Are We There Yet?
Posted by Brian, August 21, 2008As we enter the last week of summer, the anticipation of our pending harvest is almost overwhelming. When will the grapes come in? What is the yield? Is there any frost or smoke damage? Will the stems look ripe (for whole cluster fermentation)? What’s the brix? And so on.
We can’t wait to go up to CrushPad and sort our grapes for the first time. In fact, we’d love for you to join us!! Since we’re sourcing our grapes from colder weather regions, the pick date is still probably a month or so away. But if you are in the Bay Area or feel like flying in on the spur of the moment, Brigade members are welcome. You’ll be able to tour the facility, help us sort grapes, drink some pre-fermented juice, star in the videos we’ll be taking for this site, and we’ll even treat for lunch or dinner at one of our favorite restaurants in the city. Unfortunately, we probably won’t have more than 48-hours advance notice. But if you are interested in being alerted, shoot us an e-mail or post a comment on the site (click here) and we’ll try to give you as much of a heads-up as we can.
In the interim, below I’ve listed what we know about the status of our grapes. I’m not sure how this data is going to look in the e-mails, so if it is difficult to read please click here to view it online.
Annahala Vineyard, Anderson Valley:
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Vineyard Status |
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Date |
Brix |
pH |
TA |
Comments |
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07/29/2008 |
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Both the 115 and 777 blocks look very good this year with no frost damage. There was a bit of shatter on the PM side of the rows, but nothing to be concerned about moving forward. Leaf thinning is complete on the AM side and there is a well balanced canopy to support the crop load. Looking forward to working with this fruit again in 2008. |
Doctor’s Vineyard, Santa Lucia Highlands:
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Vineyard Status |
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Date |
Brix |
pH |
TA |
Comments |
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07/10/2008 |
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Met with Andy Mitchell the vineyard manager at Doctors Vineyard and the canopy is in great shape. Leaf pulling on morning side has been done to allow increased air flow through clusters and to get some exposure to sun for even ripening. Some light hedging of cane tips was done but prevailing dry conditions means that the canopy growth is moderate and consistent across the vineyard. The vines have just switched from pushing new green growth to focusing on berry maturation. We saw the first color emerging on a couple of clusters. There are some hens and chicks (large and small berries in same cluster) but the clusters are not too tight, and the growth will even out. The Santa Lucia region is fairly cool, and the consistent winds also contribute to slowing maturation, so we’re expecting a typical season with long hang time for these grapes. We’ll know more about the picking window once we get through veraison, which is when the grapes start changing from green to purple and is just beginning in SLH. |
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08/06/2008 |
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Had a great tour of the vineyard with Paul Clifton and the vineyard is in excellent health. We have a number of wonderful blocks at this vineyard. The clusters are very small with lots of hens and chicks and avoided any frost damage. We’re at 90% veraison and the vines have a well balanced canopy with bird netting in place. Looking forward to making wine from this vineyard in 2008! |
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08/20/2008 |
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Got an update from Andy, the vineyard manager, and everything looks great down in the SLH. I am expecting a mid to late Sept. harvest but a lot of that depends on the weather and the individual clones. We’ll keep you posted. |
Harvest Update - 8/27/08: We’ve received the following date ranges for the upcoming harvest periods. We should get about 48-hours prior notice for our specific crush/sort date and time. Doctor’s Vineyard: 9/16/08 - 9/30/08. Annahala Vineyard: 9/26/08 - 10/10/08.
