It is the second year we have participated and it’s a unique event with humans and rescue dogs primped and dressed to the nines.

Check out the program ad and table tent that Kendra put together featuring our families’ pooches:

(click to enlarge)

If you’re in the local area, RSVP to our Pick Up Party on Feb. 10th or drop by the winery to pick up your wines.  (Pick ups outside of Monday – Friday 8am-5pm, email me.)

For our ship-to customers, your wines are en route – keep your eyes peeled!

Also, our quarterly Club Selection dates are changing a bit.  In an effort to avoid shipping during the warmest months of the year, Club Selections will be in February, early May, late September and December.  All the work that goes into growing and crafting these wines goes out the window if they sit in a hot shipping warehouse so we want to do our best to avoid that.

Expedited shipping options are available for your wine orders outside of the quarterly shipments and we always keep an eye on the temperatures across the country when shipping.

Last, every Club Selection this quarter included $10 Wine Club Dollars to use on your next wine order – so you’ll want to dig into this shipment ASAP!

Our Wine Club Members will get a sneak peek of the event at our Pick Up Party the Friday night before the weekend, along with the first tastes of our new 2011 Sangiovese Rosé.

We’ll be pouring the first tastes of the latest vintage 2011 Sangiovese Rosé (just bottled!) and the talented family of cooks at Guantonio’s will be here serving up small bites to pair.

Again this year, the night will be a sneak peek of the weekend’s photography exhibit.  Our good friends Fatima Donaldson, Serena Lissy and Brenda Lindstrom will be showcasing a wide selection of their most recent photography in our cellar.  All graduates of the Rocky Mountain School of Photograpy, look forward to some amazing shots.

We hope you can join us – pick up some Rosé for you and your Valentine to sip while you admire your new photography piece hanging on your wall!

If any Wine Club Members need discounted Wine & Chocolate tickets, see here for all the info.

RSVP Required
Spring Wine Club Pick Up Party
LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards (map)
February 10th, 2012
5 – 8pm

Exclusive to our members are discounted $35 tickets to Lodi’s Wine & Chocolate Weekend, February 11th and 12th.  Regular price is $45 in advance and $55 that weekend.

To order, email me before February 5th how many you would like and whether you prefer to pick them up at our winery or have me mail them.  We’ll charge your credit card on file and email a receipt.

We have another year of exciting things planned for Wine & Chocolate – stay tuned for all the details!

Full descriptions of the bites and wine pairings are below if you are feeling an adventurous culinary bug coming on: 

Sauvignon Blanc
Fresh Super Sweet Green Pea Blinis Topped with Crème Fraiche and Roasted Peppers with Mint Essence

Chardonnay
Foie Gras Mousse on a Brioche Disc with Fresh Pear

Viognier
Fresh Pacific Prawn with Citrus Compote on an English Cucumber Medallion

Pinot Noir
Smoked Sonoma Duck Served on Sweet Potato Chips with Sundried Cherry Jam

Zinfandel
Moroccan Spiced Lamb, Apricot Pistachio Chutney on Pita Crisp

Cabernet
Marinated Beef Served Rare Topped with Capers, Shallots and Citrus on a Roasted Garlic Crostini

Midnight Reserve
Beef Carpaccio Served on Potato Rounds with an essence of Black Truffle with Fresh Chives

Both our Midnight Reserve and Pinot Noir earned top recognition and we’ll have them on hand at the Rodeo Uncorked! Roundup and Best Bites Competition on February 19th at the massive Reliant Center in Houston.

If you’re in town, join us!

Whether you’re searching for a corporate gift or something special for that hard-to-shop-for person, we’ve got the perfect gift – the gift of wine.

You can shop online for your gift packs or, if it’s easier, send me an email with your gift recipient list.  We can also include your handwritten gift note so you get all the credit!

Happy Holidays!

ESTATE CLASSICS

The classics from our estate wines: Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. One bottle each wrapped in a custom gift box.

Price: $38.00   Club Price: $30.40

ESTATE BEST SELLERS

A taste of our everyday drinkers: Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel.  One bottle each wrapped in a custom gift box.

Price: $66.00   Club Price: $52.80

GENERATIONS

Live adventurous and enjoy more unique varietals: Viognier, Pinot Noir and Petite Sirah Petit Verdot.  Two bottles each wrapped in a custom gift box.

Price: $112.00   Club Price: $89.60

RESERVES

Smooth and sophisticated – perfect for the holidays: Midnight Reserve and Merlot Reserve.  Two bottles each wrapped in a custom gift box.

Price: $128.00   Club Price: $102.40

SINGLE BARREL

Our newest release, the 2008 Single Barrel Tannat is exlusive to Wine Club Members only.  Two bottles wrapped in a custom gift box.

Price: $108.00   Club Price: $86.40

 

Thanks to Jeff Namba, Bruce Kaiser and Jim Quaschnick Jr for their great shots included in the slideshow.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyeyRTx9GGM

Take a look at the week’s schedule and get your seat saved for one of these events!

Monday, December 5th

Wine Dinner – Dragonfly Hotel Zaza, Dallas
Featuring the Redneck Sommelier and chef Dan Landsberg with Twin Brad Lange
See the Menu
$95pp
Call for Reservations: (214) 550-9500

Tuesday, December 6th

Twins Lunch - Ellerbe’s, Fort Worth
BOTH Twins, Brad and Randy, will be featured with owner Richard King

Wine Dinner - Boo Ray’s, Hudson Oaks
BOTH Twins, Brad and Randy, will be signing bottles and hosting alongside Schrick’s Liquor owners Dana & Keith Schrick
See the Menu
$45pp
Call for Reservations: (817) 599-6266

Wednesday, December 7th

Wine Tasting - Grapes to Wine, Bartonville
Twin Randy will be hosting with shop owners Dan and Hazel Adams.  Chef Steven Allen pairing six of our wines with food bites
$40pp or &75 per couple
Call for Reservations: (214) 252-9801

Thursday, December 8th

Wine Tasting Meet and Greet - Chocolate Secrets and Wine Garden, Dallas
Twin Randy will be on hand presenting our wines
$27pp
Call for Reservations: (214) 252-9801

Wine Dinner - YO Steakhouse, Dallas
Twin Randy will be featuring our wines at this four course wine dinner
See the Menu
$75pp
Call for Reservations: (214) 744-3287

The Sacramento Cyclocross/Bicycling Events crew were out last week with help from Bruce and Cody Kaiser of Kinetic Cycles brainstorming ideas for the course.  This year, we had to get even more creative, since we have a large restoration project in the works on much of the winery property.

For the project, we are returning much of the open ground to native California plants, trees and shrubs but the timing this year is less than ideal (since it is absorbing lots of our prime CX racing turf!) .  By next year, the grasses should be well established and it’ll be game on.

Carpool Deal:  Save 15% at both LangeTwins and Kinetic Cycles until 12/15 when you pile in one car – we’re trying to save some parking space and also, it’s the sustainable thing to do.  Find another racer and be sure to grab a carpool coupon from one of the parking attendants when your crew arrives.

Click to enlarge

Of course there was great food and wine -- our 2008 Single Barrel Tannat released to a very energetic crowd -- but new this year were Tango dancers!

Check out all the pics in the slideshow below and be sure to join us next year.  Cheers!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1_pqkEAJDM

Releasing at our 5th Annual Wine Club Dinner on Saturday, November 12th is our newest Club Exclusive wine, the unique 2008 Single Barrel Tannat.  It is our most obscure varietal to date (very little planted in California) and of course we saved it for our Members’ Holiday Club shipment.

That same weekend we will be open for Lodi’s First Sip – a two day wine festival featuring Lodi wineries that always brings in a great group of eager tasters.  Check out the event website for all the details and ticket information.

We’ll have some cool attractions here at the winery for First Sip:

• Showcasing our big sprint to cycling – sponsoring a masters race squad, printing custom LangeTwins cycling jerseys and hosting Sacramento Cyclocross here Dec. 3rd.
• Tasting and taking pre-orders on the new vintage of our flagship wine, the 2008 Midnight Reserve.
• Serving warm paninis made with cheese from our friends at Fiscalini Farmstead.

