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.