Notes from Clay around 4th of July weekend

Woke up this mornig to find dew and fog at the ranch. Very cool up here right now. Ivan pitched a tent last night down where the fiesta was and I checked on him at 6am and his sleeping bag was wet, and of course both of the dogs that were sleeping with him were wet too from the dew.

Just a few vineyard notes. We have pulled leaves in the fruit zone of most of the vineyards, we normally don’t like to do this but considering all the uneven fruit this year due to the frost we decided to spend around 175,000$$ , so we could open up the vines and then after the leafing (on the cool side of vine only) go in and thin off the uneven fruit. In some cases the vineyards have been blooming for 6 weeks , therefore the fruit is very uneven . but not for much longer. We did not have a committee meeting or a budget review meeting to make this call, we just did it . so I feel comfortable we will be able to have some great quality this year. Some other companys I know are not even considering doing what we have done.

The crop looks on the light side except for zinfandel, it always seems to be heavy.

Next week mike and I will be looking at our chardonnay vineyards and getting a feel for what we have there.

Chris , I saw that roadrunner again yesterday at the picnic area on top of the la sierra vineyard, have not seen him since February. I thought the little bugger was dead. Ivan and I think he is a male as he is very colorful.

Lots of important people taking a look at lake county these days, so finally people are starting to see the value in lake county wine. AND THE REASON IS BECAUSE OF YOU OUT THERE SLUGGING IT OUT AND TALKING ABOUT SHANNON RIDGE EVERY DAY. THANKS

Anyhow, have a great weekend. We will see you soon.
And if anybody asks you for a wine recommendation for the weekend, tell them, “ I GOT 2 WORDS FOR YOU, SHANNON RIDGE”

Happy 4th of July from Shannon Ridge

Wow! It's been almost a year!

Time flys like an arrow, fruit flies like a bananna.

That was a favorite saying of a former employee of mine many years ago. Kind of a clever saying but the point is that time does fly straight and true when you are working hard. Many successes have occurred during the almost 1 year since I joined this venture...here are a few that come to mind...

• Distributor assignments have taken place in over 26 states.
• Shannon Ridge Sales staff has grown from 1 (John Girty) to add 4 regional managers and a brand manager.
• Production has approached 40,000 cases.
• Shannon Ridge has been and is being poured in high profile accounts like Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, Marriott Hotels, The Speedway Club at Lowe's Motor Speedway, Ballantyne Resort, The Cliff's Communities and Fleming's Steakhouse to name only a few.
• Shannon Ridge wines have earned over 20 Gold Medals and several 90 point scores from major wine publications.
• Another 500 acres of property in the Red Hills AVA was added to the 1000 acres of the original property in the High Valley AVA.
• Wine Warehouse in California picked up Shannon Ridge as one of the few California brands added to their portfolio this year.
• Clay Shannon is interviewed on the Wine Crush radio show syndicated in over 100 markets.
• www.justwinepoints.com awards 93 points to the 2007 limited release Shannon Ridge Roussanne (563 cases made) as well as 90 points on Sauvignon Blanc.
• Two industry publications awarded Shannon Ridge "Top 100" status for producing an exceptional Sauvignon Blanc. Both the Wine Enthusiast and Wine & Spirits Magazines awarded this distinction to Shannon Ridge.

There are many talented people that touch the wines before they ever make it to your glass, folks like Mike Wood, Director of Winemaking production, Celestino Castañeda, Vineyard Manager and the hundreds of workers that hand pick the grapes at the perfect ripeness. We could not be where we are without their tireless efforts.....

Continued success, be sure to ask for Shannon Ridge wines at your favorite restaurant or retail establishment and raise a glass...salute.

Proprietors – Clay and Margarita Shannon
Vice President Sales & Marketing – John Girty
Northeast Regional Manager – Kevin Conboy
Southeast Regional Manager – Chris Baker
Northwest Regional Manager – Kathy Brock
Senior Winemaking Consultant – Marco DiGuilio
Director of Wine Production – Michael Wood
Tasting Room Manager – Joey Luiz
Operations Manager – Adawn Wood

Venture Magazine article on Shannon Ridge

Click on each page to enlarge to a readable size. Very nice article written in Venture Magazine about Shannon Ridge...enjoy, spread the word.

Shannon Ridge welcomes newest member of the family.