Hope you can join us during this busy weekend.

If you’re not yet part of our Wine Club, sign up soon to save 20% on all orders as well as attend our many events throughout the year.

Cheers!

Joe Lange

For the 2012 racing season, we are officially the title sponsor of the LangeTwins Winery and Vineyards presented by Great Basin Imaging Cycling Team.  

Along with Great Basin Imaging and a host of other sponsors, we have a great group of very strong riders.  In 2011 they were the 4th Best All-Around Team – Masters 35+ 1/2/3 and we are looking forward to getting out to the races to support them during the 2012 season.

The team will be on hand volunteering at our December 3rd Sacramento Cyclocross race and then you can see them at full speed at NCNCA races around Northern California and Nevada.  One race that we will definitely have a big presence at is Lodi CycleFest, organized by Michael David Winery’s Delta Velo Cycling Team.

In addition to promoting our LangeTwins wines, we also see this as an opportuniuty to promote cycling in Lodi.  Between Michael David Winery and LangeTwins, we hope other local companies will get involved and maybe even attract the Amgen Tour of California?  One step at a time, I suppose.

Stay tuned for more details here and on the LT p/b GBI Cycling Team Facebook page.

See the press release here.

LT p/b GBI Facebook

If you’re a racer, be ready for a Euro-style CX course designed by the SacCX team.  They take full advantage of our varying terrain (fast concrete, tricky asphalt, sticky peanut butter mud) and run you up and down our large winegrape receiving bridge -- which you’ll be cursing at minute 40.

For the spectators and cycling fans, (and as the riders end their suffering) we’ll take good care of you. Of course, we’ll be pouring tastes of our LangeTwins wines and have them available for purchase if you find any favorites.

We’ll also have Lodi’s own Guantonio’s Wood Fired Cuisine here making some of their famous thin crust pizzas for breakfast (add an egg!) and lunch.

Hope we have a big crowd at this family-friendly event.  Join us!

Here is the slideshow from last year’s race.  It was a gooey one…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJg4WMXoILY

Exclusive to our Wine Club Members, this night marks the release of our 2008 Single Barrel Tannat.  Our Single Barrel wines have sold out very quickly in the past and are crafted and available solely for our members.  Not yet a Club Member?

Please RSVP soon by emailing tammie@langetwins.com or calling her at 209.334.9780.

Click to enlarge

5th Annual Wine Club Dinner
Saturday, November 12th, 2011
6:30pm at the Winery
$80 per person
Dress for the cellar…and tango! 

Check out the full list of results here – it was a big win for other local wineries including Michael David Winery, Van Ruiten Family Winery and Peirano Estate Vineyards.

Gold Award Winners

2010 Generations Petite Sirah Petit Verdot
2008 Reserve Merlot

Silver Award Winners

2010 Generations Viognier
2009 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon
2010 Generations Pinot Noir

For a limited time, pre-order your jersey to get it at OUR COST and SHIPPING INCLUDED.  The more custom jerseys we order from the manufacturer Louis Garneau, the better the price is for everyone – so please spread the word!

Pre-order soon at our cost and shipping included

I’m hoping there are enough jersey pre-orders (both men’s and women’s) so the price is around $50 for our pre-order customers.  Jerseys should be available and shipped by early December.

Pre-order your cycling jersey at our online store.

Thanks to everyone for their feedback and helping us choose between these great designs.  I can’t wait to see riders sporting their LT jerseys the next time I’m riding.

Cheers!

As a cyclist myself, and a family winery who is a host to the annual Sacramento Cyclocross race, it only makes sense to outfit our most loyal fans with some LT cycling gear.

We need your help in deciding which design to choose.  Please vote and share with your friends!

The winning design will be available for pre-orders at OUR COST.  So, if you vote and pre-order, you save big – the more we order, the better the price for everyone.

Check out the designs below and vote!

[poll id="5"]

Design #1

Design #2

Design #3

All design sketches by the talented team at Nagy Designs.

It was all hands on deck with David and the cellar crew stacking barrels to make an outside room just adjacent to the crush pad, where semi trucks pull tons of freshly picked grapes to the hopper.  It gave us a perfect birds-eye view with the vineyards in the distance and all the hustle of the winery in motion.

Emily Kendall created and prepared the four course lunch including a Layered Golden and Red Gazpacho with Lemon Basil Oil and paired with our 2010 Sauvignon Blanc; Dungeness Crab Salad with Cavillon Melon to complement the 2009 Viognier; Lamb Chops with Polenta, Ratatouille and Bell Pepper Infused Lamb Stock Reduction with the 2010 Pinot Noir AND the 2009 Zinfandel; lunch was topped off with our yummy 2010 Moscato and a Peach Tarte Tatin with Gingered Yogurt Sauce.

We wanted to keep the lunch intimate, and still include all the details of a family operation – so we paired one family member (and of course Steven!) with each course to give the Hillhouse’s a warm welcome to the Lodi Appellation.

Our 5th Annual Wine Club Dinner is slated for Saturday, November 12th this year.  We moved the date back to post-harvest (versus the July Luau last year) for a few reasons, most importantly to give our winemakers some more time to craft 2011′s Wine Club Only wine, the 2008 Single Barrel Tannat.

See below for all the details – you’ll also receive this in printed form in your Fall Wine Club Selection.

Have you registered your RSVP for the August 6th Pick Up Party at Thai Spices yet?)

Click for larger version

]]> http://www.langetwins.com/blog/wine-club/2011/07/27/save-the-date-5th-annual-wine-club-dinner-nov-12th/feed/ 0 http://www.langetwins.com/blog/at-the-winery/2011/07/26/wine-harvest-digital-photography-workshop-sept-15-18/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=wine-harvest-digital-photography-workshop-sept-15-18 http://www.langetwins.com/blog/at-the-winery/2011/07/26/wine-harvest-digital-photography-workshop-sept-15-18/#comments Tue, 26 Jul 2011 22:08:34 +0000 Joe Lange http://www.langetwins.com/blog/?p=6517 Read More →]]> Coming up soon is a really unique opportunity to brush up on your photography skills with the pros.

In the midst of harvest, we’ll be playing host to two professional (and well-traveled!) photographers, Fatima Donaldson and Serena Lissy.  They have made trips to Lodi a few times before and you have no doubt seen their work featured here on the blog, on Facebook or hanging in our winery offices.

Or you may have met them at our Photo Exhibition during 2011′s Wine and Chocolate Weekend?

Check out all the info below and then register here for the workshop.

Click for a larger version

Register here!

(We love their photos so much that we even swapped out the Pinot Noir bridge photo with one of Fatima’s!)

We’ll be pouring tastes of a few new wines including our 2010 Pinot Noir, 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon, 2010 Sauvignon Blanc and our 2010 Moscato.  The heat of some of the Thai dishes Bun (owner and gracious host) is planning on cooking will pair especially well with the slightly sweet and frizzante Moscato.

At 5pm, after a few bites and wine tastes, we’ll have to give Bun’s restaurant back to her – so please make reservations for dinner if you plan on staying!  (209.369.8424)

This event is exclusive to Wine Club Members.  Invite your friends to join our Wine Club and attend this and all of our Club events throughout the year.

RSVP by registering here.
Thai Spices, Lodi  (map)
Saturday, August 6th
2 – 5pm
Light appetizers and wine tasting

*For those out of town/state/country or unable to make the party, your Club Selections will ship/have ready for pick up at the winery starting August 8th.

Find us this weekend in both parts of the state – we are splitting duties between the mountains and beach!  Rough, right?

Kendra’s heading to the Sierras this weekend for the 10th Annual Art, Wine & Classical Guitar Music Festival both Saturday and Sunday at Squaw Valley.  Tasting comes with a commemorative wine glass for a $25 dollar donation to the Disabled Sports USA: Far West Division. 

