Jim Bundschu is off enjoying the calm before the storm of the 2009 harvest. Filling in for him this month, we have an update from our winemaking team.
The 2009 harvest is just 2-3 weeks away and we are getting everything ready! "We" has a new meaning this year with our new winemaking team of Keith, Anne and Jessica, affectionately referred to as the 3-headed monster. We've been preparing all year and are excited to kick off this 2009 vintage!
In the winery, we just finished bottling the last of our 2007 wines, and are now busy blending our delicious 2008 wines, making room in the cellar and getting ready for harvest. Last year we welcomed our new grape receival system, and after seeing 2008 produce some fantastic wines, we can't wait to work with this equipment again in 09.
In the past, we used to drop the grape clusters into a hopper that used a large screw to slowly move the fruit into a destemmer. The destemmer had spinning rubber paddles that knocked the berries off the clusters. Last year, we got rid of that system, and replaced it with a sorting table and a Roto-Vibe. The sorting table moves a single layer of clusters forward on a belt (like a little moving walkway), allowing our production crew to take one last look at each and every cluster to ensure no unripe or uneven clusters get past us. Then the Roto-Vibe shakes the whole berries off the stems, a much gentler process than the old destemmer which would break up the fruit more, and even sometimes the stems. The result of all these new toys is that we can better ensure that clean, ripe, whole fruit is delivered to the fermentation tank, which results in higher quality wines for you.
In addition, this year we will be adding a grape chute that lets us deliver the grapes directly to tank for some wines, and louvers which are screens in the tank that prevent the pumping of berries during red wine fermentations. Both are designed to continue the gentle handling of our fruit to ensure highest quality in our wines.
In the vineyard, our attention is focused on working closely with the vineyard team to give our vines the most attention to detail possible. The season is shaping up to be a good one with steady temperatures and ideal crop levels.
Veraison is upon us with the grapes turning color (from green to red, or to golden for the white varieties) and the skins starting to soften. The vineyard crews are busy doing veraison thinning, which is when they ‘green harvest,’ cutting off the clusters that haven’t yet turned color or are ripening unevenly. The goal is for each vine to ripen all its clusters simultaneously so that when we harvest, there are no over- or under-ripe flavors in the bunch.
This is also the time when we start sampling fruit daily, checking not only the sugar levels but also the overall fruit flavors, the health of the vines, how they are responding to the weather and specifically planning their irrigation. If a vine can’t get enough water from its roots, particularly during a heat spell like we’re currently having, it can yellow and lose leaves, steal water from the grapes and otherwise cause uneven ripening. With too much water, a vine may focus on green growth and not develop flavors and concentration in the grapes. A careful combination of measuring leaf water potential, as well as visually inspecting the vine and tasting the fruit helps us to plan carefully and judiciously when and how much to irrigate each block of the vineyard.
We’re all gearing up for the busy months ahead, some of the crew have even shaved their heads in preparation for those early mornings and long days. It won't be long now! We’re looking forward to having many of you here at the height of the season for the Wine Club Harvest Weekend in September, we’ll certainly be ready for a celebration by then!
Salud, Amigos!
Keith Emerson, Winemaker
Anne Dempsey, Lead Associate Winemaker
Jessica Koga, Associate Winemaker
