As a family-owned winery, we are committed to sustainability throughout the operations at Scheid Vineyards. From our founding in 1972, we’ve held firm to the belief that this can only be achieved through following the three E’s of sustainability: Environmentally sound practices, social Equity and Economic viability. When the land is respected and the people who farm it and live in our community live well, true sustainable quality can be attained.
All 4,000 acres of our estate vineyards are officially certified by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. 100% of our wastewater is recycled and all our grape must is composted and spread as nutrition in the vineyards. We use 100% drip irrigation and low impact farming methods. We even have 250+ owl boxes to control rodent populations naturally. Our commitment to environmental stewardship and equitable treatment of our employees is woven into the fabric of Scheid Vineyards. We are dedicated to adhering to sustainable farming practices every day and investing in our workforce through real, meaningful programs.
Installing a new wind turbine is yet another facet of our desire to be good stewards of the environment. In July, we erected a huge wind turbine on our estate property in Greenfield. The windmill’s blades reach 396 feet into the sky and will generate 100% of the power needed to run the winery and bottling operations—185 megawatts annually. It’s the perfect power source for the inexhaustible winds of the Salinas Valley and a new reason to feel great about pouring yourself a second glass of your favorite Scheid wine!
Aug 1, 2017 at 4:12 PMAfter you've enjoyed the wine, try this easy DIY to repurpose those beautiful wooden engraved wine boxes!
Materials
Wooden wine box
Plastic liner or trash bag
Coco liner (optional)
Activated charcoal
Cactus or succulent soil
Variety of succulents
Decorative rocks or pebbles
Instructions
1. Line box with plastic to protect it from moisture damage.
2. Add coco liner to prevent water from pooling at the bottom of the box.
3. Add a layer of activated charcoal for drainage and filtration.
4. Fill with soil. Cactus or succulent soil is best but any soil will do!
5. Trim excess plastic and add a variety of different succulents.
6. Add layer of decorative rocks or pebbles and admire your work!
Love this DIY project? Share your photos with us on Facebook and Instagram!
Jun 20, 2017 at 3:25 PM
To celebrate the recent release of our 2015 Late Harvest Riesling, we are excited to share a unique cocktail idea perfect for summer!
It is well known to many of our club members that Tasting Room Manager Scott Tidd is a gifted home chef and grill master. He regularly regales both guests and coworkers with his tales of family dinner menus and holiday meal productions. Our office staff anticipates Monday mornings for the opportunity to hear what weekend-warrior feasts he whipped up. Stories of his middle school-aged sons amuse us with their sophisticated palates for delicacies such as raw oysters which they choose as their special treat for good grades and little league championships—a far cry from pepperoni pizza! We finally realized that his recipes and food pairing ideas are just too good to keep to ourselves and we have launched a new series in which to showcase them called Tidd-bit Tuesday. We will have demonstrations and samples in the tasting rooms on select dates to help you break up your work week and we will be featuring the recipes in our newsletters and here in our blog. The first Tidd-bit is this heavenly cocktail, the inspiration for which, Scott describes below:
"I created this drink a few years back to entertain my wife and her friends. We have a swimming pool and every summer we do a lot of entertaining with friends and family. Instead of making stronger drinks like a Margarita in the middle of the day, I wanted to find something lighter for the adults to enjoy. For the first timers to our house it is always a fun conversation piece as well. Finally, one day, one of my wife’s friends asked what the drink was called. My wife responded with, 'it’s his get-out-of-jail-free card—when he makes it he can disappear with his friends!'"
INGREDIENTS
1oz Ice Cube Tray
Fresh Raspberries
Scheid Vineyards Late Harvest Riesling
Scheid Vineyards ‘Isabelle’ Sparkling Wine
INSTRUCTONS
1. Pour Late Harvest Riesling into ice cube tray 2/3rds of the way to leave room for the raspberries. Place in freezer for 30 minutes, pull from freezer and add 1 raspberry per cube. Place back in freezer until frozen. Make 1-2 days ahead of time for best results.
2. In a glass of your choice (I would recommend a Champagne flute) add one cube of Late Harvest Riesling to 2 or 3 ounces of Scheid Vineyards ‘Isabelle’ Sparkling.
