Lunch for October 16, 2010 Harvest Participants

s Harvest Lunch October 16, 2010

Appetizers
Caprese Salad: Eagle Hill Tomatoes, Eagle Hill Basil, Olive Oil, Mozzarella

Crab Cake Minis with a dab of Thousand Island dressing

 Avocado slices with French dressing and lemon juice Gouda slices 

 Suggested wine for the above: Bolla Delle Venezie/Tipica 2009 Pinot Grigio (Italy) 


Brie with Peach Jam on heated baguette/olive oil, suggested wine is Saintsbury Garnet Carneros 2009 Pinot Noir (Napa, CA)


Comte slices, suggested wine is Yalumba Eden Valley 2009 Viognier (Australia)

Entree

Eagle Hill Belted Galloway Teriyaki Beef Skewers

Served with Eggplant Parmigiana and an assortment of vegetables

Ciabatta Bread, heated with butter

Suggested wines are Newton Claret 2007 (Merlot/CabSauv/Cab Franc/Syrah) (St. Helena, CA) and Del Dotto Cave Blend 2006 (Merlot/Cab Franc/Cab Sauv) (Napa, CA)

Desserts, Cheese, Liquors

Cheesecake with strawberry topping 
Vanilla Ice Cream, 29% fat, with whipped cream 
Blue Cheese, suggested wine is Chateau Saint-Michel 2007 Sauternes (Gironde-Bordeaux, France) 
Wide Assortment of After-Dinner Liquors

Thank you for your help and don’t forget your bottle of wine to take home!

Results of Harvest at Eagle Hill and then Crush at Captain Vineyards

The harvest/crush/destem happened Saturday Oct. 16th as planned.  We had 18 people working away for 3 hours in the vineyard, luckily the temperature was not hot.  Special thanks to Pat and Owen Lammers (home hardscape/irrigation, 925-408-0564) for volunteering to unclip the bird nets so we could harvest more efficiently.  Also, special thanks to Gerrit Brands (my IT consultant, 951-312-4009) for also doing the nets and being very helpful on a number of things on Saturday.   Many of the people had never helped at a crush and destemming and commented that it was a very interesting procedure.   Once again, sorry about all the postponings of the harvest day.  Those who attended enjoyed the lunch (complete with Eagle Hill raised beef, tomatoes and basil) with 6 different wines and went home with a custom made tee shirt that Jill Peterson and Jaye Buhlis made ( www.oaktees.com  (925) 625-8337 ) and surprised us with, thank you very much.  Also, each person who attended went home with a bottle of wine. 

4th Post on Grape Harvest: Oct. 16th, new date & time

ALERT:  the weather here has been cold with little sun so we are forced to delay the harvest since the grapes will not be ripe as predicted.  The new date, and this is now definite, will be Saturday, Oct. 16th and the new time is 8:30 AM.  Sorry about this as we know the delays have disrupted many plans.   If you can make it on Oct. 16th, drop us a email or a phone call.  

See The previous three posts on this 2010 harvest here on this bloG, below .

Regards,

Peter  and Rhonda Cacioppo

www.EagleHillGroup.net

925-377-6416

Moraga, CA

3rd Post on Oct. 9, 2010 Harvest Day

We finally are able to set the specific date for the Harvest in 2010.  It will be Saturday Oct. 9th at 7:30 AM, so we will be done in two hours and not have to work in the heat. Look below on this blog for  previous two emails.  Also below is a  map to Eagle Hill for your possible use, especially the first time you come through the forest and valley here in Moraga, CA. All pertinent details are on the first email. Please send us an email if you are “local" (some on our list are friends from out of the area) to tell us if you will be able to make it or if you can’t make it (and how many of your friends you are bringing with you), as that helps us estimate how much food and wine to have ready, thanks.  Hope you and your friends can make it; the more people we have the less work and more fun it will be.  One more thing:  a lot of the participants have small businesses, such as Tennis Pro, Attorney, Gardener, Public Relations, Veterinarian, Custom Shirts/Screen Printing, Dentist, General Contractor/Remodeling, Car Broker, Doctor, Landscape Designer, Dog Kennel.  This is a good way to meet people you may want to do business with.  During the lunch we encourage the distribution of business cards; in fact, we can pass them out for you. 

