The Oso Blog by Chris Behr:
Latest and sometimes greatest news...
June 8th, 2012
This early 1800s home was the original homestead on the back of our property near the creek and stone house that we are partially restoring. The home was relocated a mile from here up on Jensen Road in the 1950s. We are told that Jessie James stayed in this home here at Oso Libre in 1867 while visiting with his uncle Drury Woodson the founder of Paso De Los Robles then known for it's healing hot springs. He was on the run from a posse after robbing a bank in Kentucky. Three different generations of the Dyck (the county creek is called Dyck creek) family, all Mennonites passed down the legend that gold is buried down there by the creek. Local Anna Dyck is the great granddaughter of the Dyck family that owned this property in the 1800s. I will settle for finding an old horseshoe or antique coffee pot. That does not mean I won't be bringing a metal detector just in case! !
April 7th, 2012
Patron and Ruby say HAPPY EASTER! Starting in May we will finally have our Solera Oso Libre style Hungarian barrel red wine available by the bottle for our wine club members. We will bottle, cork and label it on the spot. We have worked very hard to find a way to get this wine to make it to a bottle. The proceeds will go to our Oso Libre Por Vida charity foundation.
Our 5 acre Mourvedre field that can be seen from our home but not our tasting room. The Angus, Sheep and Alpaca are busy mowing the fresh grass and fertilizing our Vines. We just finished pruning so spring is finally here. Now we have 13 inches of rain for the year. Better but still over 20 inches less than usual.
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March 26th, 2012
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Spring is trying to arrive here at Oso Libre. Our Angus are starting to get the rich grass they need; our land clearing is just beginning yielding our new supply of oak firewood for our barbeques and events. We received 2 more inches of rain over the weekend. Our total is now at 11 inches which is 22 inches shy of our usual total by end of March. For our Vines we expect bud break late April hopefully after the last frost threat has passed. It is still too cold here as yesterday we had hail and overnight temperatures below 30 degrees!
March 23, 2012
Sometimes blue and green go well together especially on our back graze land late this afternoon. We are anxious for the grass to grow to feed our Angus but hope that bud break for our vines is at least 2 or 3 weeks away to miss any late frost.
June 27, 2011
2008 Carnal GSM wins GOLD at the San Francisco International Wine Competition 2011!
We also won a SILVER Medal for:2008 Primoroso Winemaker's Blend
2008 PRIMOROSO has won yet another GOLD Medal, this time at the 2011 Orange County Wine Competition!
We also won SILVER Medals for: 2008 Nativo Primitivo and 2008 Carnal Rhone Style Blend
Everybody's favorite, 2008 PRIMOROSO wins GOLD at the 2011 LA International Wine Competition!
News just in that we also won SILVER Medals for:
- 2009 Vino d'Oro Chardonnay
- 2008 Nativo Primitivo
- 2008 Carnal Rhone Style Blend
- 2008 Osezno ZInfandel
June 23, 2011
Ok so what is new here? Plenty! We have 9 new lambs born in the last 10 days to add to our vineyard fertilization and weeding team which starts again after harvest. We also have 2 new friends Cuzco and Quito our male Alpacas. They are here to eat, fertilize and protect our sheep from predators.
Finally summer is here and the vines are growing and fruit set is complete. Summer heat came late this season so we have thinned our vines 2 times already to promote ripe fruit with good tannins. We have won 3 GOLD medals, seven SILVER medals and 4 bronze medals all this month. Paso Wines are so good now and the world knows it!!
April 13,2011: Last week we pruned all of our vines. The cane cuttings are left on the vineyard floor in every other row that we alternate every year. After bud break we will move the sheep out for the growing season. In May we will chop up the cane cuttings with our flail mower allowing them to break down and go back into the soil. With a little help from the skies above new shoots will soon emerge on the fresh spurs hopefully bringing healthy and balanced fruit. The intensive vineyard management season starts right now and will not stop until the day after harvest (usually mid to late November). On the back 60 acres we have just removed the 2 rams (sheep) and if they did their job we will have 16 pregnant ewes. By July we hope to have 20 to 25 new lambs to add to our vineyard management team for next year. The Angus bull has also been removed from his harem of 16 cows. With some luck we will have 16 new calves by years end.
