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The Toad Hollow Gazette
Since 1983
"All the News That's Hoppinin' in The Hollow"
Fall 2002, Issue 17
Dear Friends: Just me. Time to say hi and catch you up on the hoppenings at Toad Hollow Vineyards. As most of you know, I do this twice a year - once in the Spring, and then again in the Fall. It's amazing how fast the time in between the letters passes. Seems like I just wrote the last one and now here we are again. Someone recently suggested that I do the letter more often. What was he thinking?! You try filling up those pages that often. How many times can I talk about the same wines (albeit different vintages) and keep you interested? Guess I'll just start blabbing and see where it ends up.
Wine, wine wine . . . .
2001 North Coast Francine's Selection Chardonnay - unoaked, stainless steel aged and fermented - you know the drill. In nine vintages, we have increased production by 2000%. While Chardonnay in general seems to have fallen out of favor in some circles (ABC - Anything But Chardonnay), the demand for our style continues to grow, thanks to you, our highly intelligent and discerning fans. And we thank you. Since the 2001 vintage was not released until June, rather than our usual April 1 release, we expect the 2002 vintage will not be released until June 2003. Then the plan is to get back on schedule with an April 1 release in 2004. Todd likes to release the wines on a holiday, and we've always liked the idea of April Fool's Day.
 We have been sold out of the
Eye
of the Toad 2001 Dry Pinot Noir Rosé since July. Of course you will still find it in some areas for a few months to come, but keep in mind that it will not be readily available again until February 2003 when the 2002 vintage is released. While a fun and refreshing hot weather wine, don't forget what a good match it is with turkey. You might want to find some and stash it away for the Thanksgiving holiday. Since our customer base for this wine continues to grow, we'll be increasing production of the next vintage. I'm "tickled pink" that we've made so many converts with this wine!.
 You should be seeing the 2000 vintage of both the
Reserve Pinot Noir and Merlot in your area by now - they were released mid-Summer. We are very excited about both these wines. As young as they are, they are tasting great and will continue to do so for several years to come. The Merlot has been pretty scarce in the past, but we're happy to report that it will be more readily available from here on out.
The 2001 Cacophony Zinfandel hit the shelves in early September, so be on the lookout. This is our first release since the 1998 vintage - and we know lots of you have been waiting. The 2001 is from Paso Robles, and we're hoping it's the first of many from that region. This particular wine is zinfandel, blended with primitivo and petite syrah. It's big and juicy - try it, you'll like it.
So that's the skinny on our California wines. We continue to offer our second line of wines from the French Pyrenees:
Le Faux Frog Merlot, Syrah &
Chardonnay. The 2000 is drinking and selling great. The 2001 vintage should be out sometime in January and we think you'll continue to be pleased with these tasty yet very reasonably priced wines.
  
And don't forget our wonderful sparkler, Amplexus.
Keep it in mind for all your special occasions, as well as for everyday
enjoyment. The support for this fun wine continues to grow.
Have you checked out the newest addition to the Toad Hollow lineup? It's from France - a delightful and refreshing dessert wine - currently known as Le Propriétaire , but soon to be available with a fun Toad Hollow label (a cancan dancing toad!) and with a name change to
Risqué. This wine is only 6% alcohol - has a slight sparkle - and is sweet but not too (7% residual sugar). It's been a big hit with everyone who has had the chance to taste it. We're still working on the package. Please don't wait for the Risqué label to buy this wine. The new label will not be available until we are sold out of the original shipment with the Le Propriétaire label, so drink up!
Guess that's it on the wines.
Just in case you're wondering what's going on with the 2002 harvest, here's my take. The early months of 2002 were quite mild, which promoted a relatively early bud break. That meant we had to worry about a heavy frost or freezing up through the end of May. There were some extremely cool nights, and although some areas managed to come through it unscathed, there certainly were some losses. We personally lost about 20% of the Merlot crop. Then came some pretty hard rain around the time of pollination, but once again, looks like we lucked out. Although our apple trees ended up with hardly any apples, there are lots of beautiful and healthy grapes hanging on the vines.