Map to Eagle Hill

2nd Post on 2010 Upcoming Harvest

UPDATE:

As to our previous guess estimate of 9/25/2010 or 10/2/2010 for the harvest day:   the weather has not been very hot and it sure looks like 9/25/2010 is not going to be late enough to get the grapes nice and ripe.  Thus, our best bet now is 10/2/2010, or perhaps a week after that, or 10/9/2010.  Hope you and your friends can make it; the more people we have the less work and more fun it will be. 

Hopefully, I will be able to give you 5 or 6 days notice before say the 10/2/2010 date. 

2010 Grape Harvest Invitation (1st Post)

Dear Eagle Hill supporters,

It is getting closer to the 2010 harvest time here at Eagle Hill Wines and Vineyards (www.eaglehillgroup.net) .  Once again we would love to have your help, and to have some fun with you.  This year we should have twice or three times the grapes we had in 2009, when we had 11 helpers  to harvest 528 pounds (we had 7 helpers in 2008).  This year we would like to start much earlier, at 7:30 AM, so we will not have to work in the heat (and it is better for the harvested grapes) and to have 30 to 40 harvesters, so as to not wear out our friends. With that many people, car pooling would be a good idea, although there is lots of parking behind the dog kennels near the vineyard.  Once again, if you could bring a small garden shear, that would be great; but for those without we have some extra shears and vineyard knives.  Don’t forget shoes with treads as the vineyard is steep.  This year we hope to start right away and be done harvesting in two hours; then, our bonded winery, Captain Vineyards, who will make our wine for the second year in a row, has promised this year we will be able to bring the grapes to them the morning of the harvest for processing.  Accordingly, the plan is to transport the grapes in 4 vehicles or so, especially any pick ups or SUVs with seats down that may show up, as soon as we have picked; it is only 3 miles from us.  I would encourage everyone to go with the grapes and assist/watch as the grapes are put through the crusher/destemmer machine.  After a short tour of their new Tasting room and oak barrel storage rooms, we would like all to come back to Eagle Hill for our traditional harvest lunch with wine.  

We are looking for new people to participate so if you know some friends that you would like to bring with you, that would be great.  If anyone needs a map please request it when you reply back as to whether you can make it and with how many people.  I have a hand-drawn map that I can attach to an email, as most navigation systems give up half way down our now gravel/asphalt private road. Also, don’t be surprised by the FOR SALE sign; yes, the ranch is for sale.  When it sells in this market, we are off to the Village area of La Jolla, San Diego, an area we have visited a lot since we moved to California in 1988.  The MLS web page for the ranch is: (pass it on!):    

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1350-Bollinger-Cyn_Moraga_CA_94556_1120773855?source=a20058 .

As many of you know, this initial email is but a good guess as to when the harvest day will be, as we are dependent on the weather as to when the grapes will be ready for harvest.  As we get closer to harvest day I will send you other emails giving you more of a definite day.  As of today, it looks like the harvest will be either Saturday September 25th or Saturday October 2, 2010.  We have been lucky the last two years that we have been able to harvest on a weekend day so working friends can participate. 

Please email us if you can make it with details on how many people you are bringing.  Email:

EagleHill@EagleHillGroup.net .   

Spring 2010

The Sangiovese in Block 2 is producing a lot more green growth way before the Cabernet Sauvignon in Block 1 and the Cabernet Franc in Block 2.   We are seeing growth in both Block 1 and Block 2.  We had pruned February 28th and the vineyard manager is not due back until May 9th for sulfur, more Roundup and pulling suckers.