Saturday and Sunday, July 16 – 17

Concerts start at 11am
Tasting from 2 – 5pm
Squaw Valley Village

I’d heading down to the Central Coast for the California Wine Festival in Santa Barbara.  Check out the schedule below for our three-day tour – I’ll be pouring different wines at each event.

Thursday, July 14

Old Spanish Nights! (Tapas, Flamenco/Spanish dance and music)
6:30 – 9pm
Historic De La Guerra Adobe Courtyard, Downtown Santa Barbara

Friday, July 15

Sunset Rare & Reserve Wine Tasting
6:30 – 9pm
Chase Palm Park Pavilion

Saturday, July 16

Beachside Wine Festival
11:30 – 4pm
Chase Palm Park

We’ll start in Holland and work our way up to the North Country – assuming the humidity is less, but the bugs are bigger, right? Looking forward to introducing ourselves at the Traverse City Cherry Festival and popping a few corks for folks to try our wines.  Our 2010 Clarksburg Moscato will soon hit the shores of Michigan – and yummy, yummy for those hot, sultry days — I like to put it in the freezer and slush it; great as an opener with basil buttered popcorn, or of course as a dessert.

Let us know if you’re in the area – or better yet, if there’s a place you want to find LangeTwins wines, give us a heads-up — we’re always game to make new friends.

Here’s where we’ll be:

Tuesday, July 5th
3 – 6 p.m. Wine Tasting at Santo Stefano, 12 Washington Avenue, #101, Grand Haven
7:30 p.m. Dinner at Butch’s Restaurant in Holland.

Wednesday, July 6th
5 – 10 p.m.  Pouring in the Wine Pavilion Tent, Traverse City Cherry Festival

Thursday, July 7th
5 – 10 p.m. Pouring in the Wine Pavilion

Friday, July 8th
5 – 10 p.m. Pouring in the Wine Pavilion

Saturday, July 9th
Noon to 4 p.m. Tasting at Esperance wine Shop in Charlevoix
Dinner at Blu in Glen Arbor

Sunday, July 10th
Free Day – any ideas?

Monday, July 11th
Market Work in Charlevoix and Petoskey

Tuesday, July 12th
7 p.m. Tasting @ Treetops with Mindy Schuehrer, 3962 Wilkinson Road, Gaylord

Wednesday, July 13th
Pouring at the Harbor Springs Wine and Food Festival

Thursday, July 14th
Auctioning off weekend at LangeTwins Winery and Vineyards @ the Harbor Spring Gala and Auction

We’re helping them celebrate the completion of their big construction project – they added a beautiful back patio surrounded by garden boxes and most recently built even larger vegetable boxes and an outside waiting area to accommodate their loyal patrons.

In the restaurant world, owners Jim and Annette Murdaca just get it. They’re growing as many of their own vegetables and herbs to use in their authentic Italian dishes and not many restaurants can accomplish that.

The spread from our Summer Pick Up Party at Pietro's - May 2011

I’ll be pouring tastes of our Pinot Grigio, Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Make dinner reservations and come taste and dine with the Lange and Murdaca families.

Please call 209.368.0613 to make reservations.  They’re also on Facebook.

We hope you can joins us!

The big mission for this trip is to make some more Colorado fans (we have a bunch!) and find a solid distribution partner that can start placing our wines on local store shelves and restaurant wine lists.

So, for all our current Colorado fans, please keep your fingers crossed for us!

We want you to be able to find our sustainably-grown wines in your favorite restaurant and wine shop – I hope we can make that happen soon.

Cheers!

Joe

Our Chardonnay will be available as the selected white wine every Wednesday at the Los Gatos Town Plaza from 6:30 to 8:30pm.

The first night is tonight and continues for ten weeks – mark your calendars and be sure to sip our chilled Chard!

He’ll be visiting our partners at Hong Kong’s newest wine bar, California Vintage.  If you’re globe-trotting like Randy and happen to be in the area this weekend or are living in Hong Kong, stop by!

They have some great events planned while he’s in town:

“At the Bar” with Randy Lange
Visit with Twin Randy Lange all afternoon and learn about our multi-generational family, state-of-the-art winery and sustainable vineyards.
Sunday, June 26th
3 – 7pm

Exclusive Winemaker Dinner
Join Randy and Chef Kenji Yuen for a five course tasting menu paired with LangeTwins wines.
Monday, June 27th
7 – 9pm

See the menu here!

Make your reservation by emailing  info @ cvwinebar.com

Check out California Vintage’s website and Facebook.

Industry folks will assure you “it’s a good problem to have” and don’t get me wrong – I would much rather have high demand than oversupply in most scenarios.  But when you have to tell your most loyal customer that you can’t ship them their favorite wine for a daughter’s wedding, son’s gradaution party or fill-in-the-blank special occasion, it stings a bit.

Wine isn’t like soda – we get one year, one vintage.  Another batch can’t just be whipped up.

Layering harvest on top of winemaking on top of projected sales is a scary game of throwing darts in the dark.  Our viticulture, winemaking and sales teams are tasked with thinking years ahead, with no clue which hot stokes in the fire might be picked up.  As those new opportunities for growth come through, it’s anxious celebration – excitement for the added reach of our wine, apprehension in meeting the challenge to keep everyone supplied and happy.

Thus, the good and bad of being sold out.

Please join the family in wishing them both a happy birthday! Leave a comment and we’ll pass it along to them since they’re not big blog, Facebook or Twitter guys.

Cheers!

Randy and Brad - The Birthday Boys

Here are the latest events we have on the books for the Northern California area.  Hope we’re coming to your neighborhood soon!

May 25th, 5-7pm
Malone’s Grille, Scotts Valley
Wine Down Wednesday

May 25th, 6-9pm
Pasta Pomodoro, Pleasant Hill
Casual Food and Wine Pairing

June 4th, 4-7pm
Grape Escape at Cesar Chavez Park, Sacramento
Food and Wine Festival

June 8th, 5-7pm
Thai Spices, Lodi
Wine Feature – Complimentary Tastes

June 8th, 6-9pm
Pasta Pomodoro, Novato
Casual Food and Wine Pairing

June 16th, 6-9pm
Oakdale Country Club
Oakdale Country Club Wine Dinner

June 7th, 4:30 – 7:30pm
Riverview Golf and Country Club
Stock Your Cellar Wine Tasting


A covercrop like this reduces erosion, reduces tilling needs, adds organic matter to our soil, enables better winter access for tractor operations, increases biodiversity and performs many other beneficial ecosystem services.

Also, bloom is starting in our Chardonnay near the winery.  Clusters showing stamens of the flower are spreading out – other varieties to follow suit soon!

Our Summer Wine Club Selection will feature our brand new 2009 Zinfandel which was just pre-released.

Owners Jim & Annette Murdaca have recently finished a new addition to the restaurant – a large outdoor patio with an arbor overhead and vegetable garden boxes throughout.  They have a few more projects in the works to make Pietro’s the premier spot to enjoy authentic Italian cuisine in Lodi.

We’ll have a few bites to pair up with our newest wine until 5pm – then sit down and let Jim and his kitchen cook dinner for you!

Exclusive to Wine Club Members.  Invite your friends to join our Wine Club and attend this and all of our Club events throughout the year.

RSVP:  joe @ langetwins.com
Pietro’s Italian Restaurant, Lodi  (map)
Saturday, May 21st
2pm to 5pm
Light appetizers and wine tasting

*For those out of town or unable to make the party, we’ll ship/have ready for pick up at the winery starting May 23rd.

First, a little about this year’s Zinfandel:

• Blend of the best Zin vineyards
• Some vines 100+ years old (more on the history later!)
• Concentrated raspberry and black cherry flavors
• Subtle oak aging adds spice note and vanilla finish
• Certified Green – Lodi Rules for Sustainable Winegrowing
• And as always, not over-oaked or sweet - true to the Zinfandel varietal

Wine Club Members

Order online using the coupon codes below – your wines will be shipped or ready for pick up on May 9th.  (It’s good being a Member!)

25% off bottles:  WC25
30% off cases:  WC30 (12 bottles or more)

Regular Customers

Order online using the coupon codes below – your wines will be shipped or ready for pick up on May 16th.

