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.

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!

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.

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.

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.