January 5, 2010 Then come the wild weather, come sleet or come snow, we will stand by each other, however it blow. Simon Dach, b. 1605 The winery has opened for 2010 amid winter weather featuring cold nights here in Napa. Fog has been so heavy in the early morning that my drive to the gym takes a bit longer, and I’m happy the road is a relatively straight one. Fortunately we have not experienced the terrific rain storms (yet) that so often leave us feeling like the winery is an island. The slough behind the winery has water in it, but nothing overflowing as has been the case in years past, such as 2005. Early rains this past fall left the vineyard ground cover flourishing and bright yellow mustard is already up about two feet in places. It’s going to be a bumper crop this year. We closed the books on 2009 with relief – it was a difficult year for everyone in the business. Restaurants faced insurmountable odds and wine sales have tumbled, leaving many wineries without that avenue for distribution. Global wine producers and corresponding mega-distributors have grown to such enormous sizes they effectively “clear the room” as they wrestle in the marketplace. In the face of such challenges we evaluate our respective niche markets carefully and make our travel plans. Anthony will spend the next two weeks here in California before heading out on a two week trip to Florida. I will be here in northern CA, and then off to Texas and Florida next month. Happily, there is some movement happening that seems to be lightening the collective mood. Here and there, we are seeing a bit of market resurgence and confidence, and it can’t come soon enough. While no one thinks everything will return to the “normal” of 2007, the places that have remained in business seem prepared to slowly move forward, gradually expanding to fill the void left by the businesses that have disappeared. Like them, we intend to just keep on keepin’ on; we look forward to renewing old relationships with the friends we’ve made over the years and hope 2010 is rewarding for us all. Cheers, Sandra, Anthony and everyone at Bell Wine Cellars