Harvesting Grapes

Summer Started Once it Officially Ended

We've had some very nice summer weather once fall officially ended... October has been a warm one (93+ today), and has actually set a couple of heat records in Santa Rosa. Now, in hindsight, it's easy to look back to August and say "of course things will warm up and everything will get ripe". The heat has defintily helped things come get ripe/riper, and if things stay dry and warm it will be a good ending to an interesting and stressfull season for many winegrowers.

The early October heat spike ripened up the remaining Pinot Noir on the vines for ME, and "we" took the last of it in last Saturday, October 2nd. So, things are very busy in the cellar at this time managing the Pinot Noir fermentations; you have punch downs, pressing the finished fermenting tanks of Pinot, and barreling down. Also, the Sauvignon Blanc has continued to come in bits and pieces, along with some primo Chardonnay fruit. Things are very very busy, and we are in the "belly of the beast" for this harvest; long days (11-13hrs) and non stop, which is just the way I like it. Overall, thing look great and there are some awesome smells wafting about in the winery. There is great flavors, colors and concentrations and the higher ups seem to be very pleased with the quality.

Harvest Pics

Coopersmith Vineyard at the Merry Edwards Winery

Finally got my pics uploaded to the comp, so I thoght I'd post a few. No grapes today so I ended up getting my day off for the week... decided to sleep in and go wine tasting. Had a great, relaxing time checking out Saphire Hill, Roadhouse, Stryker, Stonestreet, Medlock Ames and Ridge. Now, time to get some sleep and get ready for some serious harvest action!
35 Year old Pinot Noir Vines at Pellegrini's Olivet Lane Vineyard


happy Pinot Clusters


sunburned Pinot Clusters

unloading bins of Pinot Noir... this is how it makes it to the winery


Weighing the Pinot

Dumping the Pinot into the "hopper", where it will make its way to the sorting table, through the destemmer into the tanks


View from Russian Hill Winery off Slusser Rd. in RRV

Merry Edwards teaching the harvest crew about the vineyards


tasty morsels of Sauv Blanc grapes waiting to turn into wine


Sauv Blanc Chilling out in the cool room waiting to be processed



full moon rising over Coopersmith Vineyard

Harvest Update

The weather has warmed up since last week, and for the last couple of days it has been HOT (broke 100 in Russian River Valley Monday and Tuesday). With all of the warm weather, everything has gotten ripe very quickly, almost "overnight"... It was just around 5 weeks ago when everyone was worried about nothing getting ripe. Anyways, grapes are coming in at a very fast pace at the winery, and by the looks of vineyards I drive past on the way to work (bins set out, portapotties, people acutally picking etc.), everybody is getting their fruit in now or very soon. We will be processing Pinot on our end every day this week and its going to be quite busy.... so far 25hrs worked over 2 days. Tired, need to crash....

weather

Yesterday was a bit wet on the north coast, and we saw some light rain over Saturday night into Sunday in the Russian River Valley. Things cleared up by mid afternoon and the sun poked out around 4ish, with a light breeze picking up. Today's high will be 78 according to the weather channel, followed by a dry week, which should help to get rid of any moisture left behind from the rain. I will report back with the winemakers take on the precipitation later.

Update 9/16

As we all know it has been a cool summer and the grapes are behind. So far we have only taken in two vineyards in the northern end of the Russian River Valley, which doesnt leave much winemaking activities to be had in the cellar at this time, other than a few punchdowns a day. Last year at this time all of the Pinot Noir had been harvested.

The weather has been very mild with the exception of a couple days where it warmed up to around 85-88 last weekend. Lots of the grapes from different vineyards are at similar levels of ripeness, and we may be seeing everything come in at once, possibly within the next 7-10 days. And, to make things a little more complicated there is the possibility of rain this weekend, followed by more cool weather in the 70's.

The cellar is spotless and the harvest team is ready for anything, so bring on the grapes!

Sunburned Grapes from the Heat Wave Two Weeks Ago

Old Vine Dry Creek Zin

Here's what happened to grapes when the temp climbed up to around 108 degrees a couple weeks ago from the high 70's the day before. Needless to say but these grapes cannot be used to make wine.... they now taste like uber ripe raisins and are good for nothing but protecting any unburned grapes from another heat wave, which has caused many folks to keep them on the vine for now.


RRV Chard



RRV Pinot Burn

zin grape cluster burn

Labor Day Weekend

After removing some bird netting in the vineyards Saturday morning I headed back to the winery to help out with the grapes. I split time between the sorting table and adding dry ice to the must in the tanks. To celebrate the first grapes of the season Merry popped a couple bottles of her 2000 late disgorgement sparkling wine, which was most excellent needless to say.

