State of the Street

The longer than usual 4th of July weekend has just passed and it’s back to summer mode in the Russian River Valley. A heat wave has been replaced by relatively cool temperatures and vineyards appear to be healthy and hearty. There are indications that an early harvest may be in the offing, but we’ll have […]

The hills have turned their summer gold, the temperatures have cranked up a notch, the Tasting Room crowds have increased, the bocce court is in use – summer is back and we are ready! Early indications from the vineyards provide optimism for this year’s harvest. The fruit set is large and healthy, and little mildew

The sun is shining (for now), the air is thick with pollens and other microgametophytes, the hillsides are still green, vineyards are in flower, tourists have brought their bicycles, baseball season is well underway, and the Warriors continue their winning ways. It must be springtime! At Taft Street we too have taken everything up a

Northern California is something special in the spring. I just return from a quick trip to Boston, where I was met with windy snow and temperatures in the low 20’s. Getting off the plane at SFO it was 88. Now there is some rain in the forecast, with dry and warmer weather due next week.

February has started off clear and cold, a brief respite from the wettest January in five years. Rainfall for the season now matches seasonal averages for Northern California, with reservoirs near capacity and more rain the long term forecasts. Add to that the fact that San Francisco is hosting this year’s Super Bowl, the Warriors

Winter has arrived in California. Intermittent rain and snow have been the rule for the past several weeks, and there are few signs that the situation will soon change. The wet weather has been COLD. Pipes at the winery have burst, and our GM Mike Martini has added welding to his skill set. I spent

Major blasts of cold air (for California) have presented themselves over the past week, bringing concern to citrus growers; however vineyards have been largely unaffected as most vines are dormant for the winter. There has been a bit of rain but nowhere near what it would take to get us out of our severe drought

The wines are in tanks and barrels, fermenting away. Evelyn is excited about the overall quality of this year’s harvest, and early indications suggest excellent wines will be made from 2015 grapes. Our Russian River Valley Rose of Pinot Noir and Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc will be the first releases, early next year. The

It is October 1st and all the grapes have been crushed – the earliest harvest we remember. Our numbers were down a bit (10% – 15%), but the lack of volume was compensated by the quality of the grapes. Winemaker Evelyn White was delighted with the chardonnay and pinot noir especially; each being fully mature,