Taking out the Trash

Sev Fowles, part-time Dixon resident and Columbia University professor, wanted to upgrade his septic tank on his Dixon Plaza property. The backhoe was called in and digging began. The mechanical digging was abrubtly halted however as it became clear that the ground was saturated with loads of good stuff.

Turns out, the parking lot used to be dumping grounds reaching back to at least the mid 1700s. Thousands of pot shards, animal bones, food bits and household items were turned up in a 3 ft by 10 ft hole. Take a look:

 

Thanksgiving events

From us at Vivác to all of you:
This Thanksgiving, we at Vivác Winery, give thanks for all of you! Each and every valued local customer & our local wine club members that make it possible for us to continue making wine and doing what we love. Thank you for your continued support! Cheers!
Chris, Liliana, Jesse & Michele Padberg

Thanksgiving Day:
Vivác Winery Tasting Room will be open half day on Thanksgiving day! 10-2 pm
Come & get your last minute wine & don't forget the chocolates & cheese too!

Black Friday:

VIVÁC WINERY BLACK FRIDAY  25%off ALL WINES in store & on-line!!
In store discounts exceed expectations with great deals on your favorite hand made chocolates, hand crafted cheeses, Shel Neymart amazing glass art & much more! Savings like this only come around once a year, come to shop & SAVE BIG!
Tasting Room Special Hours of 9-7 Black Friday Only!

News at Vivác!

Now, not only do we have an in-house chocolatier, but now we have an in-house Fromegére making artisan hand crafted cheeses! Both decadent delights are available at our Tasting Room and available for shipping to everyone on your holiday list!

In addition, we will be opening a 2nd Tasting Room at the Santa Fe Farmer's Market at the Railyard within the next couple weeks! This permanent structure will give Farmer's Market enthusiasts the opportunity to buy our, local, organically farmed, boutique wines at the same time as their other favorite local products! Visit our web-site for more great news and events at Vivác Winery!

Arroyo Cleaning!

There will be a community walk/field meeting this Saturday November 17, 2012 to discuss clean up activities and erosion control projects. The meeting begins at 10am. Details below:


You are invited to join us for a walk & community field meeting on November 17, 2012 in the Arroyo de los Pinos Reales, off of State Road 580 (where the pavement turns into a dirt road on the Road to Ojo Sarco). During this walk & field meeting, we will present proposed project activities and like to hear your ideas and concerns about the dumpsite cleanup projects and the arroyo stabilization projects. These project are probably of special interest to landowners, parciantes and commissioners of the Acequias El Medio, Sancochada, and Martinez.
The proposed projects follow up on a successful community-driven cleanup project in the fall of 2011 and numerous meetings in 2011 for arroyo stabilization and acequia protection. The projects are locally coordinated by Megan Johnson (cleanup projects) and Estevan Arellano (arroyo and acequia projects), with help from Jan-Willem Jansens and the Chimayo Conservation Corps (CCC) and the Santa Fe Watershed Association (see contact information below).

Please bring sturdy boots, all-weather clothes, water, and snacks!
For more information, please contact:
Megan Johnson: 505-579-4512, meganjjohnson84@gmail.com
Estevan Arellano: 505-579-4027, estevan_2002@yahoo.com
Jan-Willem Jansens: 505-470-2531, jwjansens@gmail.com

Thanks for your support!

Fall Festivities!

Our Annual Halloween Party is on Oct 27th 4-7 with trick or treating ALL day! Our Live Music Happy Hour on the 27th is the biggest of the season and marks the end to another wonderful Happy Hour Season! We will continue to be open EVERYDAY, but the Happy Hours will stop until Spring 2013.

Halloween, wouldn't be Halloween without our Annual Halloween Party, prizes for adults and kids, with no cover and drink specials! Get ready for a monstrously good time!

Our 9th Dixon Studio Tour offers a tasting room of fabulous gift ideas for all of those that love to do your holiday shopping in Dixon! Wine related books, games, hats, shirts, glasses, beauty products and our famous hand made chocolates, jewelry and nationally recognized fine wines! On the tour yourself? Let us congratulate you with a FREE glass of wine! See you Nov 3rd and 4th.



