The whole wine world thinks we’ve burnt up or died from smoke inhalation...we appreciate your 3 million phone calls and emails, but it’s time to farm some grapes and make some wine!!! The Mandatory Evacuation ended last night ,so we can (legally) bring our crews back in to finish leafing and shoot positioning....we bottled July 8th before the evacuation...by the way, we never left, so we could defend the place....60,000gals/per day @ 500 gals/min is REAL attractive to the firemen.....did I say we have a pretty hot dog fire system for the entire 650 acre ranch???

The Basin Complex Fire is burning on the south and west side of Joullian/Cachagua Valley/Carmel Valley....got to about 2miles from Joullian as the crow flies....the 1999 Kirk Complex fire got to the top of the mountain you see in the “vineyard photo”....that one got our adrenaline going!!! The fire has burned about 130,000 acres (a square mile...a “section” for all you Mid-westerners...is 640 acres)...or 200 square miles. Lightning started the fires during our 9th Annual Zin-Q on June 21st...so our guests were treated to BBQ’d tri-tip, 2006 1st release Zinfandel, and a lightning storm that started a forest BBQ...all viewable from our winery picnic grounds!!! The fire is 60% contained, so it will burn until the end of July/early August inside the fire lines...and the crews, planes, choppers and ground engines will mop up “hot spots”...2000 firefighters, 45 engines, 14 choppers, 6 air tankers, 19 bulldozers, and $50 million are currently working on the blaze....unfortunately, 27 homes have been destroyed....despite the fire crews spectacular efforts...these crews even chain sawed and weed-eated around many people’s homes way before the fire arrived so the places would be defendable...so they’re gardeners as well as heroes...you can’t drive a quarter mile around these parts without seeing hand-written , heartfelt and well deserved “Thank-you Firefighters” signs.This is a “good/healthy” fire....burning underbrush, not mature trees, because the 1999 fire , the 1st since 1977, cleaned out a lot of overly tall brush, and unfortunately, a lot of mature trees....long intervals between fires are not good.....except for air quality.

So we’re breathing “1968 Riverside/L.A Basin” quality air every night and morning, there’s ash covering everything, the grape harvest will be slightly delayed due to reduced photosynthesis from ash and haze...but don’t expect any overtly smoky taste in your wine, folks....Joullian Family Reserve Sauvignon Blanc will not go from Bordeaux Blanc to “Fume” Blanc....by the time harvest rolls around, we will have sulfur sprayed (not dusted this year!!) 300 gals./acre with an air blast sprayer right in the fruit zone for mildew control....so the grapes will look and taste “supermarket clean.”....for you Wine Club members, your Cabernet Franc is always smokey, so don’t go blaming it on the fire!!

The entire Joullian staff thanks you for your calls, emails, and especially for offering opening up your homes to us during the evacuation. You’re the Best!!!

Ridge and D’Tim Watson

Joullian Vineyards, Ltd.