Perfect Storm is another fabulous Tuscan-Cocoa Puffe cria, whose color has been a subject of much debate, even with the judges. We think he is a wannabe gray as he has white fibers intermixed in his fleece but not enough to put him into indefinite or gray classes. The white fibers did not show up until he was about 2 years old. He only exhibited black and brown fibers. However, his neck and legs are dark silver gray. He most closely resembles dark rose gray in the blanket. Judge Mike Safley at 2011 GWAS tried hard to find white fibers, and after coming up empty, ended up placing Stormie 3rd but stating in his oral reasons that he didn't know what color Stormie was and that he was probably not on the color chart. Whatever his color, his fleece is STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL and very fine, especially for a dark colored fleece. Just like his full siblings, Prosecco and Black Silk, this guy is a nice, square framed alpaca with a beautiful head, total body coverage, and upright, bright attitude. His fleece has impressive character, is fine, uniform and crimpy. The brightness is evident, his sire’s trademark. And how shocked was I that his dark brown fleece returned the finest at 15.7 micron of the sample group I sent in for testing of the 2010 cria crop! He is as cute as he can be with a nice, easy going personality, his mother’s gift. Cocoa Puffe is the premier dam at Bella Vita for colored alpacas, and she has done it again. See her other offspring, the 2 listed above, along with Chia Pet, Chocolat, and another stellar herdsire we bred and still own, El Corazon`, an 8-time champion. In fact, most of Cocoa Puffe’s offspring have been champions, or at the very least consistent blue ribbon winners in level 5 shows. Sire Tuscan, our premier herdsire at Bella Vita, is also a multiple champion and is stamping his perfection on his crias with remarkable consistency. This male will do well with browns, blacks and grays to add fineness, brightness and character to the fleece. Both his paternal and maternal lines have produced superior blacks. UPDATE: Stormie is now a proven daddy. His first offspring was in 2014 and is beige Navigator, out of Nova's Novena, with 8-month histogram of AFD 14.6, SD 3.7 CV 25.5% (cria fleece with tips) CF 100%, curve 26.0 Dg/mm (silky style fleece), and staple 85.0 mm. The same cross produced Hail Mary In 2015 who is medium fawn in color and fleece that is iridescent, very organized into bundles and fine.

Novena is the daughter of bay black Snowmass Nova, famous son of Snowmass Peruvian Cassnova (Bueno) and by our own medium fawn Amazing Grace, an Accoyo Express daughter. Grace has produced 4 fawn female cria, Novena the first. One of these cria, Grazie, was purchased by Snowmass Alpacas at the 2011 Futurity auction, another female (Amber Wave) sold at the 2010 AOBA show and went on to be a blue ribbon girl, and yet another Princess Grace, is also a blue ribbon female sold at the 2014 Amber Autumn auction to KJ Alpacas of Canada. Novena is Grace's first cria, and we are keeping her in our foundation herd for her excellent pedigree and color genetics. She has bright, soft fleece with good character, good bone and size to her frame, and a calm, quiet personality. She has been bred twice to our Sunny Mesa's Tuscan Gold and has produced 2 fawn female cria. The first born in 2011, Noel, we sold off the Bella Vita ranch in 2012. Novena delivered her second cria, another fawn female, on 8/10/12. This cria, Venus, is a nice size cria with feminine look and sold to Stachowski Alpacas at the 2013 AOBA auction. Novena was bred to our brown Tuscan's Perfect Storm and had a nice beige male cria in 2014 with exceptionally bright fleece that appears to be fine as well. It is a silky style fleece that we expect to "pop" after his first shearing. She has been bred to Perfect Storm for a 2016 cria.