 Nov 23rd is THE biggest shopping day at Vivác Winery! Crazy discounts, special packages and new items at your finger tips. Free gift wrap and available shipping everywhere USA! Save money, shop local and make everyone on your list happy!

More of this please....

Another fine evening of imported music last night at the Toolshed. This time, all the way from Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Anne and Pete Sibley brought their deep songwriting talent, "soft power" harmonies and open hearts to a receptive crowd. Below is a little taste of the action.

 

They duo was kind enough to invite Mule Britches up for a couple of tunes. We were only too thrilled to share the stage with 'em. Happy trails Pete and Anne… come back soon!

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You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown at the Toolshed

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We're halfway through the summer production run of the Broadway musical You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown. We have a great cast of DCP regulars (Simon Feaveryear as Charlie Brown, Glenda Fletcher as Lucy, Rita O'Connell as Sally, Jeff Spicer as Schroeder, David Rigsby as Woodstock, Patrick MacDonald as Snoopy) and one new member, Taos music scene veteran, Don Conoscenti as Linus.

Our first two shows played to full or nearly full houses at the new Toolshed performance space.

The Toolshed in Dixon. Built by Simon Feavearyear.Once again, our director Holly Haas has created a terrific show with lots of laughs, beautiful staging, scenery and memorable characters. The orchestra, our most complex to date, is comprised of DCP regulars Ken Clark on drums/percussion, Dick Padberg on bass and returning again from Austin, Roger Lambert as pianist and musical director and DCP newbies from Los Alamos, Shari Adams on flute, Brian Huysman on keyboard and Bob Chrien on clarinet and sax.

If you haven't gotten tickets yet, you might wanna hurry and do so. Word is spreading about what a fun and impressive show this is. There's a matinee at two today, and three shows next weekend (Friday and Saturday, August 3 and 4 at 7:30pm and Sunday, Aug. 5 at 2pm).

 

Spring at your local winery!

EXCITING NEW WAYS TO TASTE AT VIVÁC!
    New tasting menus, wine flights paired with sweet or savory plates & even picnic items will now be available at the Tasting Room!
    We will finally be getting proper glassware to enhance your tasting & drinking pleasure. We have been selling Riedel glasses for a while now, but haven’t been tasting our wines out of them due to the upfront cost...until now! Riedel glassware places the wine in your mouth & over your palate in a specific way to highlight the attributes of the wine.  This gives you the best in a wine tasting experience. The specific Riedel glass we have chosen speaks to the wine making approach Chris & I use. We can’t wait for you to try them!


EARTH DAY CELEBRATION:
Sunday April 22nd 2pm
We host "The Great Salmon Run (Songs of the Fishermen)" written by Sylvia Ernestina Vergara, featuring the 2012 "Embudo Valley Performance Cast" & "Embudo Valley Flowing Stream Ensemble (water orchestra)".

Here in our community & across the world, water is sacred & a disintegrating commodity. We must focus on the protection of threatened Wild Salmon and its habitat in Bristol Bay, Alaska in addition to the Northern New Mexico local fish, waterlife, acequias & rivers we know & love.

This celebration is evoked with poetry, drama, music, song & dance showing how animal & plant interdependence is part of a greater whole.

Vivác Winery is dedicated to the preservation of our local land & water rights. We welcome you to join in the celebration of Earth Day held in our new beautiful vineyard located at our Tasting Room  (junction of Hwy 68 & Hwy 75). Keep the land agricultural, keep the water rights in our community & start local to save the planet.