10% off bottles:  RC10
15% off cases:  RC15 (12 bottles or more)

Questions?  Email me at joe [@] langetwins.com

This year’s party was (by far!) our largest crowd but we added more food, pulled corks on wine bottles and told the Easter bunny that we had a few additional kids joining us.

The weather cooperated much better than 2010 and we had a fantastic afternoon sipping our newest wine, the 2010 Sangiovese Rosé.

Here are a few pics:

As always, Club Members save money on ZinFest tickets when they order in advance.  This year, Club Members save $20 off the gate price!

Email me with your ticket order by May 6th.

For everything ZinFest, check out their website or Lodi Wine’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

Both Keith at BrainWines and the crew at WineHarlots gushed about our pink wine.  Especially at the price of only $13, it’s an easy fit for any occasion this summer.

The Rosé is already a big favorite among our Wine Club Members and the rest of our inventory will go quickly once they have another sip at our upcoming Easter Celebration on April 23rd.

Cheers!

Stay tuned for the release date on the 2009 vintage – here’s a teaser picture from bottling a few weeks ago.

As always, we’ll have lots going on that day:  painting, games and photos with the Easter Bunny, an outdoor BBQ and barrel tasting of exclusive wine lots for those of age.

Also, remember to bring your basket for our Egg Hunt starting at 11:30am sharp!  There will be hidden eggs for kids and adults so come prepared to search.

RSVPs are required. Please let us know all names for personalized name tags.

First time to our big Egg Hunt?  See here for pics from 2009 and 2010!

(Click to enlarge)

LangeTwins Easter Celebration
Saturday, April 23rd
11am – 2pm
Lower Sacramento Rd and Jahant Rd, Acampo
RSVPs Required: tammie@langetwins.com or 209.334.9780

They toured the fields, checked out orders being roasted for shipment and finished up with a coffee tasting – I can’t imagine how wired they were on that ride home.

Brad, Susan, Phil and family friend Christian all said that the tour was well worth the rolling boat trip from Maui.  For the record, you can also fly.

Here are some pics of their tour:

Their feedback on our wine styles and perspectives on the global wine industry were also very interesting to hear.

Among the group was prolific wine writer Oz Clarke.  Here’s a bit of Clarke’s thoughts on the Lodi Appellation’s strengths, challenges and next steps.  Read the complete article here.

Q: What does Lodi have going for it?

A: The thing about Lodi wines is that they have a softness in texture and an intensity of fruit. You can really taste the difference in fruit varieties in Lodi wine.

Lodi is different. There is something here. You go 20 or 30 miles south, and you’ve lost it. But it makes absolute sense. You look at the maps with the Delta and the hills and you see how the wind comes through the Carquenez straight and the first place it gets is here. And then it dissipates; south, north or wherever. But once the wind has been here, it’s going to lose its power as it travels on. But you in Lodi have this small area. That’s the great thing about wine; small areas matter. Napa and Carneros aren’t big.

Keep reading…

It was probably the most enjoyable and unique black tie event we’ve been a part of since nearly everyone had their dogs in tow.  They had waiters offering both human and dog appetizers and separate lounges for the dogs – the evening was great but I do think they catered to the pooches more than us!

The Humane Society of Truckee Tahoe does a fantastic job of rescuing and placing dogs in the greater Tahoe area – as a dog loving family, we were proud to support and hope to be back next year.

Here are some pics from the Gala – click below to browse or view at our Facebook Page.

We’re hosting our Spring Wine Club Pick Up Party tomorrow night and showcasing the work of some talented photographers at our Professional Photo Exhibit all weekend long.

Drop by and see us!

Here’s a sneak peek of the activity in the cellar:

I think 123 total cases produced qualifies for the ‘Small Estate Lot’ designation, right?  The Sangiovese vineyard is also directly across Jahant Road from the winery – so close that the grapes practically walked themselves into the presses.

Our newest release is a tiny one and we’ll sell ourselves out of it faster than I’d like…we’d better savor each sip.

After our Wine Club gets their hands on it and the lovebirds over Wine & Chocolate Weekend taste its pinky goodness,  this wine might be gone until the next vintage release on Valentine’s Day 2012.

Stock up on it while it’s chilly outside and enjoy our Sangiovese Rosé poolside when the temps heat up.  You’ll thank yourself for the forethought.

Email me to reserve yours today and grab it over Wine & Chocolate Weekend or we’ll ship/will call on Monday, Feb. 14th.

2010 Sangiovese Rosé

$13.00 bottles  $156.00 cases

$10.40 bottles  $124.80 cases  Wine Club

As I posted earlier, we’ll be giving our Club Members a sneak peek of the exhibit at our Spring Pick Up Party here at the winery on Friday, February 11th from 5-8pm.  RSVP soon.

We’re looking forward to showcasing this photography side by side with our newest wine, the 2010 Sangiovese Rosé! Hope you can join us.

(click to enlarge)

Exclusively for our Wine Club Members, we’ll be holding our Spring Wine Club Pick Up Party in the winery cellar where they’ll get the very first taste of our newest wine, the 2010 Sangiovese Rosé!

While sipping on our latest arrival, Members will also have a sneak peek of our Professional Photography Exhibit, featuring work from three photographers who visited us during Harvest 2010.

As always for our Pick Up Parties, light appetizers and complimentary wine tasting is included – all for our most loyal fans.

The photography exhibit will be open to the public during Lodi’s Wine & Chocolate Weekend, February 12th & 13th.  If you plan on visiting us and the other participating Lodi wineries, remember that our Club Members get special pricing.

LangeTwins Spring Wine Club Pick Up Party
Friday, February 11th
5 – 8pm
In the Cellar
RSVP Required email me

All three photographers are graduates of the Rocky Mountain School of Photography in Missoula, Montana.

The art show will be hung in the cellar with an exclusive sneak preview on Friday night, February 11th from 5 – 8 pm for members of our Wine Club.

The exhibit will be open to the public during the Wine & Chocolate Weekend sponsored by the Lodi Woodbridge Winegrape Commission with hours on both Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm.

Fatima, Brenda, Sabrina (not attending) and Serena

Here’s a sample of some of the great shots they captured during their Harvest 2010 visit along with their bios:

Fatima Donaldson

Donaldson specializes in Macro, Lifestyle, Travel and Corporate photography and uses often times overlooked details to inspire the viewer to slow down and look at things in a different way.

www.fatimaphotography.com

Brenda Lindstrom

Lindstrom is a fine art and nature photographer with a deep love of nature and art found not only in her own Pacific Northwest backyard, but also during her travel adventures.

www.brendakayimagery.com

Serena Lissy

Lissy specializes in architectural and interior design photography and looks for the graphic lines, shapes, textures and shadows within a frame for inspiration.

www.serenalissy.com

Our biggest winner was our 2008 Proprietary Chardonnay which won a Double Gold award! That’s kind of a big deal…

It was Silver awards for some of our other wines:

2009 Estate Muscat Canelli

2009 Generations Viognier

2009 Generations Pinot Noir

2008 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

2006 Midnight Reserve

Also, remember that this is a two-day event – $17.50 per day, for those number crunchers.

For our loyal LangeTwins Wine Club Members, send me an email by Friday, February 4th to order your tickets.  We can either mail the tickets to you or have them available at Will Call over the weekend.

We’ll be doing something really unique during Wine & Chocolate, stay tuned for the details.

Cheers!

Here are the latest restaurants and retail locations where you can find LangeTwins right now…

Photo:  chucktaylor

If you’re heading out to a restaurant:

Oliver’s Twist
Ravishing Radish Catering
Tula’s
Wild Mountain Café
El Camino
Mashiko
Commuter Comforts
Waterways Cruises
Snacks!
Alderbrook Country Club (Union)

If you’re planning a meal at home:
Ice Box
Phinney Market
San Marco Grocery
Wine World
City Cellars (Blaine)
Cost Cutter (Blaine)
Leschi Market (Renton)
Wine Alley (Renton)
Vino Bello (Burien)

Cheers!

