Dragonflies of the Santa Cruz Mountains

Everyday at noon, the entire crew of the Martin Ranch Winery sit down together for a homemade lunch. This time is very special for all of us, as we get to share stories of the winery and to discuss business ideas. Now that the weather is nice, we are able to sit outside and share this lovely tradition of sharing our mid-day meal.

Lately, we have had several dragonflies come visit us while we are working around the garden and the pond and this particular handsome fellow, visits us at the lunch table on the back patio almost every day! What a wonderful treat.

So, this guy is a male Flame Skimmer of the Order Odanata, of the Family Libellulidae and of the  Species Libellula saturata. Flame skimmers are generally bright orange or bright red throughout their entire body, including the wings and eyes. Skimmers tend to be quite large for the dragonfly family, measuring between two to three inches long. 

Skimmers like to inhabit areas of warm ponds and are quite common in the western part of North America. Their diet consists mostly of other soft body insects such as moths, flies, ants and mosquitos. The breeding season for the flame skimmers is between May and September and the males can be quite aggressive and protective of their territorial breeding ground. 

Dragonflies are such colorful creatures flitting about the ranch and bring a delightful sense of magic. We are honored to have many of them as part of our eco-system who spend time visiting us.

Come out to the Martin Ranch Winery on the 3rd weekend of the Month, when the Winery is open to the public and wine club members. We always look forward to seeing you!

The Martin Ranch Winery's Sixth Annual Fishing Derby

Saturday May 6th was a picture perfect day in the Santa Cruz Mountains and a spectacular day at the Martin Ranch Winery. Folks began arriving around 8:30 in the morning to participate in the Martin Ranch Winery's sixth annual Fishing Derby.

This is one of the most fun events at the Winery as this is a family event. The kids just love having the opportunity to be able to cast their fishing poles into the pond and catch fish. And the fish were jumping and biting!

Within the first 30 minutes, several good-sized large mouth bass were caught and then released. The pond on the Martin Ranch Winery is quite large and is full of large mouthed bass, blue gills and visitors include geese, ducks, blue herons, white herons and mud hens. The pond is a wonderful wildlife sanctuary.

The fishing derby is a fun competition. Winners are picked from 3 categories based on age and the weight of the fish. The categories are age 6 and under, ages 7-12 years and 13 years old to adult. A winner is picked from each category and awarded with a lovely trophy.

The derby begins at 9:00 am sharp and all contestants have 2 hours to fish and enjoy the lovely pond amidst the vineyards. Once a fish is caught, one of the Martin Ranch team members, weighs the fish and the participant has their photo taken with their fish. The fish are then released back into the pond unharmed.

Winners for the 2012 Martin Ranch Fishing Derby are:

In the 6 and under category      Hazel Kjellesveg        2 lbs. 9 oz.

In the 7-12 category                 Garrett Schopshire    2 lbs. 14 oz.

In the 13 to adult category        Ryan Lee                     2 lbs. 12 oz.

Garrett Schopshire's whopping big fish of 2 lbs. 14 oz was also the overall winner for the fishing derby.

After the pond closed, fishing poles were put away and everyone headed down to the crush pad to enjoy a BBQ lunch with hot dogs, chips, fruit and Dan's famous BBQ beans. Adults were treated to a glass of refreshing Martin Ranch Sauvignon Blanc, Rousanne or Cabernet Franc Rose.

The real treat came right after lunch with the arrival of the San Jose Mounted Police bringing in 3 beautiful and very we'll mannered horses. The officers of the mounted police came in full uniform and Officer Courtney Adamo gave a very fun and informative presentation to the kids about life as a mounted police officer. The kids and adults were all fascinated by the tradition of mounted police and they all got the chance to pet the horses.

The finale of the day was when Therese Martin announced the winners and officially presented the trophies to the 3 main winners of the fishing derby. And as Therese says, all kids are winners here at the Martin Ranch Winery's Annual Fishing Derby and all the kids received a medal.

The day was perfect and after a full morning of fishing, awards, lunch and horses, the kids were ready to head home and enjoy their awards and medals. We look forward to next  year's Fishing Derby!

To see more photos from the Fishing Derby, please go here.

Come out to the Martin Ranch Winery on the 3rd weekend of the Month, when the Winery is open to the public and wine club members. We always look forward to seeing you!

Winemaker for the Day

Sunday May 6th dawned a beautiful, sunny day in the Santa Cruz Mountains and at the Martin Ranch Winery. As all arose, excitement was building as everyone began preparations for the very first Martin Ranch Winery wine club member event - Winemaker for a Day.

Blending wine is one of the most important steps in the winemaking process. This is the winemakers chance to take a wine that is in barrel, improve it and create the final wine envisioned by the winemaker. This aspect of winemaking goes beyond the scientific/laboratory side of making wine and delves deep into the artistic side.

The team at the Martin Ranch Winery decided that it would be fun to be able to share this creative side of winemaking with their wine club members by offering them a chance to be Winemaker for the Day.

The premise of the event was: Master Blend Program: Learn the Winemaker's art of wine blending by crafting your own signature Cabernet blend and creating a Wine Club exclusive label: "Master Blend "
The " Winemaker For a Day " event was designed to educate and introduce all levels of wine enthusiasts to blending techniques, helping you to identify your own taste profile,  build confidence in wine tasting and increase your appreciation of wine.

10 teams of 6 participants arrived at the winery and were given educational materials that included a sensory evaluation of wines and different varietals, an aroma wheel, blending notes and an extensive word descriptor of wines approved by the Wine Institute Executive Committee.

As the event began, the rules were shared with the participants: all teams had 90 minutes to complete their blend, all finished wines must contain at least 50% Cabernet Sauvignon (for the base) and could not contain more than 10% Malbec, blenders to be used were Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petite Verdot and Malbec and not all needed to be used (as per taste of the team.)

Final wines were judged on appearance, aroma, body, taste and finish. The ultimate final test encompassed all of the above factors and ended as a full bodied, drinkable red wine.

After the 90 minutes of blending time were up, participants were treated to gourmet appetizers and food provided by Chef Charles and organized by Michele Swanson - they make all of the major food events fun, special and delicious! Chardonnay and 3 styles of Cabernet Sauvignon were poured as the contestants relaxed around the rose garden area listening to acoustic music provided by Michael Gathier. The wonderful afternoon was finished with hot, fresh baked mini chocolate lava cakes and a sneak taste of the new Soul Mates wine to be released later this fall.

During this time, the judges sequestered themselves into the barrel room to sample and judge the final blends from the 10 teams. In the end, three teams were chosen as competitors in the final Winemaker of the Day event. The final judging will come from the palates of the wine club members on the Martin Ranch Winery's open weekend May 19th & 20th. Wine club members will have the opportunity to sample the three final blended wines and will cast their votes for the most desirable wine.

The wine that receives the most votes will win the Winemaker of the Day event and a label of "Master Blend" will be created with the teams' name. The final winning blend will then be bottled and released for the fall wine club shipment under the special label. Only 100 cases of this very special wine will be released!

This was a very fun and educational event to attend and the lucky teammates to have participated in the winemaking blend had a rare opportunity to understand the art of winemaking.
For more photos of this very fun and exclusive event, please go here.

Stop by the Winery on May 19th & 20th and cast your vote for the Master Blend: Winemaker of the Day Cabernet Sauvignon blend wine!

Come out to the Martin Ranch Winery on the 3rd weekend of the month, when the Winery is open to the public and wine club members. We always look forward to seeing you!