Good Evening Folks,

I’m sorry to say but without your approval I have once again added another member to our family business. She is gorgeous, I met her today at the Entremont Ranch as I was viewing our vineyards and watching a golden eagle soar over the top of our chardonnay vineyard. As I drove around the corner I heard a cry of distress. I immediately jumped out of my pickup and started to chase this young babe through the vineyard. After crossing under three rows of vines I realized that this 46 year old man can’t chase the Babes anymore! As I retreated back to my Dodge Megacab pickup I un-holstered my blackberry and called upon our longest term family member, Martin Mendez. He answered the phone and said “Bueno”, I said Martin, this beautiful long legged, red haired, freckled faced lady has escaped through the vineyards and I want you to see if you can find her, can you help me out? Martin said “no problem, where is she?” I said “I last saw her jogging through block 4 in the north-west corner”. He said “I’ll go see if I can find her”. He called and said “I chased her down and captured her”. I told Martin that Margarita and Masha would rescue her.

I arrived home tonight at 7:30 to find that this gal is just unbelievable. She likes us and she fits right in. We think that she can definitely be in charge of the marketing department (sorry Blythe). This gal Rocks!

Please meet Clarice Kringle. She does not have much education; she’s young and new to America. I truly believe even with her skinny, long legs and extremely big ears and long nose, she will guide this company to a new level. Again, sorry to all; in a following email will be a picture of our new director of marketing – Clarice Kringle!

Sincerely, clay margarita ivan and masha

Ps , as long as everything goes well , you shall meet her at the end of june. And again , she will be living here on the ranch

Clay Shannon

Latest news from the road...Shannon Ridge wine news.

Wow, time flys when building a brand. Lot's of street work, meeting customers, working with distributor sales representatives, travel and yes, a lot of wine tasting. So without further adieu, here's the latest and greatest in a nut shell.

• We are at our 4 year plan in 2 years, we have now hired Kathy Brock and Carolina Gasman for the Northern California and Southern California markets as well as some surrounding states.


• We welcome aboard Blythe Beaubein who came to us from our Public Relations firm. Blythe brings a wealth of experience that we will all benefit from...look for some really great things soon.


• Joe Cumberland is now on the ranch (all 2600 lbs of him), some people have rescue greyhounds, we have a rescue bull.


• Sheep are now up to 90 head.


• Horse count is 3


• Dog count is 3


• Grape count is now 720 acres


• 2007 Chardonnay, 2007 Sauvignon Blanc. 2007 Viognier and 2007 Roussanne now being shipped. Sauvignon Blanc is now in the clear glass and the package looks incredible.


• We've just begun a relationship with The Cliffs Communities with a Shannon Ridge "Holdenried Ranch" Chardonnay and "The Cliffs Red Cuvee" wines. The wines should be shipping next two weeks. Please visit their website, this is a special place and very special people.


• Virginia distribution is now in full swing with Service Distributing Company. Product was very well received in the market and the brand continues to grow despite the economy.


• John Girty, Kevin Conboy and I spent a week working the Florida markets in Jacksonville, Orlando and Tampa. Made many new placements and friends along the way.


• Clay met me in Atlanta last week (his first time to Georgia) and we spent the day working with Dave Mason from Quality Wine & Spirits. Highlight of the day was when Cork wine shop was so blown away by our 2006 Chardonnay that they bought 10 cases on the spot. We had dinner with Joe Best, President of Quality. He had us meet him at Muss & Turner, a great boutique restaurant for some good food and wine (Shannon Ridge of course). Next day was spent with Wine educator and writer, Jane Garvey and then over to Quality to work with Scott Cochran making some good presentations and gaining commitments for future placements in the stores around Atlanta.


• Clay and I left Atlanta for the drive back to Charlotte for a good nights sleep and off the next day for the Historic Beaufort, NC Wine & Food Festival. Jessica Ferrari, our representative from Empire Distributors had been very busy selling Shannon Ridge before we arrived. She had sold over 40 cases before we arrived so we spent our time going around and meeting the customers that are helping to build the brand. Clay signed bottles and shook hands...life is good. That evening we participated in a Chocolate and Wine pairing using our 2006 Barbera and 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon along with artisian home made chocolate flavors like chili, coffee bean, sea salt etc. Guests had a great time and we sold the Cru Wine shop out of Barbera and Cabernet.
  

Clay Shannon explaining the unique growing area in Lake County as Tom Kaiser listens during the wine & cheese seminar as part of the Beaufort Wine & Food Festival.

Beaufort is a great town full of friendly folks, history and fun. Gaskill's Hardware is over 102 years old and full of stories and just about anything you might need. Ask for Grey, the owner and tell him Shannon Ridge sent you in. OK, out the door for some more sales calls in Asheville, NC this week. Off to Miami next week for more successful placements

Unique Shannon Ridge wine by the glass program.