Please come in anytime after 6:00pm and enjoy the wine dinner at your own pace – meaning when you are ready to move on to your next course, both the food and wine pairing, along with a personal explanation of the wines will be ready.  There’s no waiting on anyone.  You set the tone for your evening!

Reservations are not needed, but if you would like to secure a table, please call to reserve your table!

Pasta Pomodoro – Roseville
3984 Douglas Blvd # 110
(916) 773-4027
Saturday, January 22, 2011, 6:00pm

Below is the seasonal special menu with the wine pairing:

First Course
Insalata di Cavolini
sauteed sliced brussels sprouts with house-cured pancetta, egg, red onion and aged red wine vinaigrette
2009 Generations Viognier

or

Gnocchi Formaggi
potato dumplings with gorgonzola, fresh Belfiore mozzarella and parmesan
2009 Estate Chardonnay

Second Course
Pollo Saltimbocca
fresh chicken breast with Zoe’s Meats prosciutto, provolone and fresh sage with a porcini mushroom reduction, served with sautéed organic spinach
2007 Culinary Merlot

or

Ossobuco di Maiale
Kurobuta pork shank braised in white wine, served with fettuccine
2008 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Third Course
Spuma di Cioccolato
dark chocolate mousse with raspberry sauce
2006 Icon Midnight Reserve

See you there!

If you think the pictures don’t do it justice, take some creamy peanut butter, mix in water and super glue and I think you may begin to understand what the racers had to pedal through.

Thanks to those brave racers that came out to join us in the harsh conditions.  And, as always, a big thank you to Guantonio’s Wood Fired Cuisine and Coffees of Hawaii for serving up their specialities.

Until next year, have a great one!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJg4WMXoILY

For more pics of the gooey race, check out Tim Westmore’s set as well as Mike Upchurch’s Team Mad Cat set.

Our yummy Core Chardonnay is now on their wine list – by the glass or the bottle.  Makes those holiday shopping days just oh, so much easier to manage!

Let us know what you think.

Nordstrom’s Cafe
1200 Broadway Plaza
Walnut Creek, CA 94596
(925) 930-7959

Have you ordered yours yet?

Drop us a note soon and we’ll take care of your Holiday shopping list.  Your friends and loved ones will say thanks every time they open a bottle!

Visit our online wine store.

Email: joe@langetwins.com

Phone: 209.334.9780

Lodi’s Clayton Worfolk of Heist Projects captured this entire video in one continuous shot, which is awfully demanding of his “cast” (family and friends) don’t you think?  Apparently it only took two takes and looks like everyone had a blast.

Can you spot the bottle of (now sold out) 2008 LangeTwins Single Barrel Malbec? (see 1:43)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItB3zCrmngU

Thanks to Clay and the Worfolk family for supporting LangeTwins…free product placement!

The morning started with a cup of joe from Coffees of Hawaii, a breakfast pizza from Guantonio’s Wood Fired Cuisine and then the races began.  As the racers finished their categories, they sipped wine and shared painful memories of the leg-burning peanut butter course!  All in a good day of racing, I suppose…

Check out the slideshow below for the highlights.  More pics can be found at Sacramento CX’s Facebook page and from Jeff Namba.

We’ll see everyone again for Race #6 on December 18th!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uZRVzG1N_A

Here are the details:

Course: Spiral of doom.  Enough said – check out the course map here.

Spectating area: Much of the action can be seen from our elevated crush bridge.  We’ve setup two large canopy tents and we’ll crowd in as many as we can if the weather turns ugly.  Remember to bring your rain gear!

Wine Tasting: We’ll be pouring tastes of our LangeTwins wines – with lots of sales going on, you can get stocked for Thanksgiving!

Food: Lodi’s own Guantonio’s Wood Fired Cuisine will be serving hot seasonal soup, 2 or 3 types of their handmade artisan pizzas (vege options avail) and even some breakfast pizzas.  You’ll want to taste what the Guantone family can do.

Coffee: Coffees of Hawaii (a big supporter of everything cycling/triathlon/Ironman) will be selling hot cups of Joe.  Choose between their Island Style Molokai or 100% Molokai Malulani Estate.

Plus, if you carpool to the race, you’ll save big on our wines and at Kinetic Cycles in Elk Grove.  Check out the deals here.

RSVP required, so call now to reserve your table!

Pasta Pomodoro – Roseville
Wednesday, November 17th at 6:00pm
$36 per person
(916) 773-4027

Check out the scrumptious menu and wine pairings below:

First Course
Zuppa di Zucca
Riverdog Farms organic roasted butternut squash soup with fresh sage, served with garlic bread

2009 Estate Chardonnay

or

Risotto Funghi
Italian carnaroli rice, crimini mushrooms, porcini mushrooms, house-cured pancetta and Marin French Farms Camembert

2007 Estate Merlot

Second Course
Maiale
Niman Ranch pork chop topped with a Point Reyes Blue Cheese sauce & Zoe’s Meats crispy bacon, served with sautéed organic spinach

2008 Generations Petite Sirah Petit Verdot

or

Snapper Scoglio
Pan roasted red snapper with manila clams, P.E.I. mussels, tomato sauce and shrimp stock, served with garlic bread

2009 Generations Pinot Noir

Third Course
Coppa Nocciola
Hazelnut gelato with chocolate sauce, fresh whipped cream and crumbled florentine cookies

2008 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

Mark your calendars to join us (rain or shine…everyone is hoping for muddy conditions) for a full day of awesome CX racing and of course, wine tasting!

Our good friends at Guantonio’s will also be here with their wood-fired oven cooking up gourmet hand-made pizzas.

More details to follow -- here’s a video of last year’s race, as well as a slideshow.

Enjoy!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGerRDfX11s

www.youtube.com/watch?v=TitjFfU9qHI

We’ll be pouring tastes of the featured wines in the Holiday Wine Club Selection which include the just-released 2009 Generations Pinot Noir.  The talented chefs at School Street Bistro are putting together a few light appetizers to pair with our wines.  We hope you can join us!

RSVP now. Space is limited.

Details
Saturday, November 6th
1-4pm
School Street Bistro, Lodi (map)
Light appetizers and complimentary tastes
RSVP required joe@langetwins.com

Not yet a Member? C’mon…

Photo: Visual Valhalla

Kristin’s working the San Francisco area and finding some great spots to carry our wines.  Don’t see your favorite place on our list?  Let us know!

Here are the latest restaurants and retail locations where you can find LangeTwins right now.  We can’t promise they will always be there, but we will keep you up to date as much as possible!

Restaurants:

Cafe Meuse, San Francisco
Dunya, San Francisco
Live Sushi, San Francisco
Westin Market St, San Francisco
Wine Jar, San Francisco
Napoli Pizza, San Rafael
Chow, Lafayette
Compadres Rio Grill, Napa

Retail:

Mission View Food & Liquor, Union City
Piazza Market, San Francisco
Zain’s 3rd St, San Francisco

There will be over 45 wineries, 200 Lodi Appellation wines, educational seminars and live music -  all under the amazing Fleet Week aerial shows.

F-14′s and wine tasting?  That’s an easy decision.

See you there.

Andrea has been very busy placing our wines in and around her hometown of San Jose.

Here are the latest restaurants and retail locations where you can find LangeTwins right now.  We can’t promise they will always be there, but we will keep you up to date as much as possible!

Restaurants:

Aldo’s, Los Gatos
Gardino Fresco, Los Gatos
Three Degrees @ The Toll House Hotel, Los Gatos
Pasta Trattoria, Mountain View
Kona Wave Sushi, San Jose
Hotel de Anza & The Hedley Club,  San Jose
Mosaic Restaurant & Lounge @ Four Points Sheraton, San Jose
Paolo’s, San Jose
San Pedro Square Bistro & Wine Bar, San Jose
Sushi Mania, San Jose
Willow Street Wood Fired Pizza, Willow Glen location,  San Jose
Bella Saratoga, Saratoga

Retail:

Jiffy Market, Los Gatos
Park Vasona Liquors, Campbell
Saratoga Bottle Shop, Saratoga
Downer Square Bottle Shop, San Jose
The Wine Rack, San Jose
Zanotto’s Family Markets, San Jose (on Naglee Avenue)
Zanotto’s Willow Glen, San Jose (on Foxworthy Avenue)

The competition attracts judges from all over the Colorado wine world, including high-level sommeliers, wine critics, retailers, and food and beverage directors.

