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by Robert Several |
It’s been a good year, says Nick Nardolillo of White Crane Winery, which on July 14 celebrated its first anniversary. “Our wine sales have been double what we expected. We’re delighted with that! We have great neighbors—they’ve been very helpful. We’ve made a lot of new friends. We’re really happy with our first year,” Nick reports. “One of the highlights of the year, our 2000 Cabernet Franc, was awarded a gold medal at the Orange County Fair, which is the largest competition in the world involving California wines. That was an exciting moment for us.” Another of the youthful winery’s fine wines, the 2000 Merlot Reserve, has also been a medal winner, capturing silver and bronze medals in competitions this year. White Crane’s wines include, in addition to the prize winners, Sparkling Wine, two Chardonnays, Semitage Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and two dessert wines, Zinfandel and Estate Chardonnay Port. Nick says he plans to add a Portuguese Port to the list this winter. He runs the winery with his fiance Carole and partner, Michael Cahill of Livermore. They produce their wines under two labels, Winery 21, for their affordable table wines, and White Crane Winery for their premium, limited production wines. Both names have significance. White Crane is the Livermore Valley Wine Country’s winery 21—the 21st winery to open. And Nick and Carole had an experience in their vineyard with a real white crane shortly after they acquired the property. Nick recalls, “We were enjoying a
moonlight walk in the vineyard when we looked Doing some research, they learned that the white crane is a symbol of long life. ! The property, located in the Crane Ridge area of the South Livermore Valley, was acquired by Cahill and Nardolillo two years ago. Formerly known as the Folkendt Estate, it features a vineyard planted in Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon, five acres each.
Operating hand in glove with the winery/vineyard is an intimate, upscale bed and breakfast inn, which opened a half year before the winery. Opening day was Valentine’s Day 2001. The eloquently appointed B&B rooms include private bath with Jacuzzi, private fireplace and balcony, as well as a telephone and satellite TV. “We offer a private, intimate experience. We provide a nice breakfast in the morning and an appetizer and wine in the afternoon,” says Nick. There’s also a wine club, 200 members A concert series was launched this summer, with concerts every other Sunday between July 7 and August 18. The concert-goers paid $10 per person or $35 per carload. |
Also new is a wedding arbor area. It can accommodate 225 people. Ten weddings have taken place there.
The winery held an all-day wine-stomping party on Sunday, September 8. They served the stompers a continental breakfast. Forty vines were harvested, with the grapes then put in half-ton bins to be stomped. Nick says, “We fed ‘em a little wine, added some Italian music, and invited people to climb into the bins and stomp the grapes. When the stomping was done, we put out a buffet lunch and had a party through the afternoon, with live music and dancing. “The stompers got to name their own wine that was made from the grapes they stomped. They can come back next year and drink it.” White Crane Winery is open Friday through Sunday from noon to 4:30. Wine tastings may also be scheduled by appointment. There’s no charge for wine tasting. More information on the winery, B&B and special events is available at wwwvineyardinn-craneridge.com. Text reprinted with permission of The Independent
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