The Grapes

Thought I would fill ya'll in on where the grapes are coming from. My first barrel will be Cabernet Sauvignon from the heart of Napa Valley. The grapes are coming from the Kelham vineyards 3 miles south of St. Helena. They will be harvested in the coming weeks, probably around the 10th of October. They ship overnight at 40 degrees, arriving at the winery the next day. Then the fun begins!!

Salud, M

What's in a name?

So why 13th Floor Vineyards? To be completely honest the name doesn't have deep personal meaning, but the pieces fit together well and they make folks wonder and ask why?

For anyone familiar with the movie "23" you'll get this... 13 is reoccurring in my life. Born on the 13th, moved to Houston when I was 13, my full name has 26 letters (13x2), M is the 13th letter in the alphabet, getting married on the 13th, launched my business on the 13th (not planned btw), and my old license plate numbers totaled 13... that's about it. 13th floor, as most know, is rooted in superstition as being a non-existent floor or a floor with dubious or evil happenings. Hollywood does well portraying the evil piece. I chose it for the "eye-catching" part of my marketing plan - there is no evil in the bottle!

And lastly, one day in the not so distant future I will have actual vineyards from which I harvest my own grapes. Until then, my name represents all that is my brand, my juice, and my future endeavors.

Cheers, M

ps. 5/13/1980 when multiplied is equally divided by 13 - go figure :)

First POST!

Well here I am finally doing the blogger thing. I'm launching this blog to introduce the friends I have and the friends I have yet to meet to my wine brand, 13th Floor Vineyards. I launched the brand, with my finance's blessing, on July 13, 2009. I'm making the wine in Houston at a custom crush facility in the Heights area. It is a full service winery and I am involved in every process from grape crush to barrel aging to bottling. I'll leave it that for now and fill in more info on future posts.

Please continue to tune in for company updates and wine progress!
Cheers - Matt