Hello, friends old and new!
Welcome back to the world of Turley! These waning days of summer are a season of returning: back to school, back to work, back to reality. Though it’s been, ahem, a minute since I’ve actually gone “back to school,” I still feel like this time of year—more so even than the start of a new calendar year—is a chance for reinvention. A reimagining of the self, reflecting on the ways you’ve grown thus far, and deciding who you’re going to be moving forward. At least, that’s how it feels on August’s better days; other times, it can feel like a month-long stretch of the “Sunday Scaries.”
Staring down the barrel of the upcoming season, it’s nice to have something to look forward to. Sometimes, just the anticipation of opening a bottle of wine can turn a day from grey to great. A simple joy, a little prize for yourself, whether it’s a reward for a job well done or a consolation for one that, well, wasn’t. I like to think of ordering the fall release as a pre-emptive self-care strike: when that package finally arrives, future you will take a moment to thank present you, and both of you will be grateful for taking such good, thoughtful care of yourselves!
We’re also welcoming the return to normalcy for our vineyards most affected by the California droughts, especially Ueberroth! Paso Robles was hit harder than any other region we work with during the California droughts, and Ueberroth in particular suffered yield-wise, with very little to go around. But now, with the “normal”-to-healthy rains we saw in ’16 and ’17, Ueberroth is back, baby! Just look at all that verdant glory!
For a vineyard in its 134th year of life, may we just say, daaaaaaaaaang you look good!
Sadly, we also have a farewell to say. Jay Heminway, proprietor and winemaker of Napa’s Green & Red winery as well as our beloved grower of the Heminway vineyard, passed this summer. One of the most hard working, committed, passionate people we had the honor of knowing, his kind smile and spirit will be missed by all who were lucky enough to know him. For a more in-depth look at his incredible history and impact in the wine world, please see his obituary in the Napa Valley Register. I know we’ll be holding our few bottles of Heminway especially close to our hearts come fall.
Old Vines, Young Love,
Christina Turley, Larry Turley, & Tegan Passalacqua
Turley Wine Cellars