Dear Friends, Bonair Launches new Website Watch out Al Gore, Bonair Winery is merging fast from an onramp to the information superhighway! This is not rour usual "handcrafted, premium blah, blah, blah" website. We intend to offer you up to date information about the wines, visiting the winery, recipes, boat drinks, and events. We even have an instant photo album sthat shows you what is happening right now at the winery and in the vineyard. If you forget how to get here, just call up our map and print it (in full-color if you have a color printer). We also offer written directions to go along with the map. These directions keep you out of the 20 mph school zones. For you Jimmy Buffet fans, we offer our first boat drink recipe -- the not quite famous BFD Margarita. It is so good, you won't be able to tell it from the real thing. There are also some snapshots from the real Margaritaville in Key West, Florida. You can also use the website to e-mail elwino@aol.com. Yes, that is Gail who has been terrorizing AOL. So how do we do it, you ask? (You did want to know, didn't you?) Well we got this new computer with AOL preloaded, so I decided to give it a try. Then I found out that AOL wil allow business web pages to be posted in the members section for no additional charge. Then my friend, Bill, over in Redmond said that since I had Office 95 on my computer, he would let me download some free software that would generate HTML. (That's web talk for what makes the stuff you see on the network.) Hey, it was all free. All I had to was figure out how to make it work. After a few tries I actually saw my own pictures on the web. It is all home-grown and down to earth, just like our newsletter. We hope you find it useful and fun to visit. Visit once, visit often just like the real winery. Now if I can only get it registered on some fo those pesky search engines so people can find it in cyberspace. Spring Barrel Tasting Weekend This year, Spring Barrel Tasting Weekend falls on April 25, 26 and 27, 10:00 to 5:00 daily. As usual, there is no charge for this extravaganza. Bring your own glass or buy a souvenir BTW glass. We will be sampling 1995 Yakima Valley Merlot from the barrel and, if the muses are willing, our newest mead from the fermenting tank! Johhny's Soutern Barbeque will be back by popular demand. Plan on lunch at Boanir. Pre Barrel Tasting Weekend Yes, we will have pre-barrel tasting weekend (the fun of barrel tasting without the crowds) for our valued customers -- Saturday and Sunday, April 19 and 20. We plan to have our newly released 1994 Chateau Puryear Vineyard Estate Cabernet Sauvignon and our 1994 Yakima Valley Merlot available for tasting, as well as the barrel samples. New Releases from Bonair Winery 1994 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon I always get frustrated when I have to describe wines with words. First I have to open a new bottle and sample the wine. Then I enjoy it so much I can't write. Those of you who are familiar with our Chateau Puryear Estate Cabernet Sauvignons know them as being soft, supple, not overly tannic, with nice hints of vanilla and oak. This one is no different, just another child in the family. Production is limited by the size of our Cabernet vineyard -- less than half an acre. There are only 45 cases in this lot. I get 2 cases, the library gets 3 cases, so that leaves 40 for sale. $24.00. 1994 Yakima Valley Merlot Notice a big variation in Merlot prices from small Washington wineries to large Washington wineries. How can Chateau Gigante sell there Merlot for less? Easy, they mix in 25% merlot (or what someone called "merlot") from some third world country, usually Chile, ARgentina, Hungary, or Bulgaria. This wine costs about 7 cents per liter -- about 5 cents per bottle. Well, if the wine in every fourth bottle costs a nickel, the other 3 bottles made with Washington State grapes can be sold a lot cheaper. Typically, Merlot has been costing small wineries about $1800 per ton. This works out to about $2.40 per bottle for just the juice. Since small wineries cannot import from Bugurglobia (it comes in 14,000 gallon containers so you need to have 42,000 gallons on hand for blending), they have to use 100% WAshington State wine. When you spend $15 for Chateau Gigante, remember, it is that price because every fourth bottle of it is foreign, i.e. cheap! Okay, so we want $24.00 for our Yakima Valley Merlot. (We still have a little 1993 Columbia Valey Merlot for $15.00 and it is all American!) The Yakima Valley is the best growing region in that big-tristate region called the Columbia Valley. We only produced 60 cases of this Merlot. It has an intense black cherry aroma, snotth tannins, and great color. 1994 is the year everyone is raving about. Most wineries are about out of the 1994 reds. We are just starting to release ours. Get them whil;e they last! The Gallery at Bonair -- paintings by Bill Brennen Bill Brennen was born and raised in Yakima and earned a degree in Fine arts from Central Washington State College. Bill's first show as a professional artist was in 1976. Since then he has entered numerous juried art shows and won many awards. He has been featured by several galleries. Sometimes, Bill includes a barn or a barn with other structures in his landscapes. His purpose is not for their practical or historical importance, but to establish the esthetic relationship between man's and Nature's creations. The show runs through April. ......and now a word from Bonnie Bonair Yahoo from the Family Department! Tash and Ben both finish up law school this month and head back to Alaska. Joe just got back from summiting Mt. Aconcagagua in the Andes (highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere) and is now back in Alaska climbing his favorite Mt. McKinley. Gail and I have finally finished our carnage in the vineyard- pruning is done! Our Koi pond is coming back to life this spring. Come feed Goldie & Han, Mis Piggy - and have Carpy Diem suck on your fingers. Recycling Corner Remember we recycle wine bottles (even the off brands some of you drink). Since they have to be palletized and shipped, we request them in a partitioned wine case. We can only accpet standard sizes and shape with cork finish. Send your screw tops back to Califrnia. We also recycle shipping boxes and give you $1.00 to $3.00 credit toward your wine purchase. We need inserts (styrofoam or cardboard) and the outer box they were shipped in.