March 30, 2011: We have received over 46 inches of rain this season here on our ranch. Being only 11 miles from the ocean is why we usually get as much as two times the rainfall as in downtown Paso Robles area. This rain when it arrives between November and April is what we as farmers dream about. It will help set our vineyard roots deeper into the ground. As summer warms us up and the moisture in the ground drops the roots will get a greater workout or exercise, stretching and working harder to grow deeper to reach the available moisture. We will not need to water for an extra two months or more so instead of weaker shallow roots (Pee Wee Herman) we will have deeper stronger roots (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Also our Angus will have food (grass) for an extra two months as well. Finally equally as important the electrical energy savings will save us and the environment as water pumps will remain off.
We have just posted our first You Tube Movie: Angus, Ruby and Patron happy on water and grass
March 28, 2011
How could we have possibly said it any better. Thank you for the wonderful comments from Councilman Elect Larry and Paula Mowles!
"I just wanted you to know that we judge any wine we drink by the Oso Libre wines.. If we’re at a restaurant with a glass of wine, our usual comment is “this doesn’t explode on your pallet like Oso Libre!” Whatever your technique for making wine, don’t stop – it makes wine that starts with a burst of fabulous mingled smells to your nose, eases into your mouth, and then builds to such a flavorful full body that peaks at the back of your throat with a smoothness as it passes through your pallet.
Thanks for enriching our lives with this experience…."
Oso Libre Wins 6 Medals at the 2011 Grand Harvest Awards.
March 15, 2011
Truly one of a kind! What sets Grand Harvest Awards apart from the rest? One word...terroir.
Established in 1990, it is the only wine-judging event in North America that is based on terroir - a group of vineyards (or even vines) from the same region, belonging to a specific appellation, and sharing the same type of soil, weather conditions, grapes and wine making savoir-faire, which contribute to give its specific personality to the wine.
In other competitions, this factor is ignored. At the Grand Harvest, judges taste wines with other wines of the same appellation. Thus, with cross-regional competition removed, the inherent quality of wines can be seen without the influences that sometimes eclipse even a wine of very high quality.
All wines are judged in the context of their viticultural region in order to accomplish two things: greater sensitivity to the complexities and nuances of regional wines and also to measure the influence of regional soil and weather characteristics on the taste and quality of individual wines.
Silver
Oso Libre Winery, 09 Volado, Pomar Junction
Oso Libre Winery, 09 Vino D'Oro, Abernathy
Oso Libre Winery, 08 Carnal
Oso Libre Winery, 08 Osezno
Bronze
Oso Libre Winery, 08 Nativo, Oso Libre
Oso Libre Winery, 08 Primoroso
Tasting Room First Year Anniversary
October 23, 2010
Saturday, October 23rd was the First Anniversary of our tasting room. This has been an amazing year and we can only thank our loyal customers for making it all such a wonderful experience! Take a look at our latest newsletter to catch up on current events at Oso libre.
Sustainability In Practice Certified (SIP)
August 9, 2010
We are pleased to announce that all of our Vines and Estate Wines at Oso Libre are now SIP (Sustainability in Practice) certified! This means that we, as a way of life, focus on habitat conservation, energy efficiency, pest management, water conservation, economic stability, and human resources.
Sustainable agriculture rests on the principle that we must meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability for future generations to meet their own needs. It addresses stewardship of both natural and human resources and in agriculture it means that decisions are made with the
whole farm system in mind as well as productivity in the long and short term.
The term sustainable agriculture means an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:
“satisfy human food and fiber needs; enhance environmental
quality and natural resource base upon which the agricultural
economy depends; make the most efficient use of
nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate,
where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls;
sustain the economic viability of farm operations; and enhance
the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.”
- 1990 Farm Bill
Learn all about the importance of the SIP program at The Central Coast Vineyard Team website.
2010 Bottling
July 29, 2010
On July 44th, we bottled 8 new wines which will be available in the late Summer. We are expanding our Zinfandel offerings and our Rhone style wines. Most exciting perhaps is the Adelaida Chardonnay from the Abernathy Vineyards which we have crafted to be balanced and fresh. The tasting notes and full descriptions will be viewable in the OUR WINES section of our website. Come by for a taste later this summer.
