2006 harvest

The Petite Sirah grapes are ready for harvest. The sugar levels are in the right range. I have two and a half rows of Zinfandel that are ready as well, so I will harvest the Petite this week, the Zinfandel this weekend.

I bottled 15 gallons of wine last night, which yielded 5 cases of wine (3 cases of 2005, Estate grown, Zinfandel, 2 cases of 2005 Estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon).

I still need to bottle another 30 gallons of wine before I get too involved with harvest.

The vines and grape clusters are in great shape. I hand harvested leaves around the clusters to create airspace. I have had a problem with powdery mildew in the past years, but the hand harvesting of leaves has helped a lot, plus I've sprayed non-toxic algecide.

The grape crop is the best I've had, as my farming skills have improved a lot.

I'll report out on yields, and fermentation over the next few weeks. I will be involved in wine making every day for the next 6 weeks, and I mean EVERY DAY. My wife will become a Wine Widow.

I did bottle a special blend (Zinfandel/Primitivo/Petite Sirah) last Fall, for my sons wedding in a few weeks. The wine has been aging in the bottle for the last 11 months, and it has turned out to be a very special wine indeed.

Make believe 9-11

Robert A. Iger
President and CEO, The Walt Disney Company

Dear Mr. Iger:

I have been reading in the news that ABC plans to air a two-part mini-series called "The Path to 9/11" on September 10 and September 11. Accounts of advance screenings indicate that this in not a direct interpretation of factual events, but uses some facts and the rest is scripted for entertainment or dramatical purposes.

I am a big believer in freedom of speech and expression, and support ABC producing whatever programs you like, provided you are quite clear with the public, with what you are presenting.

It is my understanding that this program is being positioned as a documentary or a semi-documentary. If ABC chooses to proceed ahead with putting this program on the television or cable then ABC had better be blatantly clear this is a "dramatized", and not a documentary based portrayal.

9-11 is a painful and raw emotional memory for our nation. I would prefer this not going on the air at all, but it is your choice.

If this does proceed ahead with any "hint" of being portrayed as a fact based documentary, I can assure you will will lose my support, as a loyal audience member, and that I will express my displeasure in as many public forums as I can engage in.

This is a choice I will make, although one I would prefer not be forced to make.

Our country still has not applied all of the learnings from this horrific event, and we have yet to fix many of our intelligence, and security weaknesses. We are putting the Nation at risk if we distort the truth, and lead the public to an "entertainment based" view of what actually happened.

Thank you for your attention and consideration. We live in discomforting times.