'04 Estate Vineyard Syrah Bottling

Wine is bottled poetry

Château Julien Estate
High 59 Low 50
T-Showers

Lockwood Valley Vineyard
High 66 Low 47
T-Showers

Bottling for our 2004 Estate Vineyard Syrah started this past weds. If you have never had the chance to witness the process of bottling, it is amazing to watch. Some say its like dancing, or ballet...but it just looked impressive. Like Robert Louis Stevenson says, "Wine is bottled poetry."

Run for Fun?!?

Whenever I think of running for exercise or pretty much for anything other than running for your life...I think of that one part in Back to the Future Part III where Doc Brown is in the Saloon near the end of the movie. He explains the future to three drunk guys. He says people run for recreation, and the drunk man responds with "Run for fun? What kind of fun is that?" Haha

Although, I would like to mention a couple of fellow co-workers here at the winery who do just that! Melinda and Michelle ran the Monterey Bay Half Marathon together. Melinda finishing in 2:18 and Michelle finishing 2:09. If I ran it, I might be reaching the finish line right about the time I am writing this blog. No joke. :) I hope I don't get in trouble but Michelle is half as young as Melinda...and pretty close times. That's inspirational! We all should be so lucky to be as in shape and fit as Melinda.

Sunrise @ Château Julien

Golden rays

Château Julien Estate
High 64 Low 49
Showers

Lockwood Valley Vineyard
High 66 Low 44
Showers

Through most of the day today, the sun managed to break through the tough barrage of clouds that seemed to have blanketed this area. It's good to see some color to things outside again. The green now on the vines as the buds have broken through and are now growing pretty quickly. The weather calls for more rain, but at this moment in time I am just soaking up the sun! (no pun intended)

We will be bottling soon on a new vintage and will try to get some good pictures of the process to post. Until then, many great tastings to you.

Spring is here, and so is the rain

Château Julien Estate:
High 62 Low 47
Rain / Thunder

Lockwood Valley Vineyard:
High 61 Low 43
Rain / Thunder

Something new I'd like to start is giving the current weather conditions with every one of my posts. Everyone likes to know what is happening to the grapes. You will see conditions for both the estate and the vineyard. Château Julien estate is located 5 miles east of Carmel, CA and the Pacific Ocean. The lockwood vineyard is about an hour and a half southeast from the estate, near King City, CA.

Last month we saw the wettest month around here for quite some time. I believe it rained some 23 days out of the entire month. This month has started out with the same trend. Will the sun ever come out and dry us out a bit? One could only hope. So as I sit here and look out to see the rain just coming down and no blue sky in sight, it's another rainy day in Carmel. Although this time we don't get to play heads-up 7-up or play board games...

Vegas Bound

In Las Vegas, NV is the annual convention by WSWA (Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America). Not many know of WSWA, well not many people of the general public but chances are there is a member of the WSWA serving your area. WSWA represents over 90 percent of the wines and spirits sold at wholesale across the United States. This isn't an open convention but it's a big happening in the wine and spirits industry! Learn something new everyday...

Never too fast

How would you love to sit inside a Formula 1 car? Ask Bob how much he loved it.

Spring is here!

Spring has arrived to Carmel Valley. So far, it has been a very wet beginning. Raining during the week and leaving the weekends to dry out a little bit. Despite the grey weather, buds are coming out and the vines are awakening from a long winter nap. (That's if plants really do go to sleep.) Brown vines with spot of green, only show a promising harvest to come. As I look out my window, the rain patters away and clouds hugging the hilltops, I can't help but notice that spring is here.

Merlot Legacy Continues in Monterey, CA

More than 25% of Chateau Julien Wine Estate's 246-acre vineyard is planted with their flagship varietal - Merlot. As the winery's first 100% red varietal produced back in 1982, the Merlot grape captivated Chateau Julien owners Bob & Patty Brower with its complex favors and subtle depth.

Today, the Merlot legacy continues with the current vintage Private Reserve, Estate Vineyard and Barrel Selected Merlot. "We have been producing this varietal for nearly 25 years -- there is a commitment to consistency and quality with each vintage," comments Chateau Julien Winemaker Bill Anderson. Current vintages are now available through the winery's website at www.chateaujulien.com.

Visit Monterey Wine Country and taste award-winning Chateau Julien wines daily at the 16-acre French style Chateau in Carmel Valley. Family owned and operated since 1982. This year, our winemaker will participate in the "Merits of Merlot" Seminar on April 1st at the Monterey Wine Festival. Don't miss this great event -- go online for more information!

We have a new member to our family

John Scalla has joined us here at Chateau Julien. He has graduated from California State University of Monterey with a B.S. in Computer Science. John grew up in Hollister, graduating from San Benito High. Decided to move closer to the ocean and attend California State University of Monterey Bay. We are excited to have him join us here and look forward to everything he will bring to Château Julien.

Snow Falls in Monterey

Southbeach Wine Fest 2006

Bob Brower participated in this years Soutbeach Winefest in Florida. With a little help from family he poured our Estate Vineyard Wines to hundreds of attendees. We are widely distributed in Florida and love to support our distributor friends through events like these.

Making History: Chateau Julien Has First Virtual Wine Tasting

Have you ever wished you could discuss a wine with the person who made it? Well wish no longer, this morning Chateau Julien Wine Estate made history with our first virtual wine tasting. There were 8 people in attendance while Bill Anderson (winemaker) covered the break down of four of the Barrel Selected wines. Everyone tasted the samples we sent them and discussed the characteristics of the wine, it was an enjoyable experience for all.

Merlot in May

Chateau Julien Wine Estate will once again participate in the 6th annual Merlot in May festival.

"With a reputation as the most relaxed, least pretentious wine tasting around, Merlot in May® at Sterling Vineyards® has become an annual hit with wine lovers and winemakers alike. Held May 20th, as the days lengthen and the weather turns warm, Merlot in May is the unofficial kick-off to the summer season."

for more information or to purchase tickets please go to http://www.sterlingvineyards.com/merlot-in-may.html

Chateau Julien Wine Estate featured in Documentary

Winemaker Bill Anderson and Proprietor Bob Brower will be featured in a documetnary about monterey winemaking, airing in three weeks on cable channel 27. Looks like Bob was ready for his closeup!

El Paso

Chateau Julien hits the road to attend an exclusive event in El Paso, Texas.

Chateau Julien Wines- "Roughing It"

Ah..the good life

Here is a picture I took at this years wine and art festival of one of our guests enjoying himself. Cheers!

Our Web Site

Congratulations to Chateau Julien! The Winery Website Report just gave us a great score on the effectiveness of our website. Out of 2,231 wineries sampled our website scored better than 97% of them with a score of 68 out 100 points. Below is more information about the rating or you can go to http://www.winerywebsitereport.com.


The current median score of all the winery Web sites in our evaluation database is 48. The highest score is 83. So every site has room to improve. Most sites can improve their scores with simple changes that will actually generate results (site freshness, and a lack of attention to trade and media are typical problem areas). That's why we created The Winery Web Site Report.