2009 Vino D'Oro - Chardonnay (Abernathy)
2009 Volado - Viognier (Pomar Junction)
2009 Rosalinda - Rose, Rhone Style Blend (Paso Robles)
2008 Ozesno - Zinfandel (Central Coast)
2008 Nativo - Zinfandel (Oso Libre)
2008 Carnal - GSM Rhone Style Blend (Paso Robles)
2008 Primoroso - Winemakers Blend (Central Coast)
2008 Azucar - Late Harvest Estate Blend (Oso Libre)
Angus Beef Program
July 23, 2010
Oso Libre grass fed Black Angus Beef (exclusively for wine club members). It's official we are now approved and able to sell our Angus beef! Individual cuts of beef will be for sale in the tasting room starting in July. Futures signup for our USDA certified beef products for release in December 2010 is easy. Simply email Chris or the winery and we will send a confirmation with prices and selections (Oso Libre website will soon have a detailed beef page). We have 60 acres available for our Angus which limits our annual beef herd to 30 head. This means we can only process 4 to 5 animals per year.
These stress free animals are home grown on pasture grasses that include a variety of protein rich forages. We then pasture finish the yearlings for 60 days on a ration of marbling producing grass, alfalfa and sweet molasses. The beef is then dry aged for at least 30 days. Our Angus cattle are not given any hormones or growth stimulating antibiotics. Each vacuum-sealed, individually wrapped steak is now tender, well marbled, lean and frozen at zero degrees Fahrenheit. Often a glass of red wine, New York steak, sharp knife, fork, napkin and plate is all the tools we need to fix the problem!
Recent Notable Awards
July 16, 2010
92 Points from The Wine Enthusiast Magazine for our 2007 Bendicion Mourvèdre- “This is one of the best Mourvèdres in recent memory. It has the silky texture of Pinot Noir, yet is full bodied in fruity tannins, and most importantly feels clean and vibrant throughout. Shows exciting flavors of cherries and raspberries, with a meaty note of grilled beef splashed with soy sauce. Lovely now with a great grilled steak.” - S.H. (6/1/2010) - 92
Gold from the Los Angeles International Wine Competition for our 2007 Querida Cabernet Sauvignon.
Gold from the Central Coast Wine Competition for our Por Vida Estate Blend.
Gold from the Long beach Grand Cru for our 2007 Querida Cabernet Sauvignon.
"Sunlight into Wine"
July 9, 2010
We try to do most of our winemaking in the vineyard by (among other things) understanding the importance of the relationship between our wine grape canopy and sunlight. Wine, simply put, is a product of sunlight. How we manage our canopy microclimate is one of the most important factors and influences on the value, yield and unique qualities of our estate wines here at Oso Libre. Our most referred to resource is the worldwide read handbook titled: Sunlight into Wine, written in 1992 by Dr. Richard Smart and Professor Mike Robinson.
We were honored and blessed to have a visit to our winery and vineyard from Dr. Richard Smart in June 2010. Attending was myself, our son Jeff, our consulting winemaker Michael Barreto and Hilary Graves a local winegrower, winery owner and viticulture expert. We thank Hilary for arranging the meeting as she studied under Dr. Smart and has given us great advice as well. Proper canopy management is a continuous challenge and learning process. We listened carefully to the good news he delivered as well as his constructive criticism. Our goal is that our vines thrive and our future estate wines continue to improve in balance and taste as well as represent the unique terroir and viticulture practices in our vineyards.
Solera Oso Libre
April 1, 2011
As many of you know our Hungarian barrel samples are available to our wine club members. Those of you who have been in our tasting room have seen these two dedicated barrels side by side. Our beautiful Italian spigots have finally arrived and the barrels are filled with our unique estate wine blends. To start we will take a collection of our in barrel, fermented estate red wines from different vintages and 12 different varietals. We combine them into our two barrels. This process is known as Solera in Spanish. Each day we top off with one of our current aging vintage wines. Over time the combined wines will be a combination of many years of different vintages and varietals. In the future we hope to use one of the barrels for our version of a variety of Sherry called Oloroso, which means "scented" in Spanish. This is a fortified sweet, deep, rich dessert wine made up of a collection of many different vintages. It undergoes oxidative aging making it darker and stronger over time. The object is to drink it before it can only be used on pancakes!
Bendición Mourvédre Scores 92 Points from The Wine Enthusiast
March 19, 2010
2007 Bendición Mourvédre Wins Judges Choice and Best in Class
January 17, 2010
The blind judging panel at the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition bestowed our 2007 Bendición Mourvédre the prestigious "Judges Choice and Best of Class" top award. This marks the second time in the last 12 months, our Mourvédre has won a Best of Class award at a major national wine competition. In April 2009 our Mourvédre won Gold, Best of Class at the Los Angeles International Wine Competition. We feel very honored to have received these awards. Other Oso Libre wins include Silver medal for 2008 Volado Viognier and Bronze for 2007 Quixotic Estate Cabernet Sauvignon.
Click here for the press release.