Bradenton Beach, Florida
April, 10, 2008

Special thanks to Steve Soboleski at Opici Wine Company of Florida for helping to put this program together.

The Sun House Restaurant & Bar
111 Gulf Drive South
Bradenton Beach, Florida 34217
www.thesunhouserestaurant.com

Starting May 1, 2008, The Sun House will be featuring Shannon Ridge wines by the glass with a unique concept for a table tent. No table tent will be used. Instead, volcanic rocks from the vineyards of Shannon Ridge will be hand selected by owner Clay Shannon and his son Ivan. The rocks (size of a softball to baseball) will simply be set on the table top as a "Conversation starter" says Chris Fielder, General Manager of The Sun House. Chris goes on further to explain: "If we had a traditional table tent with the wines printed on it with prices, our servers would never get to make the presentation about what makes this place and the wines so great". "With the rocks on the table, guests are sure to ask what that is and why it is on the table". "This provides a perfect opportunity to make the presentation".

Please visit The Sun House during May, 2008 and order up your glass of Shannon Ridge......giddy up!

Shannon Ridge Vineyards exciting news!

04.08.2008

Beyond Grapes and Wine in Lake County
Two projects planned to bring greater exposure north of Napa

by Paul Franson

Rolling Knolls

Lower Lake, Calif. -- Two recent developments in Lake County could lead to much higher visibility for the lesser-known North Coast winegrowing region, which is seeking a critical mass of destinations to attract more visitors.Clay Shannon, who already owns Shannon Ridge Vineyards & Winery above Clearlake Oaks, has acquired the picturesque Rolling Knolls vineyard in the town of Lower Lake, and he plans to develop a recreational village on the property. Meanwhile, Langtry Estate and Vineyard has a new president who plans development including a trade-oriented recreational area, as well as wines.These developments are at the opposite end of Clear Lake, California's largest natural lake, from Jim Fetzer's Ceago del Lago, which already is creating buzz within the county.Shannon's latest acquisition includes approximately 240 acres of vineyards, two small cottages and an old walnut dehydrating structure. They will be converted into a tasting room, wine shop and gourmet deli. Shannon also plans to develop the property into a mixed-use destination for visitors to Lake County. He's working with St. Helena-based architect Carlo Di Fede of Triad Design Studio for an European-style community to include private guest cottages, a rustic tasting room, picnic facilities and dining patios, a stone chapel, recreational grounds, hiking trails and public restrooms."I want to create an old-world experience in wine country, just two and a half hours north of the San Francisco Bay Area," Shannon said. "This will be a destination location for wine aficionados, outdoor recreation enthusiasts and nature lovers. My goal is to preserve that land while offering visitors a unique experience in Lake County."The property backs up to the Anderson Marsh wetlands and park, public land owned by the state of California and accessible to visitors.Shannon also is working with the Lake County planning commission to develop a new winery on the property. His wines are now made at a facility in Napa County. He acquired the Rolling Knolls vineyard from the Greer family of Fremont, Calif., who owned the property since 1992.Shannon Ridge already has a tasting room for its wines. In June 2007, Shannon opened a renovated tasting room in a historic one-room schoolhouse on Highway 20 in Clearlake Oaks. Adjacent to the tasting room, the winery also completed the construction of a "vinegarden" and picnic table, which allows visitors to relax in a park-like setting while enjoying Shannon Ridge wines.Shannon is a well-known grower in Napa and Lake counties. He and his wife, Margarita, purchased 420 acres that included steep volcanic mountain vineyards in High Valley in 1995; they later expanded into making wine.The new vineyard is planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Zinfandel, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec, Petite Sirah and Sauvignon Blanc. Shannon will farm the property and plans to sell its fruit to other wineries. He commented that the Shannon Ridge wine brand is quickly expanding, and fruit from the Rolling Knolls vineyard will be used for future vintages of Shannon Ridge wines.For more informat ion about Shannon Ridge Vineyards and Winery, visit shannonridge.com.





415.453.9700 Fax: 415.453.2517info@winesandvines.com

A little note from Clay Shannon

Just received this email last night and thought it needed to be shared. I talked to Clay last night as he was finishing up a walk with the family through the vineyards. As I was driving home late from a tasting through the rain and traffic in Charlotte, I realized even more what a special place Clay and Margarita have developed in Lake County....everyone reading this should visit Shannon Ranch...the sooner the better.

