Thursday, March 22, 2012

Afterglow of a Great Trip

Lee Stapleton hails from Miami and visits the Valley every so often to maintain her veteran status with Karl Lawrence. This trip, Ric spent the day chauffeuring Lee and David Riggs around to show them his favorite spots.

The first stop was at Hollywood and Vine, where they met a longtime friend of ours and partner at H & V, Doug Barr.


Here, David, Lee, and Doug pose with the winemaker at Hollywood and Vine, Celia Welch.

Next, the crew followed the path frequented by many Karl Lawrence aficionados, and journeyed to our favorite son-in-law's place of work, Staglin Family Vineyard.

On a rainy day, Chris Pratt crawled out of the caves to greet them at the entrance.

Chris gave 'em the rundown and some juice from the barrels.

Then they hunkered down in the kitchen, tasted some more wine, and talked with proprietor, Shannon Staglin.

The kitchen table chat continued at Crocker & Starr Winery where Lee and David met with host Mark and the co-proprietor and winemaker, Pam Starr.

The crew also visited Outpost Wines, but because Ric was so juiced by his company, he forgot to snap a photo. But never-the-less, Lee, who's an experienced Napa Valley traveler, proclaimed this trip to be "the best Napa day ever." A few days later, she sent Ric an email saying she was "still in the afterglow of a great trip."

So if you're sitting at home, trying to think of what do on a rainy day, head up to the Valley, where Ric can introduce you to his friends and their most excellent wine.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Another Excellent Party

This past Saturday, we were lucky enough to bring a couple bottles of Karl Lawrence to Lisa Drinkward's birthday extravaganza at the Native Sons' Hall. Nicholas worked harvest for Lisa and Les last fall up at Behrens Family Winery, and needless to say, we were well aware of their outstanding party throwing skills.

The legendary Wrist Rocket kicked out the jams and had the dance floor going all night:

And yes, believe your eyes. That's Les up there shredding on blues guitar. Here's a photo where Ric took a little more artistic freedom:

Possible album cover?

So to keep it short and sweet, we'd like to thank Les and Lisa for keeping the local St. Helena spirit alive and throwing a most excellent party. You guys rock.

Months after harvest, Nicholas somehow still stands in Les and Lisa's good graces. Oh, and Angie's too.

And, if you haven't done so already, check out Behrens Family Winery, here. You will not be disappointed.

Friday, March 9, 2012

The Wine Hath Shippeth!

Well, folks, it's that time of year again. Today, Mike "The Shipping King" Henry teamed up with Jefferson to get bottles out of our warehouse and moving east. Every southerner's order went out today (who ordered before yesterday via ground service) and we even got to many of you in the northeast.

All customers who's order has shipped should receive an email from UPS with tracking info. Those orders have all been updated on our website, as well.

The southwest ships Monday and we hope to get out to Illinois, too. And to celebrate the spirit of shipping, we'll repost our video from last year showing you how Mike Henry gets it done.


As always, if you have any questions, direct your emails to ric@karllawrence.com.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

2009 Vintage Release

Yesterday, we released the the 2009 vintage, our first "all-electronic" release. It was a bruising day with many trials and tribulations. However, we had a terrific response and we'd like to thank everybody who rushed to get their orders in and helped us put our new website and ordering system through the paces. Remember that shipping commences on Friday the 9th, with the southern hot spots going out first.

So thank you guys. We couldn't do any of this without you.