Claudio Ponte

Wow, so our bulldozer operator called his friends and they showed up with their own machines. They said three weeks for grading but looks like they’ll be done in 10 days. On Wednesday they had already dug out the basement and half the pond and have the pad almost ready.

Looking at the basement, if I squint really hard, I can already see the bar, sofas and banquettes. Hard to believe in less than a year we’ll be celebrating with a nice Cognac.

It was nice to note that the ground floor rooms are elevated just enough to see over the vines. The views are spectacular! I was a bit worried about this so we decided to use the dirt from the basement to raise the hotel a foot or so. It makes a big difference.

The South half of the parking lot is gone and our winemaker and loyal crew will plant a vineyard there, between the tasting room and the hotel. We appreciate your patience with the reduced parking while we finish the new lot.

I just receive the latest landscape design, and I think it’s breathtaking. Unbelievably, the county folks want to see our maintenance schedule as a condition of approval. Those of you who know the winery know how particular we are with our gardens. I’ll post a scan of it soon.

Keep checking for more photos and updates