Matt Elke. My son Matt is now helping Elke Vineyards. He's stationed in Boonville tending the homestead and vineyards, as well as helping make the 2008 releases. Mere et fil, n'est pas.

Last of the Spring Shipping. I stop shipping wine beginning in June through August. It's just too hot in those UPS shippers and trucks. If you're in Napa or Anderson Valley, give me a call and we can arrange a will call pickup. If it's still May as you reading this, use this site's online ordering mechanism.

The Elke Wine Club is now shipping. Sign up now and get the new wines plus some small lot production bottlings that not even my husband gets, including Mary Elke Infusion Pinot Noir (50 cases made) and my Pinot Noir Table Wine, named aptly, Boonville Barter. (55 cases made).

Food & Wine January 2008. My two current Pinots were reviewed by Ray Isle in Food & Wine.com with high praise.

The Elke Cap. December 2007.
We finally have an Elke Cap. It's taken us about 10 years but good things take time. Our Elke cap is a dark blue cotton twill. It's very washable but let it drip dry to avoid shrinkage. I've had a similar one from the Bar TA Ranch for almost a year, and it's a work horse of a cap. Adjustable in back for the larger-brained of our species.

Harvest is over!!! Oct 7th 2007.
We picked from late August until the first of October, picking various blocks for all our various winery clients. The last was the Pommard 5 clone terraces for Breggo Vineyards and for the '07 Mary Elke Pinot Noir. We finished on Saturday and on the next Tuesday it rained, a hard rain. It was a long, gradual harvest, which helps as I was able to take a few days off a week and rest. The yield at first was minimal but as time went on it was better than expected. The long harvest and longish hang time should make the '07 vintage another spectacular one.

Pinot Days in San Francisco. June 2007.
Alder Yarrow gave all of our wine a +90 point rating and he gave he gave my Rose of Pinot Noir a 94-95!

Free Shipping on Orders over $300. June 2007.
I've always been disappointed when ordering wine online because of the shipping fees — it can add a lot of cost to a unique and direct distribution method that shouldn't have that extra cost. So, I got out the calculator and did some figurin'. What I came up with was a $300 threshold. Anything over that amount will have free shipping (UPS Ground). A case of either of my two new Pinot Noir qualifies, and I've made several of my combination packages just cross over the $300 mark so they too, qualify. I'm trying to make it easy to buy direct from me. So there. Online wine ordering just got easier.

Recycling. April 2007.
We've been using recycled wine shippers since the beginning of the year with great success. Those styrofoam shippers you get from Elke Vineyards have been recycled, and are being used a second time — ship them back to me, and I'll use them a third time.

New Rose of Pinot Noir. April 2007
I just released my new 2006 Rose of Pinot Noir, made from 100% of the same Anderson Valley fruit as all my Elke Pinot Noirs. This Rose is unlike any others you've tasted. Pair it with the Mary Elke Chardonnay for a delicious case of insurance against bland summer wines and overly oaked reds. Only 365 cases were made so it's not going to last past the 4th of July. Stock up for summer.

2005 Elke Blue Diamond Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley April 2007
The 2005 Elke Blue Diamond only had 550 cases. Most were snapped up by my distributors and I had to create special letters of limited allotments and have them all sign one. I saved 50 cases to sell direct and for the library and for the club members. I wouldn't mind so much if it was your typical swill, but this could be the best Blue Diamond ever, and master winemaker Tom Farella agrees. It's a special vintage and is going to be very rare, very soon.

Elke Vineyards Wins tasting on Wine Library TV. April 2007.
One of our favorite wine tasting-on-the-web venues, compared Elke 05 Blue Diamond Pinot Noir with an Oregonian Pinot, an Australian Pinot, and a French Burgandy. We won, and we were also the least expensive! Watch the tasting by clicking here.

Gold Medal for the 2005 Elke Vineyards Blue Diamond April 2007
The National Women's Wine Competition gave a Gold Medal to the 2005 Elke Blue Diamond Pinot Noir, Anderson Valley. More info about the NWWC lies here.

Wine Spectator video April 2007
We've been spotted in some of the videos on the Wine Spectator web site, including a nice shot during their video of San Francisco Ferry Plaza Wine Bar. We've been waiting for years for a review.. maybe they just have to photograph you first.

Food & Wine Magazine, March 2007 issue March 2007
Best American Pinot Noir, by Ray Isle
"When I set out to track down American pinot noirs that offer amazing value at every price, I had a very good reason: Pinot Noir has become extraordinarily popular. California Pinot Noir sales rose nearly 60 percent between 2004 and 2005, sales of Oregon Pinot rose more than 40 percent and, although 2006 statistics weren’t in when this issue went to press, anecdotal evidence suggests that demand still has not peaked." [sidebar list of 27 best American Pinot Noirs] "2005 Mary Elke Anderson Valley Mendocino County ($22) Elke Vineyards, a boutique producer that has vineyards in both the Napa and Anderson Valleys, makes more-affordable wines under its Mary Elke label. This one, with its satiny strawberry-cherry flavors, might qualify for Pinot Noir steal of the year."
Note: the 2005 Mary Elke Pinot Noir is sold out.

Find Mary Elke in 2007 January 2007
Mary Elke will be pouring at the Family Winemakers of California show in Pasadena on March 20th, and at the same show in San Francisco on August 19-20th. For more info click here. Also, she'll be all over the Anderson Valley at the Anderson Valley Pinot Noir festival on May 19 & 20th. For more info on this great wine event click here.