It is now mid-September, and harvest is in full swing. Our Rosé is in the works, and the Reserve Pinot has been picked. We're thinking the Merlot will happen sometime next week. Currently the weather is quite warm, and has been so for a few days now. If the heat remains constant, I would guess most of the 2002 harvest will be complete by the end of the month. But then again, we could get a cool spell which might delay things for a week or two or even three. The grapes are rather persnickety - they know what they like - not too hot, not too cool. So you get the picture - the wine industry is a very tricky business dependent on good fruit, mother nature and much needed good luck. But that's the growing part - the consumption part is easy!!!
Check out our webbed site regularly for
new pictures of the gang and Hank the wonder wiener dog. Watch for details of
the travel schedule, which is constantly being updated.
Check out the soft goods
for sales. We're working on a new poster series sure to remind you to "Tip
Toad". The first should be out by April; get a sneak preview on our webbed
site. We're planning to email our newsletter by the fall so be first on your
block to send us your email address!
Toad on the Road
Click here for Todd's (& sometimes Frankie's) travel schedule.
TODD
OCTOBER - KY
Oct. 9 - Tasting & hors d'oeuvres at Judge Roy Bean's, 1801 Bardstown Rd. Louisville, 502-451-4982
Oct. 10 - Vintner dinner - Club Grotto, 2114/16 Bardstown Rd., Louisville, 502-459-5275
Oct. 13 - Vintner dinner - Porta Bella, Lexington
Oct. 14 - Vintner dinner - Sarafina Restaurant in Frankfurt
Oct. 15 - Vintner dinner - The Homestead Restaurant in Lexington
Oct. 16 - Vintner dinner - B. Russell's Restaurant in Paducah
Oct. 17 - Four Rivers Galla - Paducah
OCTOBER/NOVEMBER - FL/TN/CA
Oct. 31 - Halloween Vintner dinner - Soleil Luna, 1747 Hwy 98E, Destin FL, 850-650-0332
Nov. 1 - Tasting at Chan's Fine Wines in Pensacola Beach, FL
Nov. 2 - Tasting at Fermentations in Seaside
Nov. 2 - Grand Tasting, "Seeing Red" Festival, Seaside, FL
Nov. 7 - Nashville, TN, Wines of the World
Nov. 8 - Memphis, TN - Sip Around the World
Nov. 15 - Vintner Dinner - Inn at the Tides, Bodega Bay, CA
KATE
OCTOBER - CA
Oct. 16 - 18 - Santa Cruz and Carmel, CA - Trade Tastings with Epic Wines
Oct. 22 - Sacramento, CA - Trade Tasting with Epic Wines
Please check our webbed site for changes and additions!
During our travels this year, we had the pleasure of visiting with a lot you. We have managed to cover a lot of territory, and were warmly welcomed wherever we went. One particularly successful event was in Peoria, IL at the Weaver Ridge Country Club. There was a huge crowd, toad carvings out of food and ice, live music (Dr. Toad sang a number with the band) - lots of great food and wine and dancing.
Peoria rocks!!
Thanks for a great time!
Check out our Toad Hollow 2003 Release
Schedule!
FEBRUARY
2002 Dry Pinot Noir Rosé
JUNE
2002 Chardonnay
2001 Reserve Merlot
2001 Reserve Pinot Noir
SEPTEMBER
2002 Cacophony Zinfandel
ONGOING
Le Faux Frog
Amplexus
Risqué
All wines to be released in 2002 will have been released by the time you receive this letter.
We're considering doing something a bit different during our travels next year. How would you like to go cruising with the Toad? We're thinking about doing one of those steamboat cruises - probably a three or four night deal - not sure of the timeframe or exactly where we would be steamin' to or from - but I just wanted to throw it out there and see if there is any interest. I had hoped to put more information together before writing the newsletter, but as fate would have it . . . Think what I'll do is put info on the webbed site when I get it together. So stay tuned. But in the meantime, if this idea in general sounds interesting to you, would you let us know by emailing us? Special address: cruise@toadhollow.com.
Quote:
"Wine is the flower in the buttonhole of civilization."
~Helen Exley, 1994."
Address Correction Requested: Please let us know if we have any part of your name or address incorrect, so that we can update our mailing list. Let us know too, if you are getting more than one copy; or, for some reason that we can't possibly imagine, you'd like to be removed from our mailing list.
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