I ended up with a couple of days off, and my new house hosts were nice enough to take me to meet some of their friends for gettogethers. Sunday I had a chance to meet Kent Rosenblum at his property in Russian River Valley. I have always been a big fan of his Zinfandel's and it was awesome to get a chance to meet him and play some bocce ball with him too.... oh yeah, drinking some '99 St. Peters Church Zinfandel wasn't too bad either.

Yowza

Started in the cellar but ended up in the vineyards for about 10hrs today... forgot to apply sunbock and now have the moste extreme farmers tan ever. The time in the vineyards (northern RRV on Westside road) was spent removing the bird netting from the vines, which means, TIME TO HARVEST SOME GRAPES!!!!! We will be seeing our first Pinot Noir of the season from two Westside Road vineyards. 6am @ the vineyard, and 9am in the cellar... it's gonna be a fun one!

The Best Day of "Work"

I can hardly refer to today as work, but it was a day on the job, so technically it is. This morning we tasted through the 2008 lineup of ME Pinot Noir and the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc... Oh yeah, it was a last start so I got to sleep in too. Then, around 10:30am we took off to visit the vineyards that make these wonderful wines. Our trip took us on an intimate back road adventure throughout the entire Russian River Valley, visiting 6 vineyards ranging in location to the northern end of Westside road (in RRV), within a mile of Dry Creek Valley, all the way down to Merry's own vineyard right next to Green Valley, with a few stops in between. Merry really took the time to explain all aspects of these vineyards in detail; from rootstock and clones to sun exposure, soil type, drainage and irrigation. It was an amazing and one of a kind experience. To have someone of her stature, so knowledgeable and passionate about what she does, share it with her harvest team is a very special thing. It really was the best day of work that I have had.

Can't wait to get some grapes in so we can start making wine... hopefully by this weekend!

Hopefully I can get some pics up this week.... I have some good vineyard shots and also some good sunburned grape pics.

On the Catwalk, Yeah on the Catwalk.... I do my PressureWash Dance on the Catwalk

The heading refers to today's activities. I water blasted the heck out of the catwalks in the winery from 7am-3:30pm. Like they say, cleanliness is next to godliness, and next to primo fruit it is the most important thing in wine making. Well, without a spic and span sanitary environment what is the point of using the best fruit or making wine in the first place, so, maybe cleanliness is numero uno.... anywhoo....

THERE IS NO FRUIT YET! Yes, it's been a cool summer, but there is still no fruit. Last year ME had taken in some grapes as early as August 14th, so now we are officially a few weeks behind. So, with no fruit to work with, we will fill our time with getting the winery sparkling clean, which isn't tons of fun, but is a very good and important thing. So far I have gotten CPR and first aid certified, done a general winery orientation, and cleaned. Tomorrow will be a lot of fun though.... 9am tasting with production (think we'll be tasting the either 08's or 09's), followed by a 10:30am tour that will take us through the vineyards that ME uses for their RRV Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc.

Other than work I have been filling my time with wine tasting; I have managed to hit about 16 wineries since Thursday (I use a spit bucket, except for today's b/c I had a sore back from the pressure washer). I have decided that I am going to keep a notebook on hand to recap thoughts on wines, wineries and tastings, otherwise it's too hard to keep track of information.

My computer is not working properly, so unfortunately I cannot upload pics at this time... hopefully I will get some up later this week.

Harvest is Finally Here

Well, it's been a long time since my last post... For the last couple of months I have been doing some tasting room sales @ Clos LaChance and also at the Press Club in SF. I have also tried my hand at some sales in San Francisco for a botique winery, mostly to wine bars and restaurants. This has kept me somewhat busy and "all over the place" with the driving. Between the driving, lack of a full time schedule, and lack of $$$, it has been a tough couple of months. Harvest is a little behind this year with our unusually cool summer which kinda stretched out the downtime in between crushes. But, now harvest is upon us, so I will be packing up (well, kinda, I've technically been living out of my suitcase for some time now) and moving to Windsor this evening, when I finish my last shift at the Press Club. Two days of orientation this week, then onto the fun stuff starting on Monday. I will be working for Merry Edwards up in the Russian River Valley, which is going to be an awesome experience. They make excellent wine, have an awesome new facility and the team is loaded with experience. I cannot wait to work hard, get dirty and most importantly, learn! Cheers for now.