3. Enjoy! As you drink this great summertime cocktail it will start off dry and as the ice cube melts you will get subtle hints of sweet apple and pear. As you finish the sparkling, you will be left with a sweet slushy and a fresh bright raspberry to cleanse your palate.
MORE INFO ON 2015 LATE HARVEST RIESLING AVAILABLE HERE
May 3, 2017 at 3:02 PM
Servings: 2
INGREDIENTS
Two 8-ounce filet mignon steaks
½ pound fingerling potatoes, rinsed and trimmed
1 small bunch asparagus
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ cup chicken stock
Olive oil
Salt
Pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 425° F. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil, spread rinsed and trimmed fingerling potatoes in one layer; drizzle with olive oil then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 30 - 45 minutes, until potatoes are golden brown. While potatoes are roasting, rinse and trim tough ends of asparagus; set aside. Season steaks on all sides with salt and pepper to taste. Heat a cast iron skillet medium high heat until pan is very hot, then add two tablespoons olive oil. Add steaks to pan and allow to cook undisturbed for 4 minutes (set timer). Turn and cook another 4 minutes for medium-rare (internal temperature of 135° F), 6 minutes for medium (140° F) or 9 minutes for medium-well (150° F). Remove steaks from pan and cover with foil. While steaks are resting, add one tablespoon butter and ¼ cup chicken stock to steak pan, keeping flame on medium high. Add asparagus, season with salt and pepper to taste and cook for 4 – 7 minutes, depending upon diameter of asparagus, until bright green and tender. Serve potatoes, asparagus and steak immediately.
Feb 1, 2017 at 8:58 AM
We hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season with family and friends. On behalf of all of us at Scheid Vineyards, I would like to extend warm wishes for a very happy New Year! I would also like to take this opportunity to thank you again for your membership and support and share a very special new offering with you. Those of you who celebrated with us last month at our annual Holiday Party in the Hangar had the first opportunity to join our new Vin’s Library Club. This exclusive club is now available by invitation only to our Estate and Reserve Club Members.
Al Scheid first planted vineyards in Monterey County in early 1972 and then started making Scheid Vineyards wine with the 1989 vintage. Throughout 45 years of hard work, with more than a few challenges along the way, we’ve always taken time to savor the proverbial fruits of our labor. We never forget how blessed we are to do the work we do—we get to make an amazing product and share it with people like you!
It’s that sharing part that got us thinking about opening up the Scheid cellar and ultimately inspired us to create our new Library Club. You see, several times a year our winemaking team sits down and tastes through older vintages of our wines. It’s both an intriguing process of tasting how a wine changes as it ages and also seeing the viticultural and winemaking decisions from previous years play out in the glass. Frankly, it’s really fun too!
Properly cellaring wine takes patience, but the good news is that we started doing this more than 20 years ago and through the years have determined which wines are truly age-worthy. While we don’t have a lot of wine, we do have enough for about 100 guests to join us in tasting through the decades with a quarterly shipment of three bottles each. We also have some special Library Club events and tastings planned for the upcoming year featuring vertical flights and winemaker insights. Please contact us directly to be added to this exclusive list. We hope you’ll enjoy this journey as much as we have!
Warmly,
Michelle McDaid
Wine Club Manager
For more information, or to reserve your spot in our Library Club, please contact Michelle McDaid by email at michelle@scheidvineyards.com or by phone at (831) 455-9990.
Jan 18, 2017 at 9:41 AM
An elegant cheese board makes for the perfect appetizer – with a quick visit to your local cheese shop or specialty cheese section and a few minutes to assemble, you have an appetizer that is a definite crowd-pleaser. Pair different styles of cheeses with different wines to accommodate red and white wine drinkers and include a variety of dried and fresh fruits to round out the selection.
The perfect cheese board includes a wide variety of cheeses, fruits both fresh and dried, cured meats, and nuts. Start by choosing one cheese from each of the following categories:
Young and Fresh – this includes fresh cheeses like mozzarella and riccotta, but goat cheese is the most wine-friendly of this category. Try both spreadable goat cheese and the harder and more pungent aged crottin style. Pair young and fresh cheeses with rosés, sparkling wines, dry white wines, and low-tannin reds like Pinot Noir.