Too bad it was a blind tasting - I think the little cobalt blue bottle could have pushed us to Best in Show!

2009 Muscat Canelli Frizzante 375ml  $10.00  Wine Club: $8.00

Save $6 off advance tickets to this Sunday’s Taste of Lodi 2010 at Wine & Roses by using a special promo code.  Email me for the code.

This year’s event features wine seminars, cooking demonstrations, live music, and wine and food tasting from all your favorite local wineries and restaurants.

For those looking to really dive in, check out Saturday’s Wine Camp.

See you there!

Toby and Lauren – friends, Wine Club Members, and awesome LangeTwins Ambassadors – sent along this picture of one of our reusable LangeTwins bags in front of Buckingham Palace!

The bag traveled all over London, England and also Oberammergau, Germany with Toby and Lauren.

We have the best fans.

Our Wine Club Members tasted the Malbec at our 4th Annual Wine Club Dinner Luau, the Harvest Wine Club Pick Up Party, and in their Wine Club shipments – they were requesting it by the case!

So, we’re sorry to disappoint, but the 2008 Single Barrel Malbec is no longer available. (no más!)

You might see a few bottles offered in a three or four year Single Barrel library lineup – stay tuned.

Andrea will be hosting numerous complimentary tastings at two Zanotto’s Markets in the San Jose area, so find her to get a taste while you shop.

The local crew will be pouring in Elk Grove, Modesto, Sacramento and Lodi.

Also on the schedule is a very cool Bay Area event where our wines will be featured.  Join us in the Premium Winegarden at Nightlife: California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco this Thursday night where our Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon will be poured.

Check out their website for all the info.

Keep up on our events here.

2009 Core Chardonnay – sporting the Core’s new look this is your perfectly balanced Chard – lush tropical fruit with a touch of creaminess from barrel aging.

2009 Generations Viognier – like the previous vintage, our Viognier has trademark aromas of peach and pear and a silky-smooth finish.

And stay tuned for our 2009 Pinot Noir release!

We were pouring tastes of our newest releases, the 2008 Single Barrel Malbec, 2009 Chardonnay, 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, and one of our most popular wines, the 2008 Sauvignon Blanc Musque Clone.

Our good friends (can you tell that we’re fans yet?) Guantonio’s Wood Fired Cuisine rolled our their mobile oven and were serving up some delicious pizzas as well as handmade sausage, caponata, and other authentic Italian fare.  If you missed them at this event, I have a sneaky suspecion they’ll be back again soon… (hint: Cyclocross races!)

Not a Wine Club Member yet?  It’s the best deal in town -- and you’ll be invited to the next event!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=So0NuHnZHDg

Andrea will be hosting the events in San Jose and Kristin will be pouring in the city.

Wednesday, September 8

Hedley Club @ Hotel de Anza
233 W. Santa Clara Street
San Jose 95113  [map]
(408) 286-1000

12pm to 2:30pm.  Tastings complimentary.

Zanotto’s Family Markets
1970 Naglee Avenue
San Jose 95126  [map]
(408) 294-9151

6pm to 8pm.  $20 for 12 wines from 3 wineries plus all-you-can-eat soup/salad bar and buffet.

Tuesday, September 14th

Wine Jar
1870 Fillmore Street (cross street Bush)
San Francisco, CA 94115  [map]
(415) 931-2924

6pm to 8pm. Tastes of the Petite Sirah/Petit Verdot, Viognier and Proprietary Cabernet

Andrea Roselli

We hosted big crowds who came to meet and taste 300 wineries showcasing 1,000 different wines representing 30 different California Appellations.  If you wanted a comprehensive tasting of California wines – Ft. Mason was the place to be Sunday and Monday.

Our newest member of the sales team, Andrea Roselli – who serves as the area manager for the South Bay – cut her teeth at the wine show with literally thousands of tasters all clamoring for a tasting of LangeTwins.

The best part of tasting wines off-site is meeting up with friends and family – here’s proof that Clayton Worfolk and his group are appreciative fans of Lodi wines!

Next show? Wine Women and Shoes in Monterey.  Follow us there!

We’ll be in the middle of crush so it’s an exciting time to be here.  There’s even a chance to see the winery’s harvest action firsthand on a crushpad tour.

Spend your Labor Day Saturday tasting our Wine Club Exclusive 2008 Single Barrel Malbec and pairing it with pizzas from local and family-owned Guantonio’s.  The Guantone family works wonders with their mobile wood-fired oven to craft handmade pizzas and other authentic Italian bites from the freshest ingredients.

Bring your family and friends (kids too!) to play games on our lawn (grape stomp anyone?) and sample delicious wines paired with yummy gourmet fare.

Harvest Wine Club Pick Up Party
@ LangeTwins Winery, 1525 East Jahant Road, Acampo
Saturday, September 4th
2 – 6pm

RSVP by emailing joe@langetwins.com or call 209.334.9780 with names!

*You’re welcome to invite your non-Club friends, but please RSVP for them*

I think Rick honed in on exactly the wine style we aim to achieve: true to varietal.  A Pinot should have that Pinot nose, for example.  Those Pinot diehards know what I mean by that…

Some of Rick’s words:

LangeTwins 2008 Pinot Noir is a delightful and unpretentious wine.  Made by blending wine from French and American oak barrels, this wine has a good varietal scent and character.

Rick, Darrell, and the Corti Brothers group continue to be big supporters of ours and we appreciate the nod.

If you haven’t been into their store, do so soon – you’ll be impressed by the small-lot family wines they have available and their professional wine service.

The last few cases of our 2008 Pinot Noir are available at Corti Brothers – we’ll be releasing the 2009 vintage very soon.

Be sure to stay tuned for the release announcement!

Rick Mindermann of Corti Brothers

Photo: Elise Bauer

It’s the winegrape edition of American Beauty’s “You want to see the most beautiful thing I’ve ever filmed?” flying plastic bag.  See if you can fully understand the true beauty behind this very artistic short ‘film’.

If our vineyard guys are getting artsy on Day 2 of Harvest 2010, who knows what kind of videos we’ll get mid-October!

Aaron’s Academy Award-winning clip:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkdcWI7dW4I

I couldn’t imagine Union Square ‘tented’, but indeed the organizers of SF Chefs 2010 had it under cover.  And what an event!

LangeTwins participated in the “Fork It Over” fundraiser on Saturday night – fabulous restaurants to pair great food with our wines.  We poured the Sauvignon Blanc, Zinfandel and our icon Midnight  Reserve to great reviews.

Music was by David Martin’s “House Party” – if you get a chance to hear them, don’t miss!  When was the last time you saw go-go dancers on the stage?

Sunday’s Grand Tasting was an oasis of delights and education featuring notable chefs and vintners.   The Lodi Appellation was center front in the action and LangeTwins was part of the local team pouring to a great crowd. 

Lodi had a unique connection to the event – the Treasure Island giveaway tickets were won by Miles Sperling’s daughter who actually lives in Oakland.  And to those folks who have a bit of history with Lodi, you’ll remember Sperling was once Chief of Police for liveable, loveable Lodi.

Next big show in the Bay Area is Treasure Island: 10-10-10. We think that’s a lucky day!

Make sure your mark your calendars for Saturday, September 4th. Yep, that’s Labor Day Weekend – so grab your family and friends and spend the afternoon with us on the winery lawn.

We’re pairing with local and family-owned Guantonio’s who works wonders with their mobile wood-fired oven.  The Guantones’ are a Lodi family I’ve known for years and the pizzas are downright amazing.  They only use the freshest ingredients and nearly everything is made from scratch…you have to love that!

