Yesterday we had a great day bottling our 2009 pinot noirs.  We managed to get all three bottlings done in just under 5 hours.  Next up – we get to start tasting in anticipation of an official release date.

P.S.  Anyone notice anything different about the labels this year?  Put a note in the comments.

In an upcoming post, I’ll be regaling you with the enthralling story of winery compliance and state and federal registration.  In the interim, we thought you’d all enjoy seeing this fabulous sign which is legally required to hang right outside our front door for the next 30-days in order to register our home office.

And for those of you who might be curious, the answer is yes – the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control has already come out to make sure it’s being properly displayed for all to see. 

Thankfully we have understanding neighbors….

For those of you who may think that winemaking is a glamorous gig, our winemaker Clay Mauritson proves otherwise in this great shot from the 2009 harvest.  You’ll be drinking that pile of de-stemmed fruit in just a few short months – it’s our 2009 Rockpile Zinfandel!

As a reminder:  With summer travel in full swing for many Bruliam Brigade members, now’s the best time to take your Bruliam t-shirts to fun and exotic places.  Just snap a picture and send it in – you could win $250 for the charity of your choice.  If you haven’t registered for a free t-shirt yet, just click here and fill out the Brigade form.

Many thanks to Brigade member Krisit R. who sports one of our few ultra-cool Bruliam tech-shirt in front of the Holstentor in Lubeck, Germany.

Wow!!

In yet another very closely contested Brigade poll, Alison at the Olympics edged out Candy and Kathy in Baja by a final tally of 168-105.

Since both of these entries were clearly big hits, we’ve decided to award them both a prize.

The first prize is $250 donated to the charity of Alison’s choice.  Second prize is $150 donated to the charity of Candy and Kathy’s choice.

Thanks to these fierce competitors and everyone who voted along. 

Our winner Alison– her $250 prize is going to Photocharity which benefits homeless youth in San Diego county (yes, that’s two first prize awards in a row for this organization!):

Our runners-up Candy and Kathy– their $150 prize is going to the Juvenile Diabestes Research Foundation:

Great job everyone!

It’s that time again – time to vote for your favorite Brigade picture!  We’ve got some great contenders this month!  As ususal, the winner will get $250 donated to the charity of their choice.

If you haven’t submitted your Bruliam Brigade picture yet, what are you waiting for?  And if you’ve already sent one in but lost the monthly contest, you need to scrape your ego back up off the floor and send us some new pictures.  We’ll be doing this every month for the foreseeable future, so there are lots of chances to win!

And for those of you who have signed up to receive our e-mails (or are reading this for the first time) and are wondering why you don’t have a Brigade shirt yet, you need to click here and fill out the form to register for the Brigade and receive a free t-shirt.

To vote all you need to do is: (1) click on the bullet next to the person’s name and (2) click the big VOTE button at the bottom of the poll. The poll will instantly update the tally and show you the most current results.  If the system works properly, you will only be able to vote once.  But, you can forward the link or this e-mail to as many people as you want to get them to vote for you.

The poll will only be open for voting until 8am on Thursday April 8th so get voting!

If you can’t see the poll or vote properly through the e-mail, please CLICK HERE and you can vote on the website.

Many, many thanks to Brigade member Alison G. who sported her Bruliam t-shirt all over the Vancouver winter games.  Check out her three great pictures below.

If you can’t see the pictures, please click here.

Many thanks to Brigade members Kathy and Candy who took this shot during a whale watching trip in Baja, Mexico.  They’ve decided that if they win the charity contest the $250 will go to the juvenile diabetes foundation.

Many thanks to Brigade member Sean R. who has been busy spreading the gospel  of Bruliam across Europe.  Here he is pictured with his viola teacher and member of the Ysaye Quartet, Miguel da Silva, holding the bottle.  Miguel is a French wine afficionado, but was apparently quite pleased with our wine.

As a reminder to our other Brigade members, we’re actively soliciting bottle pictures – please send in pictures of yourselves enjoying our wine for entry into our monthly charity contest.

Wow!!

In another very closely contested Brigade poll, Laurie in the cockpit edged out Paula on the Inca Trail by a final tally of 105-84.

Since both of these entries were clearly big hits, we’ve decided to award them both a prize.

The first prize is $250 donated to the charity of Laurie’s choice.  Second prize is $150 donated to the charity of Paula’s choice.

Thanks to both of these fierce competitors and everyone who voted along. 

Our winner Laurie – her $250 prize is going to Photocharity which benefits homeless youth in San Diego county:

Our runner-up Paula – her $150 prize is going to the Health Care Foundation of the Torrance Memorial Medical Center.

Great job ladies!  And if you can’t see the pictures, please click here.

We had a big thrill this weekend at Cucina Urbana when we got to see our wine on their list and on display in their wine shop.  Order up a bottle next time you’re in!

It’s that time again – time to vote for your favorite Brigade picture!  We’ve got some great contenders this month!  As ususal, the winner will get $250 donated to the charity of their choice.

If you haven’t submitted your Bruliam Brigade picture yet, what are you waiting for?  And if you’ve already sent one in but lost the monthly contest, you need to scrape your ego back up off the floor and send us some new pictures.  We’ll be doing this every month for the foreseeable future, so there are lots of chances to win!

And for those of you who have signed up to receive our e-mails (or are reading this for the first time) and are wondering why you don’t have a Brigade shirt yet, you need to click here and fill out the form to register for the Brigade and receive a free t-shirt.

To vote all you need to do is: (1) click on the bullet next to the person’s name and (2) click the big VOTE button at the bottom of the poll. The poll will instantly update the tally and show you the most current results.  If the system works properly, you will only be able to vote once.  But, you can forward the link or this e-mail to as many people as you want to get them to vote for you.

