[newsletter rcvd 20-Nov-1999] ---------------------- Harvest, 1999 Holiday Greetings, A record harvest at Portteus Vineyards ended with the picking of the Cabernet Franc and Zinfandel on November 2nd. This was a perfect year for growing wine grapes. Large crop, small berries and a long, extended ripening period with moderate heat. Should make some awesome wines to tell you about next year! After spending the past 18 years planting and building Portteus Vineyards and Winery I realized that there was something missing in my life. A DAY OFF!!! In order to remedy that oversight I was able to hire some talented help. I would like to introduce my two assistants to you. First, Paul Vandenberg, long term friend and oenologist has worked behind the scenes at many wineries in Washington. Paul will spend his time working on improving the wine making here. (I fired myself). Second, Paul Montmeny a young fella, will fill in behind the counter and help with outside sales and marketing. I will try to take Sundays and Mondays off so if you want to avoid me now you know when to visit! With little left from 1998 bottling most of the wine now available was bottled this fall. We bottled over 4300 cases in August and September even as the pickers were in the field. The following is a brief introduction to the new releases, Prices are listed by the bottle $ FULL RETAIL VS. $ CASE DISCOUNT as you may order any mix of twelve bottles to get the case price. 1998 Rattlesnake Ridge Red; $9.99 / $9.99 (Great with pasta and Spam!) One of our 3 lots of Cab was lighter and fruitier than normal so we used it to make this mild and fruity version of what was once known as "Spaghetti Red". 1998 Cabernet (70%) Merlot (30%); $14 / $11; Smooth and silky with a Huckleberry twang to it. Candy in a bottle as one taster put it! (It's not sweet though) Lot's of vanilla and jammy fruit flavors. 1998 Zinfandel; $18 / $14; A little lighter than past vintages but great black pepper spice and raspberry fruit flavor keep this rare Washington grown varietal a top seller. Take advantage of this $3 / bottle price reduction. 1998 Syrah; $22 / $17; Our third vintage of the new "HOT" varietal. Big and rich like a Cabernet without the tannins, with Black Currant and Huckleberry flavors. Lay this down for two years and you will be the envy of your neighborhood. 1998 Cabernet Franc; $28 / $23; Big price for a little known variety but don't be fooled, this wine is worth it. Rich and elegant like a Ruby Port without the sugar and high alcohol. Half of the 150 cases sold in the first month of release! 1997 Merlot; $20 / $15; It is always the top seller when we total up our sales at the end of the month. Big structure and great plummy flavors are impossible to resist. 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon; $22 / $17; This is the fourteenth vintage of Cabernet from our vines planted in 1982. 23 months in American oak ( 30 % new barrels). Big fruit, soft tannins, typical Portteus grown cabernet. 1997 Port; $35 - 500ml; Cabernet based, rich chocolate and black fruit flavors, smooth as silk. One taste will win you over! PRE RELEASE SALE Our annual pre-release sale of our two "reserve" wines. Only available at the winery!!. These wines are in need of one or two years in the bottle so, in exchange for taking them now we are selling them at a discount. We expect to retail these wines in the $30 to $35 range when released next year, that's $360 to $420 per case. The sale price is $300, full or a mix of the two . FREE UPS SHIPPING !!! ( Port and Reserve wines, Full cases only) IF YOU PAY BY CHECK 1998 "RESERVE " MERLOT; The fruitiest Merlot I have ever tasted, flavors and complexity enhanced by aging in all new French and Hungarian oak barrels. In an effort aimed at reducing the overall number of different wines we bottle this will be the last of the Reserve Merlot. We will be producing only one style of Merlot with a little less new oak than the reserve but more than the regular bottling. 1997 "RESERVE" SAUVIGNON; I am excited about this one! Even my wife says it's as good as the 1988, my all time favorite. It's huge! Great fruit, blackberry, raspberry and black currant. We could write a page about this wine but we need to rush to the printer and get back to press some of the 1999 Cab this afternoon, sorry! DON'T FORGET THANKSGIVING IN THE WINE COUNTRY, NOV. 26, 27 AND 28. [order form omitted]