We’ll be pouring tastes of our Wine Club Exclusive 2008 Single Barrel Malbec, the featured wine for the Harvest Club Selection.  Everyone at the Wine Club Luau raved about it, which makes me think we’ll be sold out very soon.

I hope all of our Club Members can join us.  For those early-adopters, RSVP by emailing me with names!

More details to follow!

It’ll feature wine and food, of course, but also tons of extras – cooking demos, wine seminars, beer and liquor tastings, industry seminars and if you’re a Top Chef fan, you’ll recognize plenty of familiar TV faces.

We’ll be pouring our wines at both the Grand Tastings, Saturday and Sunday from 12-4pm.  Please come by and taste with us!

The local guide dog training chapter, the Lone Star Puppy Raisers, is hosting a fundraising auction/wine tasting on September 16th at Wine Styles.  If you’re in the area, please plan on attending “Cabs for Labs” to support these service dogs.

We’re donating some wine (of course…how could we resist?!?) so you’ll have a chance to bid on some large format bottles and taste your favorite LT wines.

Visit the Lone Star Puppy Raisers website for all the local info.

Guide Dogs for the Blind

The invitations say “meet the Napa Vintners and taste fabulous wines…”  Hey – what about Lodi? We’ll be there representing our wines – great and delicious wines of the Lodi Appellation!  Come taste with us.

Join us in any of these three locations:

Saturday, August 28:  Corral De Tierra Country Club benefiting the Boys & Girls Club of Monterey County.

Friday, September 10:  The Parador in Houston, Texas benefiting All the Way Home.

Thursday, September 16:  Charity is the Scripps Health Foundation and event is held in a private home in the upscale community of Rancho Santa Fe.

See all upcoming events at the WW&S website.

Randy and I will be at all three of them – I’ll be the one wearing the heels; he’s just along to look good!

So, for those Members who couldn’t make our Wine Club Luau, we made sure to send them each a LangeTwins Luau Insulated Bag!

These bags are great for your next day at the beach.  Just remember a bottle (or two) of LangeTwins wine and you’re good to go! Grass skirts and coconuts optional…

It’s good to be a LangeTwins Wine Club Member, isn’t it?

Hope to see all our Club Members at our next annual dinner!

From August 3-8, the California Musical Theatre is performing “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” as part of their Music Circus at the Wells Fargo Pavilion.

As our way to support their efforts, theatre attendees are treated to a complimentary taste of our 2008 Chardonnay and 2007 Merlot.

Hope you enjoy the show – and the wine!

Of course, it’s exclusive to our Wine Club Members and they drank it up last Saturday at the Wine Club Luau.  (Watch the Luau slideshow)

We have less than sixty cases of the Malbec available for our Wine Club Members – if you want a taste before the Fall Wine Club Selection, order online or email me!

2008 Single Barrel Malbec $45.00  $36.00 Club Price

If you weren’t here, you definitely missed a great party.  Also, you missed the release of the Wine Club Only wine!  Only those who were here got a first taste -- stay tuned for which varietal made the Single Barrel cut!

Check out the slideshow below -- I kept all of the most embarrassing ones out!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=orLPDIE2ZYo

They were in Northern California for a wedding and made the trek from vacationing in Guerneville to get a ‘winery Michener tour’ (that’s when you start with a grain of sand explaining every little nuance) from Randy.

You can always tell real Michigan people – they raise their right hand and point to the specific geographic location of their home.  Everyone learned that in kindergarten – and we all continue as native adults!

Seva is one our favorite restaurants in Ann Arbor – 314 East Liberty – just a few blocks from the U of M campus.  Theirs is a vegetarian haven – great food and an equally great wine list.  And if you really know Seva, you’ll get one of their branded t-shirts and then send back a photograph of it being worn ‘somewhere’ in the world – their wall is massive and covered with great photographs of ardent supporters.

There’s even a picture of Kendra Jean with her Seva shirt on at the winery hanging on their wall.

And it is a family operation – Marin explained that Jeff’s job as owner-operator is two fold:  fix stuff and taste the wine.   Sounds like the perfect combination as long as he always has LangeTwins on the list!

Thanks to John Brodie for spreading the word!

And something tells me there was more rum consumed than wine…

You voted, we listened.

We’ve heard positive feedback from so many people who love the new black label that it pushed us to use the label on our everyday drinkers – the Core wines.

So, the wines you’ve been fans of for so long, the Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Zinfandel, are getting a fresh new (and more elegant!) look.

The same wine style, the same great price – it just looks a bit fancier sitting on your dinner table.

You may be thinking…  Won’t the Proprietary and Core wines have the same label?

Here’s where change number two comes in – the Proprietary Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are receiving a new look as well. When we bottle the next vintage, the Cabernet and Chardonnay will have a package similar to the Midnight Reserve bottle.  Silk-screened logo and stars will be the new face of our higher-end wines.

Look for the new black label Core wines very soon.

Let us know what you think of the change in the comments below.  Cheers!

]]> http://www.langetwins.com/blog/our-wines/2010/07/20/you-voted-we-listened-our-new-black-label/feed/ 0 http://www.langetwins.com/blog/wine-club/2010/07/20/reminder-wine-club-luau-dinner-july-31st/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=reminder-wine-club-luau-dinner-july-31st http://www.langetwins.com/blog/wine-club/2010/07/20/reminder-wine-club-luau-dinner-july-31st/#comments Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:04:03 +0000 Joe Lange http://www.langetwins.com/blog/?p=5536 Read More →]]> Just a reminder to our Wine Club Members:

If you haven’t already sent or called in your RSVP, let us know if you can make our Luau!  It should be a great time, if it’s anything like the last awesome three years!

RSVP to Tammie at tammie@langetwins.com or 209.334.9780

Check out the invite below for all the details and we’ll see you on July 31st for the party!

It’s no mean feat to travel to Bryan – two lane roads pass some of the most beautiful farm country – gorgeous horses, real painted wooden fences and cows.   And then we passed a lake – only this is a lake with a capital L.  It went on for miles – 21 miles to be exact – covering 21,000 acres.  I had never heard of a ‘valet boat launch’, but then I had never seen a Subway sandwich shop with a six bay marina dedicated to serve boaters – I think that is for curb-side orders.

The Texans do things right.

I digress.  We’re headed to Bryan, Texas to meet Peter Madden of Madden’s Casual Gourmet. This young man and his wife, Tara, have created an outstanding restaurant, opened in 2004, which focuses on ‘made fresh food everyday’.

Peter is truly part of the sustainable movement and has a refreshing attitude of ‘know where your food comes from’.

Located on 202 S. Bryan Avenue and open for lunch, dinner and Saturday breakfasts – his restaurant is under the same roof of a great antique/salvage/great-finds store.  Madden supports his concept of fresh everyday with his own garden as the primary supplier for the restaurant produce.

Madden’s is a hop, skip and a jump from College Station – home of Texas A&M University – and our dinner was peppered with professors and faculty.  It was a great night when I met Dr. Pourahmadi, who did his doctoral work at Michigan State – that makes him practically family for me!

The menu is available here – every detail was handled with style and grace, from the introduction of the menu, staff and wine to the closing appreciative comments from Peter and Tara.

Peter Madden is spreading his wings and will be opening Madden’s Market in College Station this fall.

It’s great to support family restaurants, talented young chefs and be part of the magic pairings and creativity they produce.  Bravo Madden’s and thanks for a great night.

Check out Madden’s Facebook page, where we stole these pics!

Valarie may be the proprietor of the shop – but there’s just no question of who runs things in her great wine store – and that would be Malbec.  He’s a big-ole’ tabby cat.  The resident cat and the cat that has an opinion on wines.

It’s all in the ears, I observed.  As we tasted through our wines on a small table in the back of the store, Malbec  jumped up on his perch and quietly sat while we pulled corks.  Once the glasses were filled with tastes, it was a matter of watching his ears.  Ears up!  And you had a winner.  Ears back?  It was a non-starter.

