fully pruned in both of our Estate vineyards before bud break! First signs of bud break come when the tiny buds on the vine start to swell, then begin to sprout shoots and eventually develop grape leaves. We always love to see some green in the vineyard, although this early in the year can be a bit nerve-wracking!  Some of our Estate Chardonnay vines in warmer spots have indeed begun to send out their leaves, as Spring is clearly upon us given the unseasonably warm and dry February we have been experiencing. If you haven’t been up to the winery lately, now is a great time to come check out the Estate Chardonnay vineyard, as vines are visible at each stage, from swollen buds all the way to actual foliage.