Looking Back on Harvest…

The last press load of every year makes me think about how hard we’ve worked and usually makes me consider how quickly two months can blow by.  This year was no exception. We started on August 22 with a bit of Pinot Blanc.  The PB crop load was about the same as last year even in this dry season. We then continued on with Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Semillon and a spot of Viognier. All of these were a bit lighter than the previous year, but quality is phenomenal.  Most of the Chardonnays have already started their malolactic fermentation.  This is good.  With the weather being so warm, it definitely helps move things along.  We’re making the most of this Summer-like weather here in Autumn.  

Back to the reminiscing.  After two weeks of high heat, we continued our harvest by bringing in some Zinfandel, followed up by a spot of Syrah. Both blocks were displaying the characteristics I like to see/taste in grapes that are ready to go; brown seeds, softer skins, and zero green flavors.  It was about the middle of September that we really started cruising, bringing Petite Sirah, Petit Verdot and some more Syrah into the fermentation room.  Some Merlot and Malbec came in as well.  Once all those lots started fermenting, the entire cellar smelled like cocoa, cinnamon and blackberry jam.  Torture.  Working with your mouth watering all day…it’s torture.  The good news for us was that we could “test” as many tanks as we felt necessary. That’s how we make our pressing decisions after all.  The weather cooled down when the marine layer rolled in and that allowed us to let the remainder of the fruit sit out and get some quality “vine-time” (aka hang-time).  

The cellar crew was stunningly efficient even when every tank was full.  With Kate and Caitlin punching down (usually following some parking lot Yoga) first thing every morning (7am) and Jose running pumpovers in the barrel room, it was pleasant to know that everything was being handled (while I worked in the vineyard, sampled grapes and checked in on the vineyard crew). Tom (Enologist) was organized and on time with each days numbers coming in at the same time every day.  It was beautiful.  Tony (Viticulturist/Naturalist), Ramiro (Cellarmaster) and Javier (Maintenance) all took turns weighing grapes, destemming, filling barrels, pressing, dumping pomace into the compost pile, cleaning, driving forklift or handling any of the other things that come up on a daily basis at a small winery.  A week after the near three inches of rain that we got in early October, we brought in the rest of the Cabernet Sauvignon.  The skins were just starting to soften up and the sugar and acid balance were just about perfect.  It fermented and we pressed our last load and voilà!  Harvest 2008 was finished.  Just like that.  Kinda chokes me up…

I’ve got to take this opportunity to say Thank You to Javier Sr., Tony, Ramiro, Tom, Javier Jr., Kate, Caitlin, Jose  and the entire vineyard crew for making this a splendid and safe harvest.  All of our hard work and efforts will be represented in the 2008 wines.  Stay tuned!