He definitely had some favorites and seemed to be a bit preferential with the red wines.  Valarie wouldn’t confess if he enjoyed wines with his dinner each evening when she leaves him to be the guard-cat.

And his reaction to the LangeTwins wines? It was the Midnight Reserve, hands-down.  The cat has good taste.

And after joining their members Tuesday night for a winemaker’s dinner, it’s enough to make you pick up stakes and move!

It was a marvelous evening coordinated by Bar Manager Jeffrey Cohen and executed with Chef Bryan Overdyke – their hospitality, service, staff, food pairing was working on all cyclinders; they never missed a beat.  The evening was truly magical in the Texas Hill Country.

Jeff and Bryan did their own research and created some spectacular pairings that were perfect matches to our wines.  The menu follows – but Bryan has promised at least one recipe for dessert that we’ll post later.

The Club of Cordillera Ranch Winemaker Dinner

I
Pecan smoked scallop on a bed of jicama salad with citrus vinaigrette and paired with the ’08 Sauvignon Blanc.

II
Chilled Avocado Soup with Crab Pico, with a Parmesan Tuiloe paired with the ’08 Clarksburg Viognier.

III
Semi Boneless quail with Cranberry Citrus Stuffing paired with the ’08 Clarksburg Chardonnay.

IV
Maytag and Wild Berry Pork Roulade paired with the ’08 Petite Sirah Petit Verdot.

V
NY Strip Loin with Duchess Sweet Potatoes paired with (what else?) the ’06 Midnight Reserve.

VI
And when we thought we were done and the sun was setting in this 8,600 acre planned community Bryan pulls out an Espresso Pepper Chocolate Tort with Mixed Berry Coulis and paired it with our first vintage 07 Proprietary Cabernet Sauvignon.

He just simply has to share that recipe – five different peppers were in the mix and the pairing was award winning.

Their marketing brochure claims “there’s simply nothing else like it in the Texas Hill Country” … after such a great evening of food, wine and meeting so many nice folks, they may be exactly right. When the wine dinners move into the fifth hour, you know you’re having a good time!

Randy and I will definitely be up for a return trip to Cordillera – and if there were members of their club that couldn’t make the first dinner, well – I suspect the word is out that they won’t miss the second!

The Wine Harlots popped the cork on our new 2009 Muscat Canelli Frizzante and quickly added it to their Summer To-Drink List.

Check out their full review here!

2009 Muscat Canelli Frizzante 375ml  $10.00

Thanks to Robin Barr Sussman to list our wine among others that are grown and crafted in a sustainable way – it’s very important to us as we’re a multi-generational family winery and we’d like to see the land preserved for many more kids and grand kids!

If you’re in the Houston area, drop in on Monica Pope and her crew at t’afia for a glass of Midnight Reserve and a Top Chef Master experience!

More on our sustainable winegrowing practices and Lodi Rules.

Aaron:

Things look like they’re progressing nicely with lots of new growth.  We’ll be tying here soon to establish the vine on the trellis, and T-budding any grafts that didn’t take.

We’ll post an update again soon.

We’re moving from the cold and sometimes drizzly nights of November to the warm and breezy (fingers crossed for only a breeze!) summer nights of July!

As always, this event is exclusive to our Wine Club Members, who get all the perks. 

4th Annual LangeTwins Wine Club Dinner
Saturday, July 31st,  7pm
RSVP required by July 19th
209.334.9780 or tammie@langetwins.com
$75 per person, limited seating

We hope you can join us – see the invite below!

(Click to enlarge)

Never seen the Redneck Sommelier?

Here’s our first list for the big state of Texas – know of any good spots that you want to find our wines?  Let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best!

Dallas

Dallas Fine Wines
Monticello Fine Wines
Perry’s Wine & Liquor – 75 and Walnut Hill
Sacred Cellars

Fort Worth

Ellerbe’s Fine Foods
Grace
Grand Cru
The Ashton
Tillman’s Roadhouse
Wine Styles
Winslow’s Wine Café

Frisco

The Grape Escape

Grapevine

Into The Glass

Hudson Oaks

Schrick’s Liquors – 3215 Ft. Worth Highway

It was a partnership night with an invitation to pour our wines in a cooking class at the Inn on Lake Granbury and we paired with Ft. Worth’s Tillman’s Roadhouse Restaurant.

The Inn’s proprietors, Cathy Casey and Jim Leitch were fabulous hosts to the 40 member class attending with the hopes to grasp a bit of knowledge of food and wine.  There was no shortage of either that night as Tillman’s Chef Lance Smith and Randy sparred off each other with a menu that complemented our wines.

We’ve attached Lance’s menus (PDF) –  if  you have any questions, just reach out to him – or better yet, drop in and visit at 2933 Crockett Street in Ft. Worth.  You’ll love the restaurant – when you grab the door handles, which are rifles, you figure out quickly “…gosh, I must be in Texas!”

And the quote of the night from Lance as we were talking about techniques in the kitchen, especially the need to keep your tools in good shape:  “…if you have a dull kitchen knife, it will hurt worse than a sharp knife…”  Obviously the voice of experience.

The wines were perfectly paired – we poured Sauvignon Blanc, which was a great starter in the Texas humidity – and then moved into the Viognier.  I had to pull out the granita recipe and show all the Texas girls that an adult snowcone in the freezer was a great way to manage a hot flash – I guess you had to be there for THAT conversation.

The Zin, which by the way, just won a Gold Medal in the 2010 Lone Star International Wine Competition for the second year running, was stunning against the Texas Red Clay spice on the flat iron steak.

Dessert was a movable feast as we walked the two blocks down to the Pan Handle @ 106 N. Crockett Street.  One of the feature stores that circles the stone courthouse is an amazing collection of everything wonderful that you need in your kitchen – from a smoker to cutlery to amazing trinkets.  And the ladies are indeed partners for this cooking class, while you enjoy dessert and coffee in their store, they discount all your evening’s purchases by 25%.

And one last note, back to the Inn.  This is an amazing property with individual guest houses and rooms that are quietly tucked on the grassy banks of the Granbury Lake.  We learned that the Brazos River was dammed in 1969 and created a fantastic water resort that is nearly 33 miles long.  Cathy Casey toured us through all the rooms – she and her team have created a very unique and gorgeous facility – perfect for a weekend retreat, wedding or just a great place to recharge.  This is not your typical B&B!

The tours of Texas just keep on getting better and better.

Our first stop after the Sacramento to Ft. Worth flight from hell found us with a small intimate winemaker’s dinner at Wayne’s place.  We had an hour to kill so we set up shop in the back of the restaurant before the dinner.  Randy was desperately trying to finish up some winery business over the phone so he hunkered down in the wine closet, literally – hey, it was cool and quiet and a welcome relief from the 95 degree temperatures with humidity to match.

Into the Glass, 322 S. Main Street, is just a sliver of a restaurant, nestled in the antique district of historic town of Grapevine.  The bar sits squarely in the middle of the room and is definitely a “Cheers” kind of place – everyone is a friend as soon as you walk into the door.

Wayne knocked it out of the park with the pairing of basil buttered popcorn to compliment the 2009 Muscat Canelli Frizzante.  And truth be known, we hauled the Muscat in my suitcase – it’s always fun to surprise our great restaurants with some of the newest releases.

The Chefs owned the night with Fried Green Tomatoes paired with our 2008 Proprietary Chardonnay that earned a Gold Medal at the 2010 Dallas Morning News Wine Competition, and most recently the 2010 California State Fair Wine Competition.

And to shake it up a bit, Wayne brought out a second course that was wrapped in a white paper bag – and listed on the menu as a “sack lunch”!  Everyone was rolling with laughter as we paired a ham and cheese taste with the 2007 Merlot.  If only Mom had made those lunches while we were in school.

The evening moved through pairings with the Midnight Reserve, Petite/Petit and the Zinfandel.  We rolled up the streets late that night and made another group of great friends.

We hope you all enjoyed the party.  It’s always nice to chat with our biggest fans.

Thanks for your support!

Is it super obvious that I forgot the good camera and had to use my phone to snap some pics?