by Jay on October 30, 2008
Visiting Michel Schlumberger during early November is one of the best times to really see the seasonal change in our vineyards. It also is prime time to cozy up to a tasting of Reserve Cabernet. There’s something about this shift in season that really brings out the best qualities in red wine. Don’t get me wrong, if you bring the mussles, I’ll bring the viognier. But Fall really is the perfect season for full bodied, complex red that we specialize in. When you’re here, an explosion of fall’s best yellows, oranges, and reds will greet you. Walking the vineyards each day, I see our lower ranch blocks literally evolving on a daily basis as the leaves begin to change colors and fall from the vines. It’s hard to believe that harvest ended just a couple of weeks ago. Today was the first noticable change in temperature. I wonder when the block of old vine merlot on the west side of the lake will drop its leaves? It’s the greenest still.
by Mike on October 28, 2008
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!
by Brooke on September 25, 2008
What do the winemaking and cellar staff do on those days when there are no grapes coming in to crush?
The better question is-what don’t they do since there are always tasks aplenty in the cellar of a w
inery. Today I jumped in and tried to lend a hand in the Michel-Schlumerger cellar. Really I 
was mostly holding things, pressing on things, filling things and watching others do them much better than I could. A picture is worth a thousand words — but everyone should try to volunteer at a harvest somewhere. The hand’s on experience is irreplaceable. And it gives one such appreciation for the artistry of this magical industry.
Cool stuff. Thanks guys for letting me hang out for the day!
by Mike on September 8, 2008
I smell busy around the corner.
Yes. Today is the first day in about a year that I’ve smelled red fermentation here in the cellar of Michel-Schlumberger. It’s true that we harvested those grapes about a week ago and the musts are just now really starting to flex their fermentation muscles. After 3-5 days soaking in their cozy little open top bins, they now have had their rendevous with natural (resident) yeast and are in the process of conversion (sugar-alcohol). This produces a beautiful smell that can display some of the characteristics that you’ll see later in the wines life. We have a pinot noir that smells just like fresh crushed strawberries and the zinfandel is showing more cinnamon and spice than I can ever remember. It’s a fantastic process to participate in.
Speaking of participation. It’s about time we give credit where credit is due. Our crew here at Michel-Schlumberger is one of the best around (if you want to argue this, you might want to do your homework first). In the next few weeks, I’ll be individually highlighting all of these folks and how they got into the wine industry. I’m fortunate to have such a great team as it makes my job not only more efficient, but also makes it very fun as all of these folks are my dear friends as well. Things are pretty sweet (pun intended) here at Michel-Schlumberger and they’re about to get even sweeter. Yes.
by Judd on September 1, 2008
- Javier Sr Tending Vines
Happy Labor Day to all - and what a fitting description of the Holiday as most of us in the wine business are busy laboring today! And no one is laboring harder than our vineyard and winemaking crew, both headed up by Mike Brunson.
I got a chance to film Mike late Friday — take a peek at the video below as Mike takes a break from harvest to update us all on the state of the vintage in Dry Creek Valley as well as some specifics here at Michel-Schlumberger.
All in all, things are looking great. Being high up in the hills & benchlands above Dry Creek Valley, we were not hurt by a frost this Spring that really challenged other regions in the state. Frost tends to migrate to the lower parts of valleys — we fortunately don’t really have those! But we do have steep hillsides which tends to challenge yields in general. Our grapes are tiny, highly concentrated, & extremely flavorful…but as a result, the crop off these vineyards is small.
We’ve picked all of the early ripening Pinot Blanc; pulled in several ton of the Chardonnay; picked a bit of Pinot Noir (for a special rose we’ll have available only at the winery!); and a splash of Viognier. That’s right, Viognier. We have 15 varietals growing on the Estate — but only 5 have their own label. The rest are like spices in the kitchen for Mike to cook with as the wines progress. It is one of the secrets to our fantastically complex and tasty wines! Check out Mike himself on video and we’ll keep you posted weekly on the harvest progress.
by Mike on August 26, 2008
Pinot Blanc Harvest 2008
My alarm was supposed to go off at 4:30am. It didn’t. I knew I was going to be late for the first day of harvest. Just as I was getting up, our National Sales Manager Jayme Moffi (who was staying at the estate and had a flight to catch) shot me a text…”FYI, the power is off at the winery.” What?! I’m late and no power once I get there. Argh! This is not shaping up the way I had envisioned it.
I arrived at the East Pinot Blanc just before sunrise. It was beautiful outside. About 52 degrees with clear skies and a crew that was so positive and happy that I quickly forgot about the late start and the lack of electricity issue. The grapes were delicious…cool and snappy with tons of west dry creek goodness. We had one quick chat about fruit quality standards and the crew of 5 men and 5 women took off to pick this small block of Pinot Blanc. The crew must have been training for this moment because it was an Olympic best. The hammered out 5 tons in an hour and a half. One of our Italian tractors decided it needed a rest in the middle of the row with two full bins…it just wouldn’t start. No big drama. Adolfo and Javier Sr. were all over it. Within 5 minutes the tractor was on its way to the winery. Sr. and I joked about the way the morning was starting and how fun it is to face these challenges right off the bat. Ha ha. Ha ha ha. Just then Javier’s phone rings. It’s Juan. He’s at the winery and the electric forklift is dead. Argh! We get the other forklift out and get the bins off the tractor and on to the scale. The fruit looks wonderful. No burn, no mildew, no bugs. Just greenish/yellow clusters stacked one on top of the other. Hand picked by people who care. Grown by the vineyardists who want to grow the very best fruit they can. Once it’s in the bin you can see all of this. And then you taste it…my god! Glorious!
The cellar crew was poised as was Wendy (because she gets there at 8am…nice Wendy!). Wendy rang the mission bell and we toasted the harvest with some sparkling and donuts that Tony had brought for the crew (Thanks Nature Boy). It was at this point that I realized that all these trials were just little speed bumps and that this crew (best ever?) can handle anything. We looked around and the electricity was back on…nice!
by Mike on August 6, 2008
We have been working our tails off this growing season (which has been challenging to say the least) and in the past week we have seen changes in our babies. Veraison. The term that marks the point in development where the grapes begin to ripen. The whites are turning a golden color and the berries are starting to soften. The reds are a bit more dramatic, with the colors changing from green to dark purple and softening as well. It is now that sugar begins to accumulate and the acid begins to decrease. It also snaps you into the reality that harvest 2008 is upon us. It is from this point on that we start to manage the ripening of this beautiful fruit and pay particular attention to water stress, fruit architecture and of course birds!
M-S Cabernet at Veraison
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