Soft, Medium-Aged – this includes cheeses that are still soft but are aged for a few months like Brie and Camembert. These cheeses are some of the most versatile on a cheese plate, pairing well with both white and red wines and with a variety of fruits as well. Not too soft and not too strong, these cheeses still have enough flavor to stand up to a wide range of wines.
Semi-Hard, Medium-Aged – Emmental, Gruyere, Jarlsburg, Monterey Jack and young Cheddar make up this category. Medium-bodied whites like Pinot Blanc, Viognier, and white Rhone Blends and fruit-forward, lighter-bodied reds like Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Zinfandel pair well with these cheeses.
Hard, Aged – Aged Cheddar, Gouda, Parmesan, Asiago. Pair these cheeses with bold reds and full-bodied white wines. The aging process concentrates the flavors of the cheese meaning they can hold their own against bold red wines. Look for cheeses aged longer than six months.
Nov 18, 2016 at 3:54 PM
INGREDIENTS
5 tbsp apricot preserves
1/2 cup dried mission figs, chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup shelled pistachios
1/3 cup walnut hearts, roughly chopped
3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 round of French brie
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Thoroughly mix the apricot preserves, chopped figs, cranberries, pistachios, and chopped walnuts in a small bowl until well coated. Place the round of brie in a small cast iron skillet or oven-safe dish and top the brie with the apricot mixture. Bake at 400F for ten minutes or until brie is warm and softened. Once the brie is softened, turn the oven to broil and broil the brie for 30 seconds or until the nuts begin to brown (be careful not to burn the top). Remove from the oven and decorate with fresh rosemary sprigs. Serve immediately with sliced baguette or crostini.
Oct 20, 2016 at 9:05 AM
2 tbsp flour
1 cup red wine
1 lb butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 celery stalks, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
4 cups beef broth
2 tbsp coarsely chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp olive oil
1 coarsely chopped yellow onion
2 cloves finely chopped garlic
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
2 lbs beef chuck, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven, add onions, garlic, and thyme, then sauté over medium heat until onions are tender. Place salt, pepper, and flour in paper bag, shake to combine then place beef cubes in bag and shake to coat; add to pan. Brown the beef on all sides over medium-high heat then add red wine, butternut squash, celery, sundried tomatoes, and beef broth. Bring stew to a boil, then cover and reduce to low; simmer for 90 minutes. Adjust seasonings, place stew in bowls, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve immediately with a simple green salad, crusty French bread and Scheid Vineyards GSM.
Oct 1, 2016 at 1:37 PM
Pinot Noir: a mysterious, beautiful and elegant wine. An ancient varietal, Pinot Noir is estimated to be only one or two generations removed from wild Vitis sylvestris vines and Pinot Noir grapes have been vinified (turned into wine) since the 1st Century AD. The name "Pinot Noir" - black pine - refers to the pine-cone-like shape of the grape clusters and the color of the grapes.
Pinot Noir is one of the seven "Noble Grape" varieties, so named for their popularity and world-wide acclaim: Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, and Pinot Noir. There are approximately 40,000 acres of Pinot Noir in California, 9,000 of which are in Monterey County.
Monterey County's unique climate, with coastal fogs and moderate temperatures that extend the growing season, are particularly suited to Pinot Noir's growing cycle. Our extended growing season allow Pinot Noir to mature slowly, developing complex flavors without ripening too quickly.
What is a clone? A clone is a specific genetic variation of a type of varieties of grape. Pinot Noir mutates easily, and there are over 1,000 different clones of Pinot Noir, the most of any varietal. A typical bottle of wine labeled "Pinot Noir" will actually be a blend of a number of different clones.
At Scheid Vineyards, we grow 17 different clones of Pinot Noir and have selected four to bottle and release as their own wines: Pommard, 667, 777, and 115 (Insider's Scoop: we will be releasing a new vintage of the 115 and 777 spring of next year). Bottling the clones seperately gives us the unique opportunity to taste the individual characteristics of each clone. Let's take a closer look:
The Pommard Clone was brought to the U.S. in the 1950's from Château de Pommard in the Burgundy region of France and is known for its earthy, fruit forward characteristics, as well as structure and density. Known as a great “stand-alone” clone, it can display a meaty, gamey character with dark fruit.