From Clay:

"Ahhh , spring at shannon ridge, If you have not been here during this time of the year, you need to plan a trip. The weather mid 70s day, night 30s with frost daily. Snow on the mountains, frogs are croaking at the pond and the ducks are chasing each other around trying to get a little. All the oak trees are starting to grow and dropping yellow pollen all over the place. Wild flowers all over the place. Because we do very little weedspray we are starting to get a lot of California poppies growing all over the avenues. Even the buck brush and manzanita is blooming. All the grass on the hills is lush green and the vines are starting to grow. Budbreak here is way behind napa as we are in the mountains, much cooler here. Sunday it was in the low 60s in Sonoma county and napa and we had a high here that day of 46. our fire place still is going every night. Cumberland is taming down a little , I can touch him now. we wil have to sell more wine because that guy eats a bale of hay a week.
We are planting a few olive orchards on the ranch and lining some of our roads with olives. We will make olive oil some day.

Met with the county today at the rolling knolls vineyard ( I think we are going to call it “Maverick Ranch or wrangler ranch”), they said we can do whatever we want there as far as tasting rooms cottages and entertainment stuff. They will grease all the wheels for us to get any permit we want, I think.
That property truly is a trophy for us. If anyone likes turtle soup, come this way as there has to be a million turtles in that reservoir. I have never seen anything like it.

Anyhow not to be too talky, but it is truly gorgeous up here now. See you all soon.

Joey, Kim , please pass this on to wawnita and the tasting room staff.

PS, Joeys tasting room sales are up 35 % so far in feb and march, and we are shooting for 50% this month."

Shannon Ridge note from Clay Shannon:

Here is a great shot at our ranch from a heli.

Tell all your flat lander wine buddys to cowboy up!!!!!

Joe Cumberland is moving to the ranch on march 15th. (The new Bull)

Started the grafting process today for 16 acres of Reisling, get ready, should have crop in 09. 2010 spring release

Shannon Ridge Vice President goes COWBOY!

I'd say that's a mighty big hat you got there Cowboy!

John Girty finally goes cowboy...now we just need to get him some boots!

Here's another photo...courtesy of the newest Shannon Ridge employee, Kathy Brock.

New article about Shannon Ridge appears in Venture Magazine

http://www.venture-magazine.com/content/view/377/31/

Excerpt:

Shannon Ridge Vineyards & Winery: Room to Breathe
Cover Story
By Brooke Knudson
Thursday, 14 February 2008

Shannon Ridge Vineyards & Winery’s Lake County property abounds with shallow and gravelly volcanic soils that help grapes thrive because of their ability to quickly drain water.
Premier Business Partners:
Landmark Label
When you’re a part of an industry that contributes more than $52 billion to the state’s economy, it takes more than a fancy bottle to maintain a competitive edge. Fortunately for Clay and Margarita Shannon, owners of Shannon Ridge Vineyards & Winery, their 20 years of experience in the industry has taught them a few things about what it takes to build a winery business in California.
But the husband-and-wife duo didn’t come into the business looking only to gain the upper-hand on the competition. Their story also has hints of innovative thinking and a few notes of good luck.
The Shannons hatched the idea to launch a vineyard management and development company in Lake County, Calif. They had worked several years for mega-producer Sutter Home, which used wine grapes grown locally in its various blends.

Continue reading at :
http://www.venture-magazine.com/content/view/377/31/

A little history of Lake County and Wine Grapes

Compliments of the Lake County Wine Grape Growers:

History:
Lake County has been growing winegrapes since the mid 19th Century, when early settlers recognized that the climates and soils of the region would produce fruit and wines of excellent quality. Expansive vineyards were already established near the shores of Clear Lake when Napa and Sonoma counties were just initiating their wine industries. David Voight was the first pioneer to develop a commercial winery in Lake County in the early 1880s, on land east of Morgan Valley Road in Lower Lake. Other winemakers bought land adjacent to the Voight vineyards, including Stephen Nicolai, a local stonemason whose jailhouse in Lower Lake is still standing. In 1884, Nicolai planted 10 acres and built a stone winery for himself. By 1884 Lake County could claim 600 acres of grapes. The largest vineyard in the Lower Lake area was started by an Englishman named George Wrey. In 1883 he bought 5,000 acres of land two miles south of Lower Lake on the road to Middletown. He planted hundreds of acres of vines and convinced Stephen Nicolai to build yet another stone winery with a storage capacity of 20,000 gallons. Due to business troubles, Wrey eventually abandoned his bottling plan and wound up selling his wine in bulk to the Greystone Winery in St. Helena. One of the most famous vintages from Lake County was developed during the 1890's by Charles M. Hammond, a young Harvard graduate. Hammond acquired a 600-acre estate in Upper Lake and set out to produce Cabernet Sauvignon and Semillon. In 1893, his white and red wines won the best exhibit award at the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago. By 1920 Lake County had over 10,000 acres of vineyards and 28 wineries, but Prohibition spelled the end of commercial winegrowing in the region. Most of the county's grapevines were pulled up and replaced with pear and walnut orchards. Due to its superior growing environment, Lake County eventually became renown for the quality of its pears and today is the second largest supplier of premium fresh pears in the U.S. The renaissance of the local wine industry began again in the late 1960's when a few growers decided to diversify by planting winegrapes in Lake County. Today, the Lake County wine industry is booming with 18 wineries, 145 growers and 8,800 acres of producing vineyards.

