Rucksack Cellars

GSM Blending Event, March 29

We are planning our first event of 2025 at Rucksack Cellars, our GSM Blending Class.

Do you want to be a winemaker? Or maybe just find out what goes into blending a wine? Learn from Paul Bush, winemaker for Madroña Vineyards and Rucksack Cellars. Taste each wine in its 100% varietal form, and then begin to play! Bottle your own GSM at the end of the event for an additional $28.00 (limit 1 per participant).  

These are small classes, and a great way to learn – only 24 people per session. The first session is at 11am and the second begins at 2:30pm, both on March 29.   

Tickets are $45/person or $35/person for club members. Limit of 4 tickets per membership and can be purchased by staying on the website, clicking on the “STORE” tab across the top banner, followed by clicking on the “EVENTS AND MERCHANDISE” tab.

Tickets are selling fast so be sure to grab yours and we will see you on the 29th at Rucksack Cellars.

Happy New Year from Rucksack Cellars

First off, I want to start by saying Happy New Year from Rucksack Cellars. We hope that you all had a wonderful Christmas Season and rang in the new year fabulously with all your friends and family held close. We wish you all health, happiness, prosperity and lots of Rucksack wine in 2025. (See what I did there?)

Well the time has come when Rucksack temporarily closes for a few winter months. However, when we close it gives us the opportunity to plan for 2025, but more importantly we can reflect on the previous year. Rucksack continues to grow with the support of its incredible community both near and far. We could not exist without you, your support, and for that we are incredibly thankful. We are the lucky ones, because you all have chosen to support us and we know there are lots of worthy choices.

Right now Rucksack is scheduled to re-open in March of 2025. However, as I have told many of you when you came in to visit before we closed for the season, stay tuned to this newsletter as well as our social media pages. At the end of January, beginning of February, if we are seeing a weekend or two of predictable nice weather, we will open so that you can come up for your Rucksack wine winter experience. Honestly…it’s just really hard for me to go two whole months without seeing you all, so this would really be more for me.

Thank you again for all your support in 2024, stay warm and cozy during these winter months, stay tuned to all the “happenings” at Rucksack and we very much look forward to seeing and serving you soon!

Rucksack Christmas Tree Sale – 2024

It’s beginning to look at lot like Christmas…well it certainly will be once you pick up that perfect Christmas tree.

On December 7, 2024 Rucksack will be having its annual Christmas tree sale beginning at 9am. Multiple varieties of Christmas trees, you pick the perfect tree and we cut it, all sizes for the amazing price of $100. WHAT!?!?! That is any size or any variety tree, from 3 feet to 15 feet for $100…sounds like an amazing deal!

Once you pick that perfect tree, be sure to memorialize the event with a family photo in front of our beautiful Rucksack sleigh and then stroll on over to the Rucksack Cellars tasting building and enjoy a wine flight, glass of Apple Cider or a charcuterie board.

Sounds like a perfect way to spend a day and make some wonderful family memories!

Looking for Christmas gifts for wine lovers?

We still must be out of our minds…but it’s been working because the cases of Rosé are flying out, but plenty still remain, so for the remainder of the season or while supplies last, we are offering one of our most popular wines at an absolutely incredible deal.

We are offering a case sale on our 2023 Barbera Rosé, each case is only $120, that works out to $10 per bottle of this delicious wine. With notes of strawberry, melon and citrus, this wine pairs wonderfully with spicier dishes, appetizers and charcuterie.

Come in to Rucksack Cellars and take advantage of this amazing opportunity.

December 5, 2024 from 5pm to 7pm

It’s that time of the year again when we spark up the fireplaces and embrace the holiday season with our wreath-making class! Join us in the Rucksack Cellars building on December 5th for holiday music, a glass of wine, cedar and fir boughs. 

Led by Beverly Glass from Frogs Hollow Flower Farm and Teresa Brewster from Treasures at the Barn. Spots are limited, so get your tickets today! Note, this class will now be held in the Rucksack Cellars Building at 3030 Carson Road, Camino CA.

Tickets are available by staying on this website, clicking on the “STORE” tab followed by the the “EVENTS AND MERCHANDISE” tab.

What a wonderful night

The setting for the event was gorgeous outside on our loved Rucksack patio. It was decorated with fresh cut locally sourced flower arrangements, twinkling solar powered lights and tea light candles, all with the backdrop of our Rucksack vineyard and setting sun.

Now I am not going to say that our first Rucksack Club Dinner was perfect, because we always try to improve and we will try to make our next dinner even an even greater experience for all our guests. However, I will say that I don’t think there is a single thing that I would change about our event last Saturday evening.

