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Winter 2009 The Holidays, a magical time at L’Ecole No 41 Walla Walla, WA – Once Harvest is complete and all the wine is in barrel, we turn our attention to preparing for our open houses in November and December. We enjoyed welcoming all our friends who visited Fall Release Weekend. This weekend, scheduled the first full weekend in November, is gaining in popularity and is a wonderful time to visit the winery. For those who embrace tradition, Dec. 4-6 celebrates the 14th Annual Holiday Barrel Tasting Weekend. We have proudly participated each year and know some of you will be visiting this year for the fourteenth time! Thank you The entire team at L’Ecole would like to thank you for your great support of our wines during this past year. Whether you purchased wine from the winery, your favorite restaurant or bottle shop (or pulled a special bottle from your cellar), it’s a compliment to know you chose L’Ecole! National Wine Press Recognition 
Recognition of our wines this fall from the national wine press has been very impressive and
inspiring. We’re pleased to share the most recent press.
Wine & Spirits named L’Ecole No 41 Winery of the Year in its 2010 Annual Buying Guide. This title is given to only 100 wineries in the world. L’Ecole has received this honor eight consecutive times, placing us in their Wine & Sprits Hall of Fame. This recognition of our dedication over the years to quality winemaking and intense viticulture commitments with our Walla Walla Valley vineyards is extremely rewarding. 93 ~ 2006 Estate Perigee • Seven Hills Vineyard • Walla Walla Valley
Walla Walla Valley HOLIDAY BARREL TASTING December 4 – 6 • 10am – 5pm The Schoolhouse shimmers in frosty lights and festive greens as we invite you to enjoy our December wine releases paired with exquisite cheeses along with our celebrated salmon mousse from Raphael’s Restaurant of Pendleton, OR. Barrel taste in the cellar and preview the 2008 vintage of our Estate Cabernet Franc – Seven Hills Vineyard. Wine Club members are encouraged to visit Jaime at the Wine Club Concierge Table for a special holiday taste! In the spirit of giving, make a donation to benefit local school reading programs. The winery will match your generous donation and we’ll send you home with a L’Ecole No 41 bookmark! 2009 Harvest
Fast and furious could easily become the mantra for our 2009 crush. An earlier than normal freeze on October 10th in eastern Washington has generated inquires about the impact on quality for the 2009 vintage. Fortunately, we had finished our final Cabernet Sauvignon harvest that day so rest assured; it is looking very nice for L’Ecole. At times I was not so sure. Indeed, it was a roller coaster ride in some respects, ending in the most compressed harvest we have experienced. A cooler than normal spring delayed bud break until early May, followed by a late bloom in June. A hot, heat-stressed summer caught us up in heat units but created some challenges in irrigation management. Let’s just say we had to be on our toes! We were into the second week of September before our first fruit was in the door. A sunny, warm “Indian summer” September accelerated ripening bringing on a tsunami of fruit. We scrambled but successfully managed it, thanks to plenty of fermenters and a harvest crew with years of experience. The cooler start led to higher than normal acidity — a good thing. At this stage we are seeing great color extraction and flavor in the reds and pretty whites with plenty of acidity and nice mineral tones. More on the freeze… Temperatures dipped to the low to mid 20s on the night of October 10th. This was low enough to “toast” the canopy and put an end to photosynthesis. Fortunately, most wineries experienced the accelerated pace we experienced and were in the final weeks of harvest. In most vineyards it did not get cold enough to hard freeze the fruit, retaining the healthy structural integrity of the berries and clusters. Wineries dealing with post-freeze harvest had to work to either hand-pick to avoid toasted leaves or do leaf removal prior to machine harvest. The weather was somewhat mild after the freeze, allowing wineries to finish their harvest over the next week to ten days.
New Wine Releases 
These special small production wines are only available for purchase at the winery or at lecole.com. 2008 Semillon • Fries Vineyard
Wahluke Slope
Holiday Gift Giving Lovers of wine on your shopping list will be thrilled to receive a bottle of award winning L’Ecole No 41! We are here to help — shop at lecole.com or contact Jaime or Julie at the winery. 
Gift Packs Sample Gift Packs: Walla Walla Valley Red Perspective
Retail $108 Wine Club Price $97.20 White Wine Collection
Retail $59 Wine Club Price $51.30 Many more Gift Packs available at lecole.com
Shop away and save on shipping!!! Corporate Gifting A gift of wine is an elegant way to say thank you to your best customers! L’Ecole makes it simple and affordable to delight those on your list. Jaime is available to assist you in managing your business gift list and shipping to a variety of locations. Large Format and Etched Bottles Party coming up? Make it more interesting and be the one to bring the BIG bottle. Find 1.5L and 3.0L bottles of many of our reds at lecole.com. A handful of library vintage and etched large format bottles are also available. Call the winery for current availability. 
Wine Club Gift Membership Check out the great member-only benefits in the Wine Club section of lecole.com or call Jaime at (509) 525-0940. Gift Cards If you can’t decide, consider a L’Ecole No 41 Gift Card and let them choose! It’s easy and a perfect stocking stuffer. 
Holiday Shipping Deadline Order by:
Need Help? Call (509) 525-0940 or e-mail jaime@lecole.com or julie@lecole.com Member News 2007 Reserve Walla Walla Valley
Upcoming Wine Club Member Road Trips We are already looking forward to next year’s Wine Club Road Trips! The winery truck will be busting at the seams with fabulous wine as we head out to visit members in the cities below. Look for e-mail invitations in early 2010. RSVPs will be accepted once the email invitation is sent. Portland March 2010 | Seattle March 26, 2010 | Spokane June 2010 Inside Your Box, a Gift For You! Inside your November Wine Club Selection you will receive two special cards! The first is your Membership Card which entitles you to complimentary tasting when visiting the winery. The second is a L’Ecole No 41 $10 Gift Card that may be used toward a purchase made on our website, over the phone, or when visiting the winery. Sorry, the gift card may not be applied to future automatic Wine Club Selections. Vin Blanc members will receive their cards in the mail. November Wine Club Selections Sent 11/16 Vin Select:2007 Reserve Walla Walla Valley 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley 2008 Semillon - Fries Vineyard Vin Rouge
Vin Blanc
Holiday Barrel Tasting Weekend If you are planning to visit the winery during this weekend, please stop by the Wine Club Concierge Table. Jaime is planning a special holiday taste for our members! Wine Club Programs
Vin Select:
Vin Rouge:
Vin Blanc:
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