Ampelos Cellars

Great wine tasting in Los Alamos!

In August Rebecca and I did our second wine trip to Valle de Guadelupe in Mexico and were very impressed with their wines. We had an awesome afternoon at Mina Penelope together with Nathan and Valorie and invited them to come visit us. That just happened!

We decided to arrange a small VdG wine tasting and invited our good friend Matt Kettmann from Wine Enthusiast to join us for a great tasting of wines from this up-and-coming wine region. Wonderful time at Full of Life Flatbread.

Life is good in Los Alamos

Picking grapes! This is where it happens.

So, I get out in the vineyard at the crack of light to check how the picking is going. Jesus, Chencho and the crew are working at full pace….but who is pulling leaves out of the picking bins? Jeff Newton - a legend in the valley and way beyond! He has been my vineyard management mentor and teacher for now well over two decades. He has established this amazing vineyard farming company that all winemakers in the valley have leveraged from in the last decades.

I think this is the definition of hands-on farming – and passion! And I know that Jeff has probably picked a few other vineyards already this night! What an honor it was pulling leaves out of the picking bins with Jeff early this morning as the crew kept bringing in the buckets of amazing Grenache from Groundstar Vineyard.

After we finished the pick we walked back to our trucks enjoying the sunset over the vineyard…as we realized that we have the best job in the world!

Crush is on at Ampelos Cellars! We have brought in the first batches of Pinot Noir from the vineyard and now they are starting their fermentation journey.

The cold spring and mild summer have enabled the grapes to slowly develop nice flavors, balanced acids, solid tannins and promising colors.

So our harvest crew is back in gear with Jesse on the forklift, Rebecca feeding the destemmer, Matt doing the groundwork and me….taking pictures, smelling, chewing stems and yelling orders. Feels so great to be back in harvest mode!

A toast to the 2025 vintage!

Having a great time in Denmark: 12 winemaker dinners – 7 custom pinot noir blend sessions – 12 lunches and private tastings. Whew….now time for a short trip to Mallorca!