A dramatic and vibrant wine, our Scheid Vineyards Clone POM has aromas of black cherry, raspberry, cola and vanilla mingled with a hint of clove. It is a classic Pinot Noir, with soft tannins and round, rich, red fruit on the palate.
In the 1980's Dr. Raymond Bernard from the University of Dijon, conceived the idea of “clonal selection” or taking buds from vines showing no evidence of viral disease and possessing desirable characteristics. These clones, named the "Dijon Clones" after the return address on their shipping container, were imported from Morey St. Denis to the University of Oregon and quickly grew in popularity in the United States. Some of the most popular clones of Pinot Noir, including 115, 667, and 777 are Dijon clones.
Clone 667 tends to be structured and works as a great backbone in a blend. High-toned and bright with quality aromas of dark cherry, raspberry and spice and soft tannins.
An elegant wine, our Scheid Vineyards Reserve Clone 667 is silky in texture and complex in flavor, with black cherry and raspberry fusing perfectly with an exotic undertone of licorice and black spice.
Clone 777 (pictured above) is known for being dark, rich, and structured with an intense color. Earthy, dense, and complex. Clone 115 is one of the most widely planted clone of Pinot Noir. Round, rich style. Noted for great balance and aromatics and one of the most common to be bottled as a single-clone wine. We're looking forward to releasing our 2013 Reserve Clone Series 777 and 115 next year.
The Santa Lucia Highlands are a very special part of the Monterey County growing region. Designated as an AVA (American Viticulture Area) in 1991, the ancient, glacial alluvial soils pair with the morning fog and afternoon winds to create a true Region I climate, perfect for the Burgundian Pinot Noir grape. The loose, nutrient-depleted foundation makes vines struggle to produce wonderfully complex fruit flavors with vibrant acidity. Marine influenced mornings and afternoon breezes coming off Monterey Bay are the foundation for Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot.
Our Reserve SLH Pinot Noir comes from grapes at Doctor’s Vineyard, planted on the Southeast facing terraces of the Santa Lucia mountain range, overlooking the Salinas River Valley. Intense and complex, this Pinot Noir is rich with black fruits, cherry and anise with a hint of cola. Layers of flavor subtly unfold with a silky, elegant texture and a lingering dark fruit finish.
Aug 18, 2016 at 12:02 PM
Ingredients
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
3½-pound pork shoulder roast (aka Boston butt)
½ cup low sodium chicken or beef stock
½ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup molasses
2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¾ cup peach preserves
2 cups vertically sliced yellow onion
5 garlic cloves, minced
½ cup Scheid Vineyards 50/50
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Preparation
Combine paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, and black pepper in small bowl; rub evenly over pork shoulder. Heat large cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan and brown pork shoulder on all sides, approximately 3 minutes on each side then set pork aside in slow cooker while preparing sauce.
Add stock, balsamic vinegar, molasses, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes to the cast iron pan; bring to a boil. Gently loosen browned bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and add peach preserves. Whisk together until combined and pour over the pork in slow cooker. Add onion and garlic then cook on low for 5-6 hours or until pork is tender and shreds easily with a fork. Remove pork from the slow cooker and allow to sit 5 minutes. Separate the onions from the sauce with slotted spoon and set aside.
Place a gallon-size, zip-top plastic bag inside a large measuring cup or bowl. Carefully pour the remaining liquid into the zip-top bag and let sit for 10 – 15 minutes, until fat rises to the top. Carefully cut off the bottom corner of the bag and allow the liquid to drain back into the pan but stopping before the top layer of fat. Add 50/50 to sauce and bring to a boil for 10 minutes or until the mixture is reduced to half its original volume. Place cornstarch, salt and 1 tablespoon water in small bowl and thoroughly whisk to form a smooth paste. Add cornstarch-salt mixture to the pan with the rest of the sauce and cook, stirring constantly until sauce begins to thicken, 3 – 4 minutes. Shred pork with two forks and place in a large mixing bowl; add sauce and toss to combine.
To make sandwiches, layer pork/sauce mixture with reserved onions or coleslaw if desired. Pair with Scheid Vineyards 2013 Estate 50/50 for a perfect summer BBQ dinner!
If you loved this recipe, we'd love to see your photos! Find us on Facebook or Instagram and show us your culinary prowess.
Aug 11, 2016 at 10:09 AM
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