Winter finally started a couple of weeks back with a good drenching. We are waiting for more – lots more. In the meantime growers are taking advantage of the dry weather and vineyard pruning is in high gear. Our 2011 Russian River Valley Sauvignon Blanc is bottled and ready to go. It’s a juicy, flavor […]
The Wines of Winter Read More »
Blue skies and balmy daytime temperatures have been the rule of the day for weeks and weeks now, and everyone is starting to get a bit nervous. Water levels in local reservoirs are still healthy, due to last year’s wet winter, but very little rain and/or snow has fallen in California this season. The vineyards
New Year’s Greetings Read More »
No doubt about it – we are in the thick of it. It is now raining lightly and we expect continued wet weather over the next several days. We enjoyed a picture perfect September, with day after day in the mid 80’s; but things changed quickly over the weekend. Last week was our busiest of
The rush is over. We opened our cellar doors one last time on November 8th for some Late Harvest Riesling, but that was it. The wines have finished primary fermentation and are awaiting their long winter’s nap. May they rest in peace. Meanwhile the cellar staff is gearing up for winter bottling. Through the New
The rush is over. We opened our cellar doors one last time on November 8th for some Late Harvest Riesling, but that was it. The wines have finished primary fermentation and are awaiting their long winter’s nap. May they rest in peace. Meanwhile the cellar staff is gearing up for winter bottling. Through the New
The last grapes are in today, putting an end to a long and difficult harvest. It was a season characterized by low yields (up to 25% below projections). Furthermore, grapes picked over the last several weeks often were faced with mildew, adding to the challenge. However, our own grapes came in prior to the rains,
No doubt about it – we are in the thick of it. It is now raining lightly and we expect continued wet weather over the next several days. We enjoyed a picture perfect September, with day after day in the mid 80’s; but things changed quickly over the weekend. Last week was our busiest of
Perfect summer weather has finally come to the Russian River Valley, with daytime temperatures in the mid-eighties, and nighttime temps 30 degrees less. The harvest is well behind schedule, at least two weeks by most estimates. Most growers foresee a smaller than average crop this year, especially on valley floor vineyards. Many of the larger
The Waiting Game, Take 2 Read More »
Fine summer weather has been the rule for the past several weeks, but the damage may have already been done. Late rains during flowering caused shattering in many vineyards, and growers are predicting reduced crops this harvest season. But predicting crop size and quality is a notoriously difficult proposition, so we shall wait and see.
The crazy weather continues. An inch of rain in the last week of June is unheard of; 100 degree temperatures over the 4th of July weekend are not. The effect on the vines is varied. In some cases the fruit set was uneven; a number of growers have reported shatter in the clusters; yet quite