We had a full patio of guests who enjoyed a three course meal. The evening started with a flatbread pizza topped with mozzarella and goat cheese, fresh mushrooms, sautéed onions, arugula, all drizzled with a basaltic reduction and paired with our Non-Vintage GSM. The second course was the famous Bush family recipe for Paella, containing sausage, shrimp and chicken with a garden green beet salad on the side. This second course paired beautifully with three Rucksack wines, our Chenin Blanc, Barbera Rosé and Seco (Portuguese Blend). The evening concluded with a peach and blueberry cobbler topped with homemade whipped cream and paired with our Moscato.

If your mouth is watering as much as mine is recalling the delicious menu, and I was there, then be sure to keep an out for our next Rucksack Club dinner or event. You won’t want to miss it!

This class will be held at Rucksack Cellars, 3030 Carson Road in Camino, on October 23, 2024 from 5pm to 7pm.  (Please note the earlier time due to sunset) Beverly Glass and Teresa Brewster, of the local flower farms Treasures At The Barn and Frog Hollow Flower Farm, will guide us while we create beautifully personalized Pumpkin arrangements and centerpieces while you sip on a glass of Rucksack wine.

Please provide your own, previously cleaned and prepared (in order to save time) pumpkin for this class.  You are welcome to bring either a real or ceramic pumpkin. If you choose to bring a real pumpkin, Beverly and Teresa will help you condition the pumpkin to last longer.  Your ticket price of $65 includes all of the flowers used for the arrangements, provided by our teachers and sourced locally, and your first glass of Rucksack wine. 

A perfect event for date night, girls night out, mother/daughter evening or just an opportunity to gather outside with a group of friends.  We look forward to seeing you!

To purchase ticket, simply stay on this website and click on the “STORE” tab followed by the “EVENTS AND MERCHANDISE” tab.

Shipment Released September 5

These are always exciting times for us, because we get to share new wines with all of you.

Hopefully by now, you have all realized that your most recent club allocation has been released. Your wines have either been shipped to you or are waiting patiently at Rucksack Cellars for your next visit when you can pick them up and enjoy.

Just a reminder, that going forward your club membership will look at little different, you have the power to customize every shipment, your wines your way!

There will be three “pre-selected” wines that make up your club shipment. This is your standard shipment – 3 bottles at a 20% discount. You will also have the choice of three “optional” wines you can either add to your shipment or “sub-out” for the “pre-selected” wines in your club shipment. You can also add additional bottles of the wines included in the shipment. Any wines you add to your shipment will receive your 20% discount. 

When you receive notification from Rucksack that your next club release is being prepared, if you are happy with the “pre-selected” club shipment we have selected for you, do nothing. If you would like to customize your shipment, just email, Winery@RucksackCellars.com by the determined date in each club release letter with your selections and we will prepare your customized order for you.

We hope you enjoy this new feature to your wine club so that you always receive your favorite wines.

September 21, 2024 at 5:30pm

We will enjoy Paella, salad and dessert, paired with our Rucksack wines. The dinner will begin at 5:30pm and will be hosted either outside on our patio or inside our Rucksack building, depending on temperature.

Tickets are $45/person and can be purchased by staying on this website, clicking the “STORE” button across the banner followed by the “EVENTS AND MERCHANDISE” tab. Tickets are open to club members and their guests. When you check out, you need to sign into your member account, and you may need to re-enter your credit card information. We recently updated our computer system, and in the update most credit card information did not transfer, we apologize for the inconvenience and the additional step.

We look forward to celebrating our club members, while dining, catching up and enjoying the beautiful sunset over the Rucksack vineyard all while sipping on Rucksack wines.

And even a little rain

Aaaahhh…now that felt good!

For the past couple of weeks we have enjoyed some rather mild temperatures up here in the foothills. It has topped out in the mid-80’s, averaging in the 70’s, with even a few days only getting up to the upper 60’s. Last Friday and Saturday we even had a little bit of rain, only about a .10th of an inch.

What this means for us in the vineyard is ripening of the grape clusters has slowed, due to the cooler temperatures. Hopefully, this will bring us back to a preferred beginning of harvest, sometime in early to mid-September. With the small amount of rain, the leaves on the vines received a little cleaning off of the summers dust and dirt, which in turn should improve their production over the last few weeks until we harvest.

Bottom line…the longer hang time that the weather is providing us and the improved production of the vines that the rain has gifted us should translate into more complex and balanced fruit and a hopefully fantastic harvest.