Shannon Ridge - New Arrival.

Bustling baby Isabella

Born February 7th, 6 lbs, 15 ozs

Grandpa Shannon with Isabella...congratulations!

Whole lotta Bull!

Shannon Ranches and Shannon Ridge Vineyards & Winery would like to introduce you to one of the newest members of the family.....Joe Cumberland (Also known as Cumberland Joe as a breed line). Clay and I visited Joe yesterday as he was having a late lunch. You can look forward to seeing him on your visit to the ranch.

2006 Shannon Ridge Chardonnay scores 90 points!

Clay Shannon interview on Wine Crush

Clay Shannon being interview for a segment of "Wine Crush" a Nationally syndicated radio show concerning all things wine. Here Clay is being interview at the Performance Racing Network studio at Lowe's Motor Speedway by Gary Oikemus and Laura Lawson. Stay tuned for the latest date and time that the show will hit the airways.

Quality Wine & Spirits partners with Shannon Ridge to distribute wines in Georgia

Shannon Ridge is proud to announce that the fine family of Quality Wine & Spirits employees will be selling our wines throughout the state of Georgia. If you are in Georgia and want to find our wines, please call Quality at:

Quality Wine & Spirits, Inc.

2279 Defoor Hills Road NW

Atlanta, Georgia USA 30318-2203
Telephone:404 367 WINE (9463)
Fax:404 367 9391
For Inquiries:info@qwine.com

http://www.qwine.com/

Since our founding in 1999, Quality Wine & Spirits has emerged as a key player in the wholesale wine and spirits market serving metropolitan Atlanta and the State of Georgia.
Supported by a team of highly experienced sales and distribution professionals, we deliver opportunities to our customers and vendors by helping them to identify solutions to their product placement and selection challenges, and by providing them with opportunities to maximize the return on their investment.
Our wine and spirits consultants average more than fifteen years in the industry and our operations team really understands the business. Our expertise provides our customers and vendors with the highest level of service and commitment in the purchase, storage and delivery of products within the State of Georgia.
At Quality, we believe that our philosophy and approach, combined with our competitive strengths, distinguishes us in the marketplace for the benefit of our customers and our vendors.

MISSION STATEMENT
To utilize our knowledge of the wine and spirits industry and our commitment to quality service; to establish a profitable and pleasurable partnership with our customers, vendors and employees ... and to enjoy ourselves along the way.

GOLD DISCOVERED IN LAKE COUNTY CALIFORNIA!

Shannon Ridge wins big at San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition!

Shannon Ridge brings home the Gold, Lots of Gold, pretty shiny gold!

The San Francisco Chronicle wine competition is one of the more prestigious wine judging competitions in the United States.

The 2008 professional wine judging took place at the Cloverdale Citrus Fair during the week of January 7, 2008. Sixty professional wine judges representing trade, education, media, retail, and restaurants throughout the United States evaluated 4,235 wines entered by 1,500 wineries from across the country. http://www.winejudging.com/index.html

Shannon Ridge Gold Medal Winners:

Double gold for our 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Lake County

Gold Medal for our 2006 Barbera, Lake County

Gold Medal for our 2006 Grenache, Lake County

Gold Medal for our 2006 Zinfandel, Lake County

Gold Medal for our 2006 Chardonnay, Lake County

Gold Medal for our 2006 Wrangler Red, Lake County

Bronze Medal for our 2006 Syrah

And our 2006 Sauvignon Blanc, Lake County wins another Gold.

See the full results at: http://www.winejudging.com/medal_winners_2008/index.html