Back and Settled Part 2: More NZ Travel Thoughts

After being in NZ for two months and travelling solo for 2 weeks, I finally picked my girfriend up at the Nelson Airport. That is the longest that we have been apart in almost 5 years, and I can't thank her enough for supporting me in going to NZ. Now we were finally back together, and had 16 days to travel!

The weather between May 30-June 16 was pretty miserable, and it probably rained a minimum of around 12 days. Also, it was getting dark out pretty early, right around 5pm. So, we made do and had the best time possible. For winetasting this weather is ok, and IMO is ideal for sampling wines; lack of crowds and what else would you do? For everything else it sucks. While on the South island it rained every day we were there but one... We still went hiking in the Abel Tasman National Park, which is not in any way a winter destination. This area is on the coast, has a lush rainforest like terrain, and the waters are pristine and calm. The whole time we were hiking we were thinking to ourselves "I wish it was warm and we could go swim in these beautiful waters".

With the wet weather we spent our last day on the South Island touring the Marlborough Sounds on a "mail boat". This was a 3+ hour cruise where we went out on a boat that was dropping mail off to residents throughout the remote areas of the Marlborough Sounds. This was a great activity; both time and money well spent. The boat was comfy, the ride unique, we could bring our own alcohol, and we managed to get some great pics. After that we were on our way to the north island.

We arrived in Wellington and stayed a couple of nights in the downtown area. This was Amanda's favorite city of the trip, and for good reasons. The city itself is "San Francsico-esque" with its proximity to the water, weather, nightlife food and downtown area. We enjoyed ourselfs at the Te Papa Tongewera, a massive 4 story musuem full of NZ history about the people and the land. We also took the cable car up the hill to the Karori Bird Sanctuary, http://www.sanctuary.org.nz/. This is a 550 acre fenced off area in the hills surrounding Wellington. By being fenced off it is rodent free (no rats or stoats etc.), which is the way that NZ was before the introduction of the pests by the Polyneasians and European Settlers. The place was full of beautiful birds chirping and singing away, and we also saw some Cave Weta (a really big gross looking transucent bug). That was our one dry day in the last 5, and the next day.... it was raining.

The next two stops were Martinborough and Napier in Hawkes Bay, were we did a total of 4 days of wine tasting... its also where I got a ticket for going 126kph in a 100 zone :( From Napier we went to Taupo and attempted the tongariro crossing, which is an alpine crossing that gets you up close to Mount Doom, which is Mount Morridor from Lord of the Rings. It was snowing and the visibility was bad, so we couldnt go over the summit. We still had fun and hiked about 15k. From there we shot over to Rotorua, which is situated in an amazing geothermal area. We actually stayed 4 nights here... we were a bit travelled out and wanted to relax, and relax we did. We got Massages, did a Hangi (an evening of entertainment and eating with the local Maori tribe), went to hot pools and also a geothermal park. We also had a fun day of "luging" and went on a sky swing, which was pretty fun.

The last highlight of our trip was the Waitomo Caves, where we went "black water rafting" and saw glow worms. You basically get in a wetsuit with a hard hat and a light, and hike and innertube your way through a very dark cave. In parts of the caves there are glow worms, which are actually worms that glow (although I believe it is their poop that really glows) This was also a very cool experience and a great way to finish off the trip. From there we went to Auckland where we stayed at the Sky City Casino and had a very fun evening of Wine, Champagne, Oysters and some casino action to get the bday celebrations rolling..... the Next day we were on an airplane back to San Francisco.

Back and Settled Part 1: Thoughts on NZ Travels

Waterfall at Milford Sound

The title says it all: I am back and settled in the good ol' US of A. After a 12 1/2 hour flight "back in time" from NZ, leaving NZ 7:30pm June 16th, we touched down in SFO around 12:30pm on June 16th, just in time to continue my birthday celebration and extend the total hours to 43. That's right, a 43 hr b-day, but I sway from the point. The flight was great, and I really enjoyed Air NZ as an airline: Great food (for airplane standards), open bar w/ NZ wines and great entertainment (everyone has their own screen for movies, shows etc.) made the flight go by very quickly.

In between the end of work and this flight back, I had travelled by car for roughly 30 days in NZ. The majority of time, roughly 20 days, was spent covering a large part of the south island, and the rest up in the north island. Between the driving, sightseeing, lack of internet and procrastination, its been a few weeks since the last post.

