May 2014

May 2014

It’s May  –  we’re well past the beginning of spring and the vineyard is growing overnight, it seems.  Compare the pictures of a bare winter vine and the same vine now over two feet long, with a cluster of closed flowers starting to open, beginning the...
April 2014

April 2014

“The first day of spring is one thing, and the first spring day is another. The difference between them is sometimes as great as a month.” Henry Van Dyke, b. 1852 Welcome to April!  We’ve made it past our version of April Fool’s Day – bottling the 2013...
March 2014

March 2014

“This morning’s scene is good and fine, Long rain has not harmed the land.” Du Fu, Chinese poet, b. 712 A month ago we were warbling about the delights of sunny days during our rainy season.  Now it’s a different tune – our last three weeks have delivered almost...
February 2014

February 2014

“Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.” Mark Twain, b. 1835 Have you ever wondered what Napa would be like without rain in January? I can assure you that it was simply lovely – lunching on our sunny patio, watch-ing fruit trees pop into early bloom,...
January 2014

January 2014

“Eskimos had fifty-two names for snow because it was important to them: there ought to be as many for love.” -Margaret Atwood, b. 1939 January in Napa can certainly be wet and cloudy, but these first few days of 2014 have been beautiful, with warm sun and day temps in...
Autumn at Bell Wine Cellars

Autumn at Bell Wine Cellars

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” -Albert Camus, b. 1913 After seven months of near constant sun, the rain has finally arrived in Napa. And now that we’re well into November and tilting toward December, the winery is beginning to return to a...