THE SWEETER SIDE OF VIVÁC:
Vivác Winery is now offering something a little sweeter! We have released a slightly off dry Riesling, a proprietary sweet white blend called "Luminosa" (Luminescent)  and a traditional Port style, fortified wine called "Amante" (Lover).
The Riesling has only a hint of sweetness with firm acidity making it perfect for dry wine drinkers as well as those that enjoy sweets. Our “Luminosa” is a bit sweet, but continues to have some acidity & a hint of oak which rounds out this wine. The "Amante" is made from Tempranillo grapes, aged in oak for 3 years & is fortified making it the perfect sipping wine after dinner.
Don’t worry, all of our sweeter wines are made without adding sugar or sorbate. We simply stopped fermentation prematurely leaving a little of the grape’s natural sweetness in the wine. This means there are no off flavors & the wines still have that wonderful acidity you love from Vivác!  It takes skill & artistry to make a quality sweet wine, we believe we have that here.  We encourage you to try them with spicy dishes, Chinese food, assorted cheeses or as dessert!

www.VivacWinery.com
LIVE MUSIC HAPPY HOUR SEASON IS BACK!
Saturdays 4-7pm Starting April 28th with "The Pathetics"!

We know you have missed your favorite local Happy Hour & now it is back & better than ever!
2012 Vivác Happy Hours have...
An incredible line up of Live Music
Better give aways
PICNIC FOOD ITEMS
Wine flights with appetizer plates
stuff for the kiddos
new wines
new chocolates
amazing views

Running the Dixon 5K May 19th?

Run it in a "Fueled by Vivác" sport shirt! Available in Women's & Men's in red, blk or wht. Read up on our blog www.VivacWinery.blogspot.com

After the race, join us for a complimentary glass of wine, redeemable with you race ticket, and enjoy a Live Music Happy Hour!

Vivác has sweet wines?!

Make your friends GREEN with envy when you show up at the St. Patrick's Day party with Vivác wines! Now with a full menu of dry AND sweet wines, Vivác has everything you need. The impecable quality, hands on approach and old world style you love in Vivác wines, now has a sweeter side!

Taste the new sweet wines for FREE all day March 17th!

After all, don't you deserve a little bit of gold at the end of the day?

 

A taste of what you missed...

if you were not at the Honey Dewdrops house concert last night. Thanks to the 30 or so folks that did show up. Everyone really enjoyed the event, including the band. It sounds like we will get another shot to see this great act again in July as they meander through the neighborhood during one of their summer tours. So keep an ear out for that.

 

Many thanks again to Kagey and Laura for the great performance. Below is Laura's original tune entitled "Catawba"

 More videos from the Dixon house concert

The Honey Dewdrops- A House Concert in Dixon -UPDATED!

Mark your calendars folks. If you've been to any of the house concerts that have taken place here in Dixon over the past couple of years, you know what a special treat they are to attend and experience. Ken Clark has arranged for the Virginia-based duo, The Honey Dewdrops to spend a little time in our fair town (they'll be staying for a few days) and to give an intimate concert which will be at my (Jeff Spicer's) house on Thursday, March 15th. Admission will be $10 and seating will be limited so call or email Ken (579-9655) to secure your spot on the list. 

Above is a video of the Honey Dewdrops performing an original tune that Mule Britches has taken a stab at a time or two, and below is a bio of the duo. More details of this event will follow as we get closer to performance day, so stay tuned to this page for updates.

Hailing from the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Charlottesville, VA, the Honey Dewdrops are Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish.  Together, they write songs, sing harmonies; play guitar, mandolin, and banjo; have toured the country for the past 4 years and appeared on A Prairie Home Companion; gained Folk Radio notoriety with a #1 album and have shared the stage with musical greats such as Carolina Chocolate Drops, Mary Gauthier, and Matt Flinner Trio.

The Honey Dewdrops have been making music together since they met in 2003.  With two guitars and a shared love of the Beatles, Bill Monroe, Neil Young and Mike Seeger, they began singing their favorite songs together in college with the most pared-down sound.  Almost 9 years later, that sound and the songwriting of the Honey Dewdrops has evolved and begun to dig deeper, with new instrumentation and taking influence from American traditional music as well as modern songwriters like Darrell Scott, Iris Dement, Mary Gauthier and David Francey.

“We’re inspired by songs that are rooted in the experience and lives of people and songs we can all see ourselves in.  We try to write and perform in that spirit,” says Laura.