In a quick Vacation recap: I took off from Blenheim, which is in the northeast corner of the south island, and headed all the way down the east coast to the south point of the island, with stops in Christchurch and Dunedin on the way. Dunedin and the Otago Peninsula (albatross and penguins!) were by far the highlights of the south island east coast, although I did enjoy wine tasting in North Canterburry and the Moeraki Boulders quite a bit too. After spending a short time in the Catlins, and the majority of time in my car due to rain and wind, I made my way to Milford Sound in the Fiordlands. On a stop in Invercargill on the way, I dropped by "kingfish" and ordered Monkfish fish 'n chips, probably a first and last... I was pretty excited about this, so I have to mention it. I also had some Scallops with it to. Now back to the traveling, next stop was Milford Sound.


Friendly Kea

Kea posing in front of Homer Tunnel

Kea on my car... apparently they cause lots of damage to people who park their cars in this area

Mitre Peak

The Encounter


Looking out towards Australia from Milford Sound

Seals at Milford Sound

Milford Sound was the most breathtaking part of the south island for me. Fortunately it stayed dry for me during my day day there... it had been so wet and stormy up to that point, and severe weather was in the forecast. As soon as I arrived, I wanted to stay for a lot longer than one night, but do to time restrictions and weather, I didn't. Its unlike anything that I have ever seen before, and lived up to its larger than life image portrayed in the travel guides... probably a bit more. The drive out there was nearly as impressive, and I stopped at least a dozen times to snap shots of the sheer snow capped alps crashing into the ground. I went out on Milford Sound in the Encounter, one of the many boats available to take you around and get you deep into the Fiord. I was in complete awe and went through about 4 battery changes and a gig of memory on my camera card. I also had a chance to get up close with a Kea, which is the worlds only alpine parrot.

Queenstown

From Milford I went to Queenstown for a night, and headed about 30 mins out to the Central Otago wine tasting region, where I spent the next two days, which I will talk about in another post. After that I was on my way up to pick up Amanda, with only one stop for some rest over the Haast Pass. I ended up having beers with some very friendly Maori Locals who invited myself and another couple over who were staying at the "holiday park". Boss and his friends were the friendliest folks, and showed us some great hospitality. This was definitely a random highlight of the locals I met... I wish I grabbed some pics with them, but unfortunately I didn't. From there I shot straight up to Nelson in one day, which was a 11hr drive, and made a couple of very brief stops at Foxen and Franz Joseph Glacier's.

Franz Joseph Glacier

That concludes my solo travels in a nutshell; I had a great time, met some very nice folks and saw some amazing things. I also spent quite a bit on petrol (between $1.7-$2/LITRE!). Next I'll talk briefly about our north island adventures and also about my wine tasting in NZ.


West Coast South Island


West Coast South Island

West Coast South Island

West Coast South Island

travel pics

NZ Road Trip (Ill get some pics up ASAP)

I left Blenheim last Tuesday, making my way down the coast to Christchurch, where I spent the next few nights. I had a chance to do some wine tasting in North Canterburry (Waipera Valley), and also to check out the Banks Peninsula. Unfortunately for the wine tasitng, many of the cellar doors now have winter hours or they are closed, so I only had a chance to visit 3. Favorites of the day were Pegasus Bay Chardonnay and Torlesse Reisling. While I was in Christchurch the weather was a bit overcast, cold and rained at times.

After my 2 full days in the area, I made my way down the coast to the city of Dunedin, which was a great drive with a couple of fun stops; the Moreaki Boulders and Bushy Beach, which is home to a Yellow Eyed Penguin community. I got some great pics and wish I could have stayed in the area a bit longer, but was happy to arrive in Dunedin.

Dunedin is in the Southeast of the the south island, and is a vibrant little city that is full of energy, great architecture and beautiful surrounding areas. The weather cleared up while I was in Dunedin, which was great and also a much needed break for the previous 6 days or so of mediocre weather. The area that I visited over the two days was the Otago Peninsula, which is home to a number of different coastal wildlife, and once again, great views. Highlights of the peninsula were visiting a Royal Albatross community, where I had the chance to see some Albatross chicks and a couple of adults, and Sandfly Bay, where I got the closest I've been to the Penguins so far. I also got pretty close to some big Sea Lions. I also visited and toured the Speights Brewery, and visited the train station and the local museum.

Next post will be about my time in the Caitlins and Milford Sound.

Hittin the road

Harvest is over and its travel time.... I recently left Blenheim and headed down to Christchurch. I have spent the last couple of days checking out the surrounding areas (wine tasting in Waiparu and a scenic tour of the Banks Peninsula). I am now heading down South, probaby making a couple of stops on the way to the town of Dunedin. A few pics from wine tasting and my trip to Akoura (banks peninsula)... will get some more up later.