The poll will only be open for voting until 8am on Wednesday February 10th so get voting!

If you can’t see the poll or vote properly through the e-mail, please CLICK HERE and you can vote on the website.

Many thanks to Michael T. who sports his Bruliam t-shirt and his Bruliam bottle in the snow in New York.  Hopefully the wine held up to the cold…

Many thanks to the entire Reilly clan who posed with their Bruliam bottle and full glasses on Christmas Eve.  This is our very first bottle shot and we’re expecting many more from you out there!!!

Many thanks to Brigade member Xana H. who took her Bruliam shirt along on a recent Vegas jaunt!

Many thanks to Brigade member (and 747 pilot!) Laurie R. who took us around the world on one of her flights during the Thanksgiving holiday.  These pictures were taken in Dubai, right before take off to Leipzig, Germany.  We begged her to actually fly in the shirt, but she wisely decided that keeping her job was more important.

Our June poll winner, Paula S. is back at it again!  And, just as she promised when she won over the summer, Paula wore the Bruliam colors proudly on her recent hike on the Inca Trail.  The first picture is after she climbed the Ollantaytambo temple complex in the Sacred Valley of the Incas.  The second photo is after she climbed Dead Woman’s Pass on the Inca Trail.  And the third photo is in Argentina at the Devil’s Throat section of Iguazu Falls.

Paula also tells us that she’s published a book about her adventure that includes a number of pictures of her in her Bruliam shirt.  Best of all, the proceeds benefit her favorite charity, the Classic FM Music Makers.  You can check out the book here.

Way to go Paula!!

It’s that time again – time to vote for your favorite Brigade picture!  We’ve got some great contenders this month!  As ususal, the winner will get $250 donated to the charity of their choice.

If you haven’t submitted your Bruliam Brigade picture yet, what are you waiting for?  And if you’ve already sent one in but lost the monthly contest, you need to scrape your ego back up off the floor and send us some new pictures.  We’ll be doing this every month for the foreseeable future, so there are lots of chances to win!

And for those of you who have signed up to receive our e-mails (or are reading this for the first time) and are wondering why you don’t have a Brigade shirt yet, you need to click here and fill out the form to register for the Brigade and receive a free t-shirt.

To vote all you need to do is: (1) click on the bullet next to the person’s name and (2) click the big VOTE button at the bottom of the poll. The poll will instantly update the tally and show you the most current results.  If the system works properly, you will only be able to vote once.  But, you can forward the link or this e-mail to as many people as you want to get them to vote for you.

The poll will only be open for voting until 8am on Thursday December 10th so get voting!

If you can’t see the poll or vote properly through the e-mail, please CLICK HERE and you can vote on the website.

The Bruliam Brigade was out in force last weekend at London’s White Hart Lane to see the Premier League matchup between Tottenham and Sunderland.  Tottenham won 2-0.  Go Spurs!!  The Brigade also took in the Chelsea vs. Manchester United and Liverpool vs. Birmingham matches later in the weekend.  Unfortunately, after a day of beer, English breakfast, beer, Chinese food, beer, cigars, and then more beer, the Bruliam shirts seen above were in no shape to be worn for the subsequent games.

Many thanks to Brigade member Clark for this great shot taken in Dongguan, China.  Our son was very impressed with the cool van in the background.

Finally, Stockholm can be known for something other than just a weird syndrome.  Now its claim to fame will be for serving as a location for yet another fantastic Bruliam Brigade picture.  Many thanks to Brigade member Julia H. for this great shot from the banks of the Norrstrom.

As mentioned in a footnote of a previous post, Kerith did an awesome job last week at the Long Beach Marathon.  She finished in 3:42, qualifying her for the Boston Marathon.  And she did it all while properly represting Bruliam Wines.  Way to go – we’re all very proud of you!!

Wow!!

In our most hotly contested Brigade poll ever, Connor and Alexis in Hawaii have narrowly edged out Howard at BMW Welt by a final vote of 151 – 140.

Since both of these entries have garnered more votes than any of our previous polls, we’ve decided to award them both a prize.

As usual, the first prize will be $250 donated to the charity of Connor and Alexis’ choice.  Second prize will be $150 donated to the charity of Howard’s choice.

Thanks to both of these fierce competitors and everyone who voted along.  For all of you who registered for new t-shirts over the past week, we hope to have them out to you in the next 2-3 weeks.  Then it’ll be your turn to compete!!

Our winner:

Our runner-up:

If you can’t see the pictures, please click here.

It’s that time again – time to vote for your favorite Brigade picture!  We’ve got some great contenders this month!  As ususal, the winner will get $250 donated to the charity of their choice.

If you haven’t submitted your Bruliam Brigade picture yet, what are you waiting for?  And if you’ve already sent one in but lost the monthly contest, you need to scrape your ego back up off the floor and send us some new pictures.  We’ll be doing this every month for the foreseeable future, so there are lots of chances to win!

And for those of you who have signed up to receive our e-mails (or are reading this for the first time) and are wondering why you don’t have a Brigade shirt yet, you need to click here and fill out the form to register for the Brigade and receive a free t-shirt.

To vote all you need to do is: (1) click on the bullet next to the person’s name and (2) click the big VOTE button at the bottom of the poll. The poll will instantly update the tally and show you the most current results.  If the system works properly, you will only be able to vote once.  But, you can forward the link or this e-mail to as many people as you want to get them to vote for you.

The poll will only be open for voting until 8am on Tuesday October 6th so get voting!

If you can’t see the poll or vote properly through the e-mail, please CLICK HERE and you can vote on the website.

Many thanks to Brigade junior member Connor G. (with a little assistance from his personal sherpa Alexis G.) for this awesome picture taken atop the Haleakala Crater at Maui’s Haleakala National Park.