During their 4 years of touring and traveling and playing for audiences across the country, Laura and Kagey have drawn inspiration from the people they meet and places they stay.  “Traveling has taken us to communities all over and we meet people at the shows, in restaurants, standing in line at the post office or drug store.  Everyone we meet has a story they share and that is inspiring to us,” says Kagey.

The Dewdrops’ latest recording project, Silver Lining, focuses on encounters, characters and situations that connect us all.  There are warnings that in order to get love, we must give love.  There is a desperate plea for the ability to “love like a wild river runs.”  There is a personal, inward look at what happiness is and what it is not.  There is the commitment to persevere when prayers go unanswered.  Through it all there is the realization in Silver Lining that the darkest clouds are the ones that best show “where the colors hide.”  In this third effort, Laura and Kagey take a departure from their previous songs loaded with melancholy outcomes and explore the littlest slivers of hope and how we deeply need to connect with them.  In essence, Silver Lining is a series of songs that will nourish and, minute-by-minute, cultivate a feeling of hope that lingers when the music is finished.
Vist the Honey Dewdrops Website
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I Surf the Web

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Total Animation Edition

Stumbled across three short animated films all with a dark theme this week, and on this snowy day, seemed a good time to spread the gospel.

First up is a stopmotion animation by a German cat named Alex Schulz. This one explores psycho-themes laid down by Jung and Hesse.

Inner Steppe from Alex Schulz on Vimeo.


The second one is very similar in feel as it's also stop motion but instead of clay and foamcore, all the action is paper made. From New Zealand.


The third is the most disturbing and if you have an aversion to violence-related imagery... do not watch. I include this all computer generated film precisely because I don't fully understand why, through all the gory gruesomeness, it still has an incredible beauty about it. In that way it reminds me of the battle scenes in a Kurosawa's Ran. I am not a gamer, so I don't get how this game might be worth buying. Still, the advert is a marvel.

Dead Island Trailer from Visually Pithy on Vimeo.

KLDK is BACK!! And better than ever.

Especially for those of you who have listened to KLDK for some time you (I hope) have noticed a certain frequent and very regular fuzz out.  For some of us newbies we were sure it was our radio!  Being the problem solving Electrical Enginer that he is Chuck made contact with the "radio guys" and set about diagnosing the problem. Turns out there were a few problems, all of which will be solved in time. Chuck and Clark ascended the radio tower up on the hill above Dixon to diagnose, what was now for sure, the transmission problem.  Seems over time, with the main cable flapping in the wind, a split had developed so that the RF connector was essentially no longer attached. It did make contact, hence the signal but a very weak one. So, with tools in hand (most of the time, we did have one mishap that sent the brand new soldering gun crashing to the ground) Clark and Chuck climbed up and repaired the break.  It was beautiful 51 degree day with bright sunshine. The view from the tower is breathtaking. Here is a little video of our very own Linemen.

 

 

 

Fireballs in Dixon

Did anyone else see the fireball that streaked across the sky on New Year's Eve? I was heading home from the brewery on HWY 68 and saw it just above the hills in front of me. It disappeared behind one of the peaks and reappeared on the other side. The ball itself was not much smaller than the moon changing color from green to blue to orange with a tail thicker and brighter than any vapor trail I've seen -- a good omen for the new year, I am sure!

Speaking of fireballs...

One of the highlights of 2011 for me was conducting a Raku workshop at my studio in early December as part of the 2011 Dixon Studio Tour workshop series. Raku is a quick, dynamic firing technique that uses special glazes to create spontaneous bursts of color and crackle effects. Pieces are pulled from the kiln while they are still red-hot and placed in a chamber to encourage various results. Manipulating the atmosphere by reducing or oxidizing the chamber willl create various effects, and, watch out! Fireballs!

I woke up that morning to several inches of beautiful snow, swept the paths, made the coffee, and hoped the attendees would still be willing to make the drive through the canyon and up the arroyo to my studio. I was quite excited by the weather knowing that the contrast of cold and snow with the intense heat of the kiln would really add something special to the whole experience. The six arrived, four all the way from Albuquerque.

The workshop was designed so that even those with no clay experience whatsoever could take part. Normally, clay pieces are made and pre-fired without glaze decoration (the bisque firing). Then glazes are applied for a second firing, in this case the "raku" firing. For this workshop, participants could bring a bisque-fired pot of their own (go Lori!) or choose a pot I had already made and bisqued for them to glaze themselves. I showed everyone how to glaze their pots using the "dip and pour" technique and demonstrated how to decorate with wax resist. We loaded the kiln and fired it up.  While we waited for the kiln to reach temperature (1823 degrees F in just an hour!), we practiced using the tongs and choreographed our unloading sequence... who would pull which pots out of the kiln when, and who would place lids on the reduction cans. The cold didn't vex us (well, a slight acclimatization process for the gals from Spain), rather it was a real treat to huddle around the warmth of the kiln together knowing we each had an important role to play for a successful firing. And a successful firing it was! All went smoothly as planned... a terrific team with the right mix of care, enthusiasm and creative energy. And lovely pots to take home!

Visit www.miyapottery.com for information on raku and wheel-throwing lessons, or call to organize a raku party for a group of friends!

For a more detailed step-by-step explanation of the raku firing process, see my previous post, Raku Sisters.

Black Friday Sale at Vivác Winery!

It's back! The biggest shopping day of the year at Vivác Winery! 24 hours of savings on EVERYTHING we have to offer: wine, jewelry, chocolates, Riedel glasses & so much more! Did you know we have games, books, beauty items & wine themed stocking stuffers?

If that isn't enough to get you excited, did you know that YOUR community winery, is getting national news? First with the USA Today article 

but now Great Grape TV is airing its Pilot episode featuring Vivác Winery! Cheers to all of you in this incredible community for helping support us.

www.GreatGrapeLifestyle.com

 

Dixon Studio Tour & Vivác Winery's 9th Anniversary!

Join us Nov 5th & 6th for new wines, new chocolates & new jewelry as we celebrate our 9th year on the Dixon Studio Tour! We will have live music from 2-4pm and patio heaters if need be. Artists on the tour will recieve a free glass of wine, we will stay open late so you can come "un-wine-d" with us!

If you missed the news, Vivác is being Nationally recognized by USA Today! Check out the link below to read the review.

usatoday.com


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Chilly Con Carnage (or Bye-Bye Betty)

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"cuz there's nothin' strange about an axe with blood stains in the barn
there's always some killin' you got to do around the farm"

 –Murder In The Red Barn, Tom Waits

 

I awoke last night to the sound of something tearing and the bang of something on a metal roof. I sat up in bed trying to identify the location and cause of the sound. Then I heard the chickens. Chickens are silent in the dark, unless they are nervous or panicked. This sounded like panic.

I got dressed as quickly as I could, and scrounged around for a flashlight, but in the minute it took me to get out to the coop, something had run off with at least one bird, and left feathers and body parts strewn about as if in a tornado zone. I wasn't sure if the killer was still in the coop or not, and I had no idea what I might be faced with if I went inside, so I circled around and tried to get as good a look at the inside of the coop before I went in.

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World Class Flamenco @ Vivác Winery

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Sunday August 28th at 4:30pm, join us at Vivác Winery Tasting room for a once in a life time opportunity to see some of the best in flamenco & poetry. Happy Hour Drink Specials & hor d'oeuvres, don't miss it!

Flamenca expert Susannah Clavileja Garrett will recite Lorca while dancing. She performs
widely in New Mexico &  studied with the famed Maria Benitez, (she is also granddaughter
of the famous Pat Garrett).

Guitarist El Niño David, stage name of David Briggs, studied flamenco in Spain & teaches
Spanish at UNM & CNM.

Guitarist & Flamenca are both from Santa Fe & have performed with Gary Brower at the
National Hispanic Cultural Center, Teatro Paraguas Studio Theater in Santa Fe, the
Sunflower Festival in Mountainair, the Church of Beethoven in Albuquerque, the Duende
Poetry Series in Placitas, NM & other venues. Flameca Cantileja recites Lorca while
dancing.

Poet Gary Brower is editor and publisher of The MalPais Review